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First outing on the slopes


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WOW!!
After 3 years of ic power flight flat field flying I got a cularis for xmas, put a motor in it maidened it from our flat field site yesterday and a couple of the club members invited me to fly from the slopes today
So arrangements made flask filled and car loaded of I went
I managed to find the site ok and hooked up with the guy from yesterday who were very helpful i watched a couple of flights then took the plunge.
bearing in mind that my normal flight times are about 10/15 mins with power my first flight off the slope was 20 mins with 4 min of motor run what a buzz.
 
I had four flights in about 5 hours all of them about 20 mins long and all on one battery.
 
I had a wonderful day on the purbeck hills thanks to all the guys today who made me feel very welcome I'm now looking for a better power glider dont get me wrong the cularis is great but I know I will want something better shortly as I'm now hooked.
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Thanks for your support guys I dont know if I can really afford another sting to my bow but if needs must the kids will have to go hungry again never know I might even get the caravan out and venture up timbos neck of the woods and check out the infamous orme if I can stand the cold being a true south dorset born south dorset breed southerner and all
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I'm mostly a power flyer - both f/wing and helis,  but last year I thought I'd have a look at what this slope soaring thing was all about. 
 
To be honest, I felt slightly guilty... For almost 20 years I'd lived about 10 or 15 minutes from a reasonble slope - yet I'd never set foot on it!    A couple of our club members occasionally mentioned flying there,  and I discovered that one of our heli-flying members had recently taken up slope soaring.  So one Sunday morning I went along for a look.  (You may have seen the video I took that morning posted somewhere on the forum.)  I returned home and spent the rest of the day looking through my pile of old free magazine plans for something I cold fly there.
 
That was November last year and the weather has conspired to keep me off the slope much of the time.  The local slope handles SE to SW winds.  Another nearby slope does WSW to WNW,  but there's nothing nearby for the northerly winds that we've been getting much of the time this winter.
 
Eventually I had my first flight at Thurnham,  though conditions there weren't brilliant.  I've flown a couple of times since then at my local slope (Colley Hill) including my longest ever flight with any model, last Saturday, 65mins.  I also tried the other local slope the following day when the wind had swung round to the west.
 
As for "affording another string to my bow" (as inspector 9566 mentioned) well at least the fuel used by the glider is free!  Though that may be offset somewhat by the higher cost of petrol to get to more distant slopes when the wind's in the "wrong" direction!
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  • 4 weeks later...
I started flying 7 years ago.  My first plane was a Hobbyzone Aerobird.   I joined a club and had a great time.  But when it was too windy to fly I was very frustrated.  Then I read about this thing called slope soaring.
 
I asked the guys in the club if they knew of anyone in the area who flew slope.  The response was no, too flat where I live.  No use in looking.
 
Well, I worked the forums till I found a guy in my area who flew slope. We met and he showed me how it works. 
 
My Aerobird became my first slope plane.   What a blast!
 
Then I got a Zagi wing.   OMG, I was totally addicted.   I had to land after 90 minutes because the battery on my radio ran too low.  I immediately ordered larger batteries.
 
Today I fly pure and electric planes and gliders on the slope.  I toss out my DLGs when the lift is light.  And I have tossed off a 3M glider when the conditions were right.
 
I love slope soaring!  Glad to hear you have become addicted.  Nice to know I am not alone. 
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Thak you all, im not the only one to have suddenly "found gliding", broke my duck good friday with a patched up x-it my mate gave me at xmas, plugged in the mp3 player, gave it a heave and didnt stop flying for nearly two hours, bright sun, wispy cirrus cloud, and some truly inspiring tunes, true heaven!, came home cold but with a wind burn as good as a tan, (so thats why the wife is so keen on joining me next time wont ever give up piston power, but this is somthing else, would normally look at the forecast and grumble, now im praying for a gale!!
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Alex good to hear you had a great time is the mp3 player so you dont have to listen to the wife hehe
its a shame but I havent had time to get out on the slopes again as ive been to busy converting me fleet from ic to lecky so lots of time in the work shop modding bodys to take lipos trying to find room for battery trays and hatches ect ect.
spent a fortune with giant cod on batterys/escs/ubecs I even treated myself to a couple of  these Oooow its like xmas over again now wheres that postman.
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Welcome to the world where everything is downhill
Ive been flying for 46 years now and slope for around 25 of them
I now only fly pure slope but the range of aircraft I fly goes from your light thermal
(on the slope its Slermal) machines to 15 KG PSS aircraft  . Its an addiction and thats a fact ,and a bad day on the slope is better than a good day at work . I travel quite extensivley for flying slopes in Australia in fact from 1 end of the country to the other and its worth every mile to get that first flight on a new site . So now your hooked just wait till you try DSing the equation for that is DS + $ =
 
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Posted by Tom Foreman on 01/04/2010 08:18:34:
Your not alone Ed, there is a dark underbelly of mischievous slopers hanging around here!
 
Tom
 
 
 I consider slope flyers to be among the finest people around.
 
Now, those dynamic soaring types .... ah, they have turned to the dark side of the FORCE!

Edited By Ed Anderson on 08/04/2010 12:46:19

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My introduction to R/C flying was via the slope around 1976 and it has always been my favourite type of flying. I have to admit that I spent a few years flying mostly power models on a flat field with just a few forays to the slope when the farmer wanted us to stay off the field and let the grass grow for a hay crop.
 
I used to advocate that everyone should start with gliders, as I did,  and thus not be scared of the dreaded "dead stick" landing but have become more selfish in my dotage and want to keep the slopes to myself and a couple of friends.
 
Planned session for yesterday was rained off and today would have been perfect. I'm hoping that the conditions will last until Monday as that's the earliest I can manage to go again.
 
Malcolm

Edited By Malcolm Fisher on 08/04/2010 20:10:14

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