Steve Houghton 1
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Everything posted by Steve Houghton 1
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Hi Keith I am not able to issue temporary insurance, your uncle needs to contact the BMFA directly to obtain this. It will be good to see you next weekend, and I shall be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast during the week. Please keep an eye on my BLOG for any updates as to the weather and which of the seven slopes that make up the Bwlch we are likely to be flying. Steve A470soaring. -
As a committee member of the newly reformed South Wales Soaring Association, this is something we are going to have to look into, but we only reformed a few weeks ago and we've been too busy looking at other club matters. Flying RC gliders from slopes means that all of our flying is on public land or, land that is used, and enjoyed for other activities, by the public. This is mainly walkers/ramblers and motocross type bikers. We have permission, (and pay a substantial sum annually) for permission to fly one particular area, by the farmers who have grazing rights on Forestry Commission owned land, and there are national (BMFA) and international F3F competitions taking place here. The other slopes that we fly are all common land that can be used by all, but in many cases, because they are off the beaten track, we don't usually see anyone, only the occasional lost sheep. How these proposals will affect us, and other slope soaring clubs is anyone's guess. For instance, those who fly on the South Downs where there are thousands of walkers out on a warm, sunny Sunday.
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There is a "no fly zone" set up in the Cardiff area to restrict air activity below 4000' from 10:00 today, effectively until 17:00 on Sunday 4th June, due to the Champion League Football Competition. Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 01/06/2017 08:13:26
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Back when 3 & 4 Squadron were operating Harrier GR4's out of Gutersloh. Germany, the station song was Queens, Another one bites the dust, and I remember attending at least two crash sites. One just a few miles from camp, near to where we had a large bulk fuel installation, and another near Frankfurt where the aircraft had crashed through the last of a row of houses. The brave, selfless pilot stayed with his craft to ensure he kept casualties to a minimum. As I remember, fortunately I think he was the only casualty. Then I was having my lunch at my work place one sunny day when I heard a loud bang and we all ran to the window. A Harrier had been hovering over the runway when something went wrong. The pilot had banged out, but because the aircraft was at an angle at that moment, the pilot ended up in the bomb dump before his chute deployed, and the Harrier crashed on the runway. They always performed great at airshows, and everyone would want to see their display, but they were notorious for crashing.
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We're looking really good for this weekend lads, and I will expect to see about 20 mph ish on the slopes on both days. You may need to bring a brolly as there is a chance of a shower or two on Saturday morning. Please be at the Ice Cream Slope /forestry gate lay-by before 10AM tomorrow as once I've let the procession of cars through the forestry gate, I have to lock it behind us and it will not be reopened until we depart the slope. There are no worries about this on Sunday as we shall be flying on the Back of Wrecker slope. So the meeting point will be the Wrecker lay-by. Directly opposite the Ice Cream slope lay-by is a road sign for Port Talbot A4107. Take this road and it winds its way to the top of the hill. The road is straight then for a few hundred metres before bending to the right, where there is then a lay-by on your right hand hand side for you to park in. Parking is limited and some of you may need to park at the side of the road, tight to the verge. Please park as close as you can to the next vehicle in the lay-by so we can get as many cars in as possible. Directly opposite the road from the lay-by you will see a well trodden path heading up to the brow of a hill, walk up and over the brow until you can't walk any further without falling off the cliff. You can't miss the huge rock about 10m before the slope ridge, (it is the only rock there), and we shall make camp by there. I will also be flying on Mickeys after work today for a couple of hours, from about 6 PM ish, otherwise I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Happy flying guys Steve
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Just to allow a little competitiveness to this weekends event, there will be prizes for; best flown prop model best flown jet model model of the event The prizes will be given on Sunday but pilots votes can consider models flown either/both days. We will probably hold a bomb dropping competition also, which could be held on both days but we will make a decision at the time based upon safety due to the close proximity of the F3F competitors. And no, you are not allowed to drop your bombs on them. The forecast at the moment is showing a SW wind on Saturday, which is perfect for us and having Mickeys all to ourselves. On Sunday the wind changes to a southerly, so a move to Back of Wrecker is on the cards, at the moment, and we will car park in the Wrecker lay-by. The F3F guys will take the lower section of the slope to the left whilst we have the higher section to the right, and they will park at the side of the road which divides Back of Wrecker and the VR98. There will be plenty of room between the two groups so there is no need to worry, but please be vigilant to be on the safe side. This will work well for us, however, the lower left hand section can suffer from rotor, so some F3F competitors may walk up to our position to land on the brow of the hill, so just keep your eyes open when planning your landings. One last thing, one F3F competitor is flying on ch72 35Mhz, so please keep channels 71, 72 & 73 clear, just to be on the safe side. Car parking here
