Gliders > Slope Soaring
Slope maiden
joe:
Hiya Chris
Like the pics.Get into gliding and find a perfectly good slope around the corner.How good is that!
I know the feeling.I remember being so excited by my first few slope flights.Just be careful.It's very addictive :D
Welcome to the board and the ISR!
Thanks for writing the blog.If only i could get the rest of them to right one!
cvanscho:
Thanks for the kind responses, guys!
I've been lucky enough to fly at that slope a few more times, and am very pleased to find that, although it faces south-westerly, it works great in a westerly as well! Must be something to do with the valley that channels the wind. I have also been up there (sans plane) to check and it seems the southerlies also work well! Am I a lucky puppy or what?? :D I can also report that the trees are a bit of a problem though(guess how I found that out?).
Another slope near Currow (Townland = Currowross) that I spotted some time ago (actually spotted it from the air - we were doing some aerial photography for work) has also been tried out. South westerlies only, but there are no trees, and the wind strength seems to be identical to the Valentia reports (I luckily have a decent windmeter bought for windsurfing). It can also be accessed by car all the way to the top, and the lady who owns the land is fine with the use for gliding. I have photos but don't know how to post them on this forum.
What I'm finding now is that the wind here tends to be all or nothing, and I need a glider better suited to the "all" conditions :lol:. I've loaded up the EasyPro with ballast, but there are limits to the penetration that can frame can achieve before it just becomes a foam rock :( . I would welcome suggestions for a suitable model. (It must look like a plane though, I'm not a fan of flying wings).
Cheers
:wink: Chris
Wight:
You'll need a "crunchie" plane for "all conditions most likely. Most EPP airframes aren't efficient enough for high wind. As you're finding by the time you ballast up to penetrate the thing flies like a brick! You need a better lift/drag ratin and that means a nice clean airframe. Lot's of good models in that category. I'd go for a kit as you learn to build and then you'll know how to fix it to some extent when (not if, when!) you break it.
Plenty of decent slope planes about. You want something in the 2m wingspan range I'd suggest. Chris Foss Middle Phase is a real classic slope glider. Built up fuse and foam wing so it's not overwhelming as a first project. Very nice handling model, good efficiency and able to take you through most manouveres.
C'mon guys, help the man with suggestions here! :)
Edit: I see the 60" machine you're looking at as a candidate, would certainly be fast but 60" in high wind is going to be quite the handfull I'd feel. all feel free to disagree of course. :)
cvanscho:
Wight
Thanks very much for the tips, much appreciated!
I hear what you say about EPP. There seem to be one or two EPP models that may be a bit more efficient than most, such as the Redback by DezzaNet in OZ (http://www.dezzanet.com.au/), the U2 Dragonlady or even the Banshee from Tuff Planes http://www.tuffplanes.com/Products.html), and the EPP version of the Jart from Leading Edge Gliders (http://www.leadingedgegliders.com/). I'm really not too sure about the Pheonix Model Products planes - they look a bit lacking in streamlining to me, but then I'm going by looks only, which may be really unfair!
I do really like the look of the Chris Foss Middle Phase, and the Phase 6. I actually bid on a Middle Phase kit on fleabay, but was pipped at the post with that one! The only thing is I suppose I am trying at this stage of my training to stay away from crunchies!
I may be completely new at slope flying, but I do have a bit of experience (including building pure balsa kits), having come from helis to various electric planes and gliders, to slope, so no problem with repairs there!
So I gather that you recommend generally bigger wingspans for higher winds? That would be important information for me, as I was tending to look at around 60" (and even smaller), mainly because that local slope near my house is so small, and is also quite steep climb up the side, and a small plane is easy to carry whilst acting like a goat! I have a new S2G ASW 28 (3.4m span) kit in the loft that I was keeping for better (i.e. more skilled) days, maybe I should haul that out now?? I wonder what type of winds she will handle?
Has anyone any knowledge of the Thorn? That looks really efficient, and as tough as nails, plus it comes pre-ballasted! See http://www.planeinsanemodels.com/prototype.htm. I have a full workworking workshop, so I'm right at home with the material! The flying Hurley just looks so damn dangerous! It looks like a radical concept, but I have to admit it's on my shortlist, being "only" EUR 139 landed here.
Then, another idea, right out of left field, is to look for a nice jet model. Ther'e generally fast and efficient in shape, are they not?
Any other comments would be most welcome.
:D Chris
Fred:
Hi Chris,
In the 60" range, you have the Destiny !
Very good glider, with a big range of flight conditions, from thermal flight to very windy days.
http://www.gliderireland.net/destiny.htm The day of the pictures, no wind at all (and no thermals), but in one launch, that allow you to go around twice and land.. Not bad at all !
Will be my first choice in this type of glider (maybe alongside the Freddy or Hallowen.. :-k )
The Redback is also a very good model, EPP or ODR version, both are very good models too.
I have recovered a Phase 6, so I will tell you more on that one after I flew it, but that look like a pretty good model too for what you are looking for.
After that, you can go PSS :D Joe have a few plans (including the U2 one) if you want to scratch build :D
I flew the S2G ASW28, and you can fly in almost any conditions, the only problem, depending on your slope configuration, will be the landing, not that is difficult to land (the bigger the easier ! :D ) but you need space ! If you have the space to fly bigger models, well, you already have the ASW, so I'll go for it ! And you buy a Destiny or else for all the other days ! :D
Fred
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