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Too Windy - Go Slope Soaring


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Well that is two trips in 4 days as a result of the South Westerly winds and high temperatures for December, but cold on the slope nether the less. It was great to fly the old Flair Heron again and prove that the old Futaba M4 radio gear still functions! Come to think of it my Wildthing is getting on a bit as well and has been confined to my loft.

Very friendly group on the slope again today and some very good pilots!

Well done with the videos Pete!

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Should be three of us going on Saturday Burt - be there at 12 noon and pack up around 2 which should be enough to have some fun and not get too cold or perhaps blown away as the forecast id "interesting".

I have put loads of lead on the planes in the hope they still fly else I am sure to have a long walk to retrieve them from the bottom...

Please say hi to our little mad group if you come.

Regards Peter

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The old Futaba 27 mhz radio servo controlling the elevator in the Flair Heron now has a glitch and I don't think any of my other old servos will rotate in the right direction ? There is of course no servo reversal feature on old radio and swapping an old servo round will leave the snake connector too short. Perhaps after 30 years plus it is time to fit new radio to the plane?

Only the Wildthing 60 so far without ballast is in flying trim and do I want to drive 70 miles total to face the 40 mph gusts tomorrow when the family needs the Christmas tree erecting-only time will tell?

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Now listen Mike. I have already got the rope and with three of us roped together we are going nowhere - with two there could be a problem...

You cant duck out now - 30 to 40 mph winds have got to be fun and Bert (above) is going as well...

Getting battered has got to be a good story to share at the Christmas dinner table besides the Christmas tree they can put up for you!

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FLYING TODAY IN STORM DESMOND... Well Paul you missed out as a bunch of us have been flying today at Detling. Plenty of ballast required as you will see - I will be posting a series of pictures to show how many "nuts" like us turned up at the hill today - to do battle against Storm Desmond...

Watch this space. Regards Peter

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I was at the Orme on the same day as Andy. I managed to fly my lost foam fibreglass PSS Alpha Jet, which flew in the 80mph winds fine. I had some difficulty flying only because I could not stand up.

The biggest problem was that the wind was blowing sheep dung into your face. It was like pebble dash.

Simon Cocker and Andy Ellison were there with their lead sled Jarts (I am building one at the mo). They were wearing tight fitting goggles and flying on one knee to withstand the wind. Simon actually maidened his that day and spent 5 minutes winding down his control movements to cope with the wind - not much deflection needed in 89mph?

So, the models could take it but the humans couldn't stand up!

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WoW. I know the Great Orme is well known as a flying site but most people would cringe at flying in such conditions so I recon you lot deserve a medal flying 80 mph winds...

I wonder how many more will sign in to say where they flew - no matter what speed it got to the fact you were out in it will surely be worth posting here - it could advertise your activity in your area - more the merrier I recon...

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WoW. I know the Great Orme is well known as a flying site but most people would cringe at flying in such conditions so I recon you lot deserve a medal flying 80 mph winds...

I wonder how many more will sign in to say where they flew - no matter what speed it got to the fact you were out in it will surely be worth posting here - it could advertise your activity in your area - more the merrier I recon...

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Paul Hampshire of Slopesoaringsussex and myself headed off to Mill Hill, Shoreham by Sea on Saturday. There was only one other nutter there, trying to fly a Wildthing which was mostly being blown backwards in the 40 mph winds.

Paul was flying his NCFM M60 and me my Ron Broughton Polecat, neither of which were ballasted.

I have to say it was a lot of fun and I think we picked the right models for the day.

There is video on the Slopesoaringsussex blog for you to view. I did take some video with my hat cam, but because I had to wear ski goggles, I couldn't pull the front of my cap down far enough and most of the action was right at the bottom of the picture and often out of frame sad

Steve

A470Soaring

That's me on the left with my Polecat and Paul on the right with his M60

nutters.jpg

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Hi Both. I have to admit I was a bit surprised when we went sloping Desmond Saturday and found a bunch up the hill when we got there. As for your event you must have had some fun with them beasts - planes I have not seen before so your giving me something to look up on line as I would like a glider with better performance and although the ones I have are OK a bit more fun is required.

Did you stay long up there and what was the wind speed out of interest that your models flew in...

Regards Peter

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Hi Peter. We were up there for probably about 1½ hours, before hunger got the better of us and we headed to the pub for lunch.

My Polecat isn't available currently as I believe Ron Broughton is concentrating on his own modelling projects and not building for others. I was fortunate enough to have been given this model which I rebuilt.

However, NCFM (North Carolina Flying Machines) produce a few EPP kits which are strong, fast and can be fitted with ballast tubes. These are the Bluto, Moth, M60, Halfpipe & HP60 and are all available to order from T9Hobbysport .

My girlfriend is buying me one of the range for Christmas teeth 2

Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Well done Pete, it's not often these days when I could do with more wind!. I think it maybe time to dig out the old gliders with high aspect ratio wings to cope with the sort of conditions we had yesterday?

I have still got to get mud off my clothing but I drove home along the M26 and M25 in very heavy rain so most of the mud on my car acquired at Detling got washed off.

Shame about David Bowie , I was born the same year as him and I wish I had his style. So does my wife after seeing me dressed once again in the Balaclava and the Biggles hat!

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 11/01/2016 11:33:41

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 11/01/2016 11:34:16

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