Steve Houghton 1

All of my pure gliders use the throttle stick to operate crow from top (crow off) to bottom (crow on), except for my electric motor Heron which I decided to operate both the throttle and crow braking from the throttle stick. So with the stick in the lower position I flick a switch one way and I'm on throttle on, crow off. Flick the switch the other way and I have throttle off, crow on. It works for me and I don't seem to get confused with the opposite motion for crow. I don't like operating throttle from a switch only either.

Does the Spektrum not have the throttle stick up in the CROW off position as the default? Don't forget to add some elevator compensation, probably a tiny bit of down will do it.

Yes I will have to do it but, is the test power model specific?

I have yet to look at this test and wondering how relevant it will be to me as I only fly un powered gliders, from slopes well away from civilisation. There are the occasional walkers and plenty of sheep though lol.

It depends what model you're trying to fly in a 12 mph breeze. Some will be quite aerobatic in that and others will only stooge around. These days I tend not to go to the slope if the forecast is showing less than 10 mph but, a 10 mph forecast at my local airport weather station may mean 15 mph plus on my local slopes at 1400 ft ASL. But there have been times when I have arrived at the slope and the forecast has been completely wrong and there hasn't been much more than a puff of a breeze, which is where my trust electric power soarer comes in handy for some thermalling off the slope.

Buster prop - bungee launching is easy enough. I have set up a 'launch mode' on my tx, so activated by a spare switch in flight modes and it gives a little up elevator without you having to hold elevator on the stick during the climb out. My model has flaps so the flaps are activated in launch mode also. Once the model reaches its max height and levels out, pushing down elevator on the stick unhooks the model, (if it already hasn't done so) but also resets the elevator (and flaps) to neutral. The only thing you have to do during the climb out is control direction using the rudder.

I did make my own using 8mm (?)silicon tubing from HK, 80Lbs BS monofilament fishing line, a small parachute purchased from some model web site and a dog spiral stake, and it worked really well. Total length was about 90m. I think in competitions where multiple models are launched at the same time, they tend to use electric winches. Anyhow, here is a video of me launching my 2m Whisper on the bungee from the top of a big hill when there was very little slope lift.

It reminds me of the control line combat models I flew as a kid in the 70's.

I have one partially built, and must get around to completing it this winter ready for next spring. I have seen one fly and it flew very well. I bought mine to take away on camping trips away when a larger model wouldn't fit into my car due to all the camping gear.

Posted by fly boy3 on 20/09/2019 12:19:07: An alleged betting offence against World Rugby rules, but the question is who shopped him ? My money is on Eddie Jones

Come on Wales!

There may be enough height to fly a foamy at the car park by the lighthouse at Old Huntstanton Beach?

Hi Penderyn Flyer - I live in Newport and fly nothing but slope, and of course we have the best slope flying in Wales, if not the UK. Check out my BLOG which has on Page 2 (Flying Sites), all of the popular slopes between Cardiff and Hirwaen. If you are a Facebook user then we also have a group page, Slope Soaring in Wales, check us out and come flying with us. Steve Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 01/08/2019 10:03:46

It can be very challenging, not to mention skillful on less thermic days trying to keep that glider in the air. Other days, when there is lots of thermal activity the challenge can be getting the damned thing back down on the ground.

Very impressive Dirk

Hey Clive - I remember Chris S filming my Banana in a 40 mph blow on Meio and it was going crazy fast without any ballast with no problem penetrating. It has very little frontal area for resistance. I can't find the video on YouTube

So currently it is looking like Saturday's flying will be on the Ice Cream slope, a short walk from the parking lay-by. The forecast for Sunday is still showing mostly an easterly, and if it were just me and my mates then we would head over to the Crest with our models in large rucksacks or snowboard bags and as with such low wind speeds (8 mph) there would be lift and little rotor. However for you guys, the 15 min ish walk is quite arduous along a very narrow track, and I feel that may be too much for some but also there is the risk of balsa breakage on landing if there is any rotor. So our intention currently is for me to meet you at the Ice Cream Slope lay-by and then we can follow each other in convoy up to the top of the Rhigos mountain and along the Heads of the Valleys road to Tredegar where we will turn off for Manmoel Common, roughly a 50 minute drive. The road on the common is rough and pot holey so we will have to take it slow and parking will be on the grassy verge anywhere you can find a safe spot. The slope is then just 300m ish to the east. If there isn't enough wind to fly slope then the common has plenty of open space for flying powered thermal soarers or even Hi Start bungee launching. Here is a video of the last time I flew there just a few weeks ago.

Hi Peter - unfortunately no key will be available on Friday as we won't be collecting it until the evening, but it's not looking like we will require it anyway looking at the forecast currently. For food, Bridgend will offer more options and is approximately a 20 minute drive from the Bwlch, or Pontypridd where you are staying. However, the chippy A Fish Called Rhondda in Ton Pentra (CF41 7ED) is close and very good. The weather forecast currently shows a sun bathing weekend with a decent north westerly, so a short walk only to the Ice Cream Slope. Sunday is a different kettle of fish with the morning showing NE but swinging to east at 6 mph. This would mean a 15 min hike over to the Crest, which offers amazing lift but equally amazing rotor. However, in such a light breeze the rotor shouldn't be an issue. But if the forecast remains unchanged then I may consider a move to flying the slope at Manmoel Common near Ebbw Vale instead. I shall take advice from the other locals regarding this. Check out my flying sites page on my blog for details. **LINK**

Martin - if the road were to be blocked, I'm sure we could find an alternative slope to fly at somewhere other than the Bwlch. Meio, Manmoel, Abertwssyg, Hirwaun etc are all good slopes within an easy drive.

Posted by Martin Gay on 08/05/2019 12:44:21: Just seen this: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/bwlch-mountain-rhondda-fire-smoke-16237505 This is a regular occurance every year Martin. In fact I was at the Bwlch a couple of weeks ago flying on the south facing Back of Wrecker slope and could see a grass fire blazing over by the wind turbines, a bit further on from Mickey's slope. A fire engine went up there, we saw the smoke stop, then about an hour later the smoke began again.

Ron Broughton builds some superb EPP60 racing gliders, designed for man on man slope racing out of EPP foam. His Pole Cat is a M60 copy which I have and I have flown this at Rhossilli in a 40 - 50mph wind, unballasted and it was a match for the fully ballasted M60 I was flying with. Ron's Ballistik chevron wing, well, it's just that, ballistic, probably the fastest chevron I've ever seen, and again I have flown this up against a fully ballasted M60 and is as fast, if not faster.

I have no idea about the JR set up as I fly with Hitec. I have a Multiplex Heron, with all the bells and whistles, but I set up motor & flaps on flight conditions with both operating on the throttle stick but switch operated. So I flick the switch one way and the stick operates the motor. When I want to land I flick the other way and the flaps work but not the motor. This does mean my flaps stick does work in the opposite direction but I can live with that.

Like my PSS Tiffy on its bombing run then

I bought one recently and TBH I haven't paid so much attention to the stickers to notice if they are wrong or not, and personally I wouldn't really care as it's a foam sport model and not a scalie, and I wouldn't notice the difference in the air anyway as it's flying past inverted or on knife edge. But I had no issues with my model, it appeared to be perfect straight out of the box, so I think you may have just been unlucky, or was I lucky?

The detail is amazing Phil!