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I'm collecting the Mickeys gate key tomorrow evening, so I will probably be at the Bwlch on Friday around about 5:30 ish, for anyone who wants to fly and doesn't want to walk up the hill, and I shall be there for maybe a couple of hours. On Saturday morning I will unlock the gate at 10am to let the procession of vehicles through, but then I have to lock the gate behind us, so I'm afraid that anyone arriving after this time, or needs to leave early, before the masses do, will need to walk. On Sunday we do have to slope share with a F3F comp, however this could yet be cancelled. I will know more on Friday evening. Not ideal I know. The forecast for Sunday, so far, is for a SSW wind, which makes it "off face" on the main Mickeys slope. However, I need to check but I do seem to remember flying the same ridge, at a spot before reaching the cattle grid and dew pond, which I think would put us square onto the wind, and far enough away from the F3F boys so that there would be no interference. If this is not the case, then I have made arrangements to use the Eglwsilan Model Flying Club field for car parking, (thanks to Andy Watts, Chairman for this), and we can fly the SW slope of Meio Common , which is only about a 10 min drive from Pontypridd. It's only a short walk from the field to the slope, and the slope generates good lift, little turbulence usually, and a good LZ. All the locals love this slope.
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I've booked a table for 12 at the Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd for 8pm and paid a deposit of £5 per head.
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Yes that's correct. I found out about this at the weekend and I have spoken with the F3F organisers, who hadn't put the event on BARCS, and nor was it on the BMFA calendar at the time the PSS event was planned. They had it on their own website GBSRA , which I had never heard of. Usually when there are league comps, they appear on BARCS. The comp is Sunday only, and if the forecast stays as it is forecast now, (south westerly), it shouldn't be a problem to share the slope. The only issue is if the forecast changes and the wind is north easterly or north westerly, then those facing slopes will not support two groups, so a contingency plan has been devised and you will not lose out on any flying.
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Just to let you know that Dirk Tinck will be attending and I've booked him into the Central Guest House in Ponty along with Phil and Peter Garsden, and I will look at booking a table at the Bunch of Grapes this evening.
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I'll look to book a table for dinner at the Bunch of Grapes in Ponty for 8 pm if you're up for that? The question is, how many shall I book a table for? Dirk is coming from Belgium and I have to find him accommodation too. I have access to the Mickeys gate key, should we need it. However, we all need to go up together, and leave together as the gate needs to be closed and locked behind us. The Forestry Commission, whose land it is, are insisting on this. If a west or south west is forecast, ,I shall collect the key on Friday after work and head up to the Bwlch for an evening session should the weather allow. I shall be there whatever direction the wind is blowing from anyway, please join me if you can. Btw, there was a meeting this evening and the South Wales Soaring Association was reformed, with me as its chairman. There's quite a bit of work to do but I'm sure it will be well worth it. Let me know about dinner guys.
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I had a problem with my Windows 7 PC at work. I'd be happily typing away when suddenly the screen would just go black, and the only thing I could do was to reboot it. It was a pain in the wotsit! It turned out to be a faulty graphics card.
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It's a De Havilland Chipmunk
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I'm really glad I set up failsafe on my new Valenta L213 2.77m span slope glider. I'd set it up so that once activated it would give me half of the full amount of landing CROW/butterfly, i.e. flaps down, ailerons up, and with down elevator compensation. On my first flight, there was only just enough slope lift to keep the model airborne, but the thermals were strong and frequent and I got into one within seconds of launching and had a great flight. My second flight wasn't so lucky and I was struggling for slope lift and I couldn't locate a thermal. The model descended below ridge height and was very close to tip stalling, so trying a turn could have been disastrous, and flying from left to right, the ridge line changes direction into a big V shape and I lost sight of the model as it headed into this area. I began walking towards where I thought it would have gone down, and hoping for the best that it would have landed by itself on soft ground, when my buddy called out that it was flying back towards us, so I managed to land out in the field at the bottom of the slope and the only damage was a broken ply radio tray. Phew. So, once the model disappeared from sight, the failsafe would have kicked in, and somehow the model turned by itself 180°. A very lucky escape. After I'd made the long, arduous walk down the slope, climbing over a stone wall, then walking back up the face of the slope, I was chatting to my buddy about what had occurred and we both agreed that although programming failsafe is designed to protect others, and property, it can also save your model, and he is now programming failsafe into all his models too. Steve A470soaring
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Hi Keith, and thanks for your message. It would be great to see you at Bwlchfest, and it's not too far for you to travel from Somerset. Yes you can use 35 meg, and in fact thank you for reminding me that I need to sort out a peg board. I shall look forward to seeing your Reiher as it will be another type of build and glider for people to oggle at. I love a bit of variety! Unfortunately we cannot allow the use of IC engines, although electric is fine. Hopefully there will be enough wind for you to fly your PSS model without the use of the motor anyway. Also, if you are interested, A470soaring is hosting a PSSA fly for fun meeting at the Bwlch on May 21st & 22nd. I shall post details on my blog in early May for this or, you could go to PSSAonline also. We look forward to seeing you.
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This guy seems to have managed to mix flap & ailerons together.
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I think any glider guider used to flying a full house glider knows the benefit of mixing flap into aileron, and they do use it. I know all the guys I fly with most certainly do, and in fact they will use just about every mix available to them that their TX will allow. My new Valenta L213A rolls so much better, much more axially, with a good dose of flap mixed in, and I too use every aileron/flap mix available.
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Oh no, that's a bummer. I'm sure the Eclipse did that. I'd be lost without my aileron/flap mix. I guess that means that if you set up snap flap, the ailerons don't mix in as well? Which would be like the Eclipse also. Or thermal and speed flap using flight conditions, only the flaps would move. I'm just waiting to see the new 14 ch offering from Hitec to see what technical offerings come with it. For me, that would be a decent telemetry system, where the TX speaks to let you know your height in conjunction with a vario. I miss this when I head to the flat field with my thermal soarers, and not that I'd use all 14 channels
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Posted by Bill Wood on 24/04/2016 18:44:30: Just been helping my mate move his mpx Heron glider from a Hitec Optic 6 TX to his brand new Flash 8 TX. Well the instruction manual is not very clear in many areas and can be misleading, but once I got used to whether to just push the buttons or push and hold and when to use the jog dial we were on our way. Once the basics were in my old head it's a matter of trial and error and avoid sliding back down the learning curve. I am came to this forum looking for some helpful info. It's a lovely TX and we were just getting grips with it when SWMBO called to say dinner was on the table. We've just got to set up crow (butterfly) braking on a slider and camber somewhere then D/R, expo, EPA etc, etc. Anyone know if the servo adjustments can be made whilst transmitting so one can see the results live on the model because it seems we have to select "no" "not ready to transmit" before adjusting servos etc.? Also we didn't seem to be able to use model memory no.1 It always jumped to the next memory. Settled for memory no.2 which was OK. Strange?? Hi Bill - I don't have the Flash, I have the Aurora 9, but from what you've described, somethings seem fairly similar. You can see the adjustments live as long as you select YES to transmit. It would be very difficult to adjust control surface movement of any kind without doing this. As you have a motor on the Heron, I am assuming you are using the stick for throttle control? So selecting a slider for crow would be preferential over a switch, IMO. I have in the past set up my A9 so that the motor is on a switch and crow on the stick, and in fact that did work very well. All I needed was full throttle to get me up to height and then switch it off to begin gliding. I don't know how Flash deals with camber. The A9 has its own setting for this so that both ailerons and flap can be cambered or reflexed. Steve A470soaring
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FMS Alpha Jet 2ch R/C conversion for PSS
Steve Houghton 1 replied to Phil Cooke's topic in PSS Build Blogs
Mine has just been delivered , and I know of a couple of other people who have ordered these also. So I've been putting together my shopping list and wondering what gauge wire I should order for the control linkages. I always get stuck with this -
So some of the PSS guys thought it would be fun to convert the FMS Chuckie Alpha Jet to 2ch RC, and fly them in light conditions from the slope. Unfortunately last weekend we did not get the conditions to test them properly but, we did give them a test chuck. And here is the video. Steve A470Soaring Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 11/04/2017 10:08:14
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These were fun! And now the video
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I think this is a, " how long is a piece of string" question. I have gliders, up to 3m that are rudder/elevator only, (Bird of Time), and I have never had any issues with not having flaps or spoilers. You just need to allow for a long approach on landing. I also have a 3m F5J full house model, and in still air, even with full crow, it can be a handful to get onto the deck as there can be little wind resistance on the flaps/ailerons to slow it down. And then I find I can sometimes get caught in ground effect, so it still just wants to keep going on forever. Of course, if you have a bit of a breeze against it, that helps greatly. My two pennith worth. Steve A470soaring
