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Are you an active slope soarer?


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I usually try to get out 2 or 3 times a week when the weather is ok, this evening looks good for the first trip this year to the Purbecks !

It will be interesting to find out if my new knee can cope with the hill !

r.

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Learned to fly on the slopes of S.Wales in the 60's with a Veron Impala...should have called it Impaler the number of times I stuck it in the ground.smiley

Slope soaring was 99% of my airtime until 2000, when I was gradually lured to the spark side. My new years resolution (again) is to get back to the slopes. and I still have my gliders so maybe this year.

r

 

 

Edited By ron evans on 04/05/2016 14:09:03

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I tend to fly slope when the wind is too strong for power flying and have only really been into it properly for just over a year now. As a model builder I have recently got interested in the PSS side of slope soaring as it means I can build some of my favourite jets without having to go down the ugly EDF route (or the expensive turbine route)

One thing I'm still learning is gauging the amount of lift available and where it is. With power flying this simply watts or engine size but with a slope it seems dependant on many factors like wind speed, slope gradient and shape etc! All exciting stuff and I kinda feel like a novice again! laugh

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This is worth a poll on its own, I know a few camp sites in the area - it would be interesting to see just how much interest for this idea there would be.. Late September would probably be a good time if we needed to book a complete camp site

M

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmmm .... I'm on the 'once in a blue moon' side. I've been a member of MMSA for 3 years and only flown there 3 times ! Mