Pheonix descends to the Ashes (Or were they willows?)

‘A’ Dave had been flying his Pheonix 2000 in his usual competent manner for some time on a dark, windy Autumn day. (Sunday 23rd October 2016 to be precise)  He decided it was time for a landing. The wind was from the hedge side of the field (the east!) and so Dave decided to bring the Pheonix in over the river end – you know – where those tall ash trees are! (or are they elm?)  Later in the day Dave was heard to say that if only he had flown a bit higher he would have missed the trees!  (This is clearly in the same league as football pundits who say ‘If only the ball had gone in to the net it would have been a goal!)

20161023_135959-600x1067Careful observation and good eyesight were required to see the Phoenix, but there was no doubt that it was stuck high up in the trees. After an hour or so of waiting for the wind to blow the Pheonix down, a decision was made to take action! A search party, Dave, Mel and Chris, hiked in to a field on the far side of the river 20161023_140120-1067x600Alne in order to get closer to the Phoenix.

This attracted the attention of Farmer David and his assistant who turned up with a large tractor!

‘A’ Dave had brought the club poles with him, but it was pretty clear that they wouldn’t get anywhere near the Pheonix.

Ideas were running a bit thin, when Farmer Dave asked if it would help if he cut the tree down! Everyone agreed that this was a good idea, so off he went to get a chain saw. On his return his assistant started cutting with ‘A’ Dave closely watching the proceedings!20161023_140754-1067x600

 

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A couple of minutes later the tree came crashing to the ground and all eyes searched the ground for the errant Pheonix.

 

 

Even after the fallen timber had been cleared there was no sign of the Phoenix!

Unfortunately, the Pheonix seemed to like being high up in the trees and had merely moved from the felled tree in to one that was still standing. If anything it seemed to be higher up and more firmly entangled in the branches.20161023_140816-1067x600

Dave got his transmitter and tried  to fly it out of the trees, but even after much advice and practical help from colleagues, some of which was useful, the Pheonix was still well and truly stuck!20161023_142047

So there it was left! The hope is that it will come to earth on its own over the next few days. The Pheonix might fall from the ashes. (or are they birch?)

 

If you look towards the Alne from the flying strip, you might see a gap where a tree was cut down in order to retrieve ‘A’ Dave’s Pheonix. It must have been an ash tree, surely?

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Sloping and floating off the Great Orme.

I stopped off at the Great Orme on my way back from a bike trip to Scotland to see a hardy bunch of SMFC slopers, and I was glad I did!

On Sunday 8th May the weather started damp, but gradually improved throughout the day to such an extent that when I got home I was chastised severely for not applying any form of protection from the sun!

However, on to the sloping!

First the participants assembled as per instructions:

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Dave was planning to fly a new (old) model he had just completed! He was given ample support and encouragement by all, including Adrian who was to be test pilot for the maiden flight!:

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Eventually, after much procrastination it was time to fly. Again help was on hand , and after some concern about the flexibility of the wings, the model was thrown in to the sky:

 

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Where it flew rather well!

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To say Dave was happy would be a massive understatement!

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However, despite his massive experience, the test pilot was rather put off by the multiple announcements of ‘RSSI Critical’ which kept being issued by Dave’s transmitter. Adrain had never heard anything like it in all his flying days, and therefore was keen to get the model back to land where the problem could be investigated.

The model was landed undamaged, no small feat on the rocky surface of the Great Orme, and the best minds on the Orme offered more advice and guidance to Dave who was rather perplexed!

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Despite all the skills and experience available to Dave, his model didn’t fly again that day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, Mel was quietly going about his hobby with the usual enthusiasm:P1030333

 

Later in the day, an observant flyer noticed that Tony had wondered off on his own somewhere.

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Apparently he had lost sight of his model and had gone off to look for it .

Some time later there was a cry of ‘There it is!’ followed by many hands pointing towards the sea!

Sure enough, the model was spotted in the Irish Sea and appeared to be making its way around the headland!

 

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Despite Tony describing his glider as a ‘floater’, I’m sorry to have to report that currently there have been no reports of further sightings. We will have to assume the worst!

Another enjoyable day’s sloping with SMFC!

Thanks to all!

Haresfield – A Breeze!

Once more a band of intrepid SMFC slopers braved the elements and this time travelled to Haresfield Hill on Monday 25th January 2016 for a spot of time wasting slope soaring.

To say it was a bit breezy would be to slightly understate the case. For example, Campervan Dave volunteered to launch Le Fish for Adrian:

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He was given clear instructions about where to launch, in which direction to chuck it and where he would end up if he didn’t get it right!;

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Campervan Dave trudged off to the appointed place to attempt a launch, battling against the breeze all the way:

 

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He steadied himself, braced against the breeze, and was about to launch (notice the lost headgear!):

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When a sudden gust caught the underside of Le Fish’s wing and:

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Campervan Dave went fin over wing and ended up on the ground.

However, Campervan Dave doesn’t give up easily and aided by a band of helpers, eventually managed to get Le Fish airborne:

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Proper ‘seat of your pants’ flying – well, launching at least!

 

Great day! Thanks to all who made it fun!

Plane Crush!

It is with some surprise and a little sadness  that I have to report the first plane crush at the SMFC flying field in living memory!

It happened last Sunday, 1st November when Tony C. performed an act of enthusiastic parking, probably encouraged by the beautiful weather, and failed to spot Campervan Dave’s Trainstar next to his campervan.

Words were exchanged and deals were struck. Needless to say, the Trainstar didn’t fly that day! It remains to be seen if Tony can perform a minor miracle and repair the damage done, or if the Trainstar is consigned to the great runway in the sky!

Other than that, it was a stunning day!

Two Mynds!

MyndAfter thinking that slope soaring was difficult because getting to the slope was time consuming, I find that I have been tempted up the Long Mynd twice in a week!

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The same hard core of intrepid soarers from SMFC that tempted me up the Orme (In my last posting!) also tempted me up the Long Mynd.

 

 

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WhatOn the first visit, Friday 22nd May, the slope was shared with a rather large group of other soarers with some rather large gliders.

Although at times there was some uncertainty as to what they were doing up the Mynd!

 

 

planesMel2The SMFC corner was well guarded by Mel, who took the opportunity to reprogram his transmitter.

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t only Mel who needed to make adjustments-d2

 

 

 

 

Adrian decided that the half brick he had inserted into the nose of his Sabre which he bought at an (WI?) auction was a bit much.sabre2

However, despite many efforts to get it airborne it was determined to return to earth in a most un-Sabre like way.

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On the next visit to the Mynd (28th May) the weather wasn’t quite so bright, but the wind was stronger, which is good apparently, and there weren’t as many people up the slope. However, there were many more full sized gliders in the air, as the Midlands Gliding Club further along the ridge was having a Vintage Glider Club Rally. At one stage there were 12 gliders in the air at the same time. Quite a sight.
Not to be outdone, Adrian decided to take out another house brick from the front of his Sabre, and with another sturdy launch from Campervan Dave it actually stayed up in the air!P1020782 It flew very well and looked great in the sky!Flying Sabre

 

 

I don’t know what the gliders from the Midland gliding club thought about it, but they seemed reluctant to come near after it flew!

Flying conditions stayed good, although the wind was quite cool at times. Much soaring was done, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I certainly did! Thanks to all who helped make both trips such fun!

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