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Lockdown 3 has eased, who's been flying?


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Well it was very blustery today.

But I so wanted to test my Mk2 Lidl Auto gyro I made so I flew my Mk1 Autogyro 1st well a couple of times and I struggled at times due to the blustery conditions.

One of our club members flew his fixed wing plane I was a little relived to see that he was also struggling with the conditions so it wasn't just me.

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And despite the conditions I felt the need to try the Mk2 version so I held it aloft to see if it was worth trying a test hop.

All seemed ok so I gave it a try, well it took off ok but seems sensitive in the roll or was it due to the side wind. That will have to wait for a better day.

 

Steve 

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Lovely day flying today, started at 9:01 and packed up at 14:27.  Successfully maidened the Ultrastick and pretty much burnt the last of my glow fuel.  Had forgotten how nice it is not to be constrained by flight batteries.... had also forgotten how many baby wipes I'd need!

 

Tomorrow looks good to use some electrons!

 

GG

Edited by GrumpyGnome
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Just shows you how wrong the weather predictions can be.

I had a great afternoons flying today with both my Autogyro.

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Flown these two all afternoon.

 

My Mk1 Lidl Autogyro I reduced the wingspan so now the Total wingspan is only 20 inch and it flies better although, it still does not track very well on the ground.

 

My Mk2 Lidl Autogyro also flies very well after I reduced the control throws for the roll down to 55% I also put 40% Expo on both the Roll and Pitch. 

To say I am a very happy man today is a under statement I used all my flight batteries and went home with no Brocken models.

Steve.   

 

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Saturday proved interesting - bright sun interspersed with snow! MetCheck predicted rainbows not snowbows.......

Today we had blizzards all morning and now gusty winds.

Tomorrow looks better and maybe an opportunity to add to the flying totals, and some members from slightly further afield coming

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Excellent second outing to the club field on a cold, but very sunny and bright day - quite a few turned up and had a nice time catching up in a loose socially distanced gaggle, we;ve all had our vaccines and everyone's looking forward to a good upcoming flying season. The strip had been cut, but had a dusting of slushy snow - so much so that my Su-26 picked up a load of ice on the wheels.
Some nice fast EDFs today amongst the usual models and a lovely little Hawker Tempest too. A very good morning's flying -and the Sukhoi seems to have gone back together just like new.
Preflight test discipline paid off again - last time out I benched the MiniEdge and replaced the jittery elevator servoin the workshop. This week the pre-flight picked up the reversed elevator and disaster was averted .

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The return to flying hasn't really affected me because of various reasons, the main one being that I hate the cold weather and don't enjoy feeling uncomfortable for the sake of it.

One thing that I do miss very much are the club meetings that have been impossible since the restrictions have been in place. I don't usually fly between October and April so the monthly indoor club meetings are important to me both socially and to keep up with general club 'doings'.

I'm not sure when I'll feel secure enough to go to a well attended indoor club meeting even with a full dose of jabs - AGMs have been packed to the gunnels in the past and as they usually take place in mid winter, are breeding grounds for colds and flu apart from anything else more sinister that might be lurking now.  I know we can't lock ourselves away from Covid for ever and all the signs are looking positive, but I wonder what others think.

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Fantastic morning here in the North East today if cold, very light wind made it flyable without chilling the fingers. At the field for nearly 3 hours but only 1 flight .... because it was club examiner test day and all went well. Thanks to John Stones for wishing me luck a few weeks back when I mentioned it was a post lockdown goal. Given the nice weather I was expecting an audience, but luckily they all stayed away.

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First proper flights at our new site today.  We're moving from the wide open spaces of a former WW2 airfield at Ashbourne to a grass farm site a few miles away and a several hundred feet lower.  The main difference is less wind but more trees as well as using grass runways instead of Tarmac/grass.  It's also a lot more civilised (there is an almost new toilet block) and mains electricity available.

 

I was feeling very, very nervous despite having had a few flights from a filed near home and numerous RealFlight sessions at home.  Has few flights with the Liddle Stik I built last year to get accustomed to the site and then dared to remaiden my old Flair SE5a with is new electric propulsion instead of an OS52 Surpass and 2.4gHz radio replacing the 35 Mhz  Micron I made when I first built it 20 odd year ago.  It flew 'straight off the board' as they say with no trims needed and is as docile as I remembered when I last flew it years ago. It also has a lot more power with its 4S LiPo and old XYH 5055 700 rpm/volt motor.  There's probably enough energy in a 4AH pack for 15 minute patrols over the trenches.  Very pleased with it.

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12 minutes ago, Dwain Dibley. said:

Well Done Geoff.  ?

D.D

 

Thanks, Dwain.  Now I'll have to pluck the courage to maiden my DB Sopwith Pup.  That, I know, will require firmly attached trouser clips though conditions similar to the ones we enjoyed today will help.  The Li'l Cub is getting dangerously close to completion, too!

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Good news all round!

 

Following on from Saturday and Sunday's blizzards, we've had a few glorious days once the morning frosts have gone. Sadly, I've had a gout attack and just look at the weather and feel sorry for myself!  Aiming for a return Friday, based on current 'toe recovery' trajectory.....

 

@Cuban8hopefully weather will warm up soon. I too feel nervous about 'gatherings' and am very slowly awakening from our enforced hibernations. I am taking very small steps!

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It’s been really nice to get out flying again albeit the last couple of weeks have seen strong Northerly winds blowing which have made for an interesting return to flying! Looking forward to tomorrow as the forecast is for lighter winds, but still on the cool side.

 

@Cuban8 I’m with you about shunning large, close gatherings so will bide my time and probably write this year off for those. Outdoor flying is fine as we can maintain distancing plus my club are sticking to a ‘Max 6’ rule for the time being. A small price to pay, methinks.

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In the meantime, I had my first thermal session yesterday, which was off-patch as our hill-top site isn't ideal and to avoid bungee-conflict with the power flyers!

 

My PuRES 2mRES was bought second-hand last year and re-covered with Oralight; for added lightness the carbon snakes were replaced with pull-strings and springs in the tail.  Took a couple of hours to re-trim, and get used again to its ultra-light gracefulness and re-acquire the necessary 'mindfulness' of working the air... and not stalling which costs 5-10m each time!  Still something of a beginner with this flat-field malarkey!  Finally, although there wasn't much thermal activity in the afternoon, I got a lovely ten-minute flight off an 80m launch (10m of bungee plus 50m line) around tea-time.

 

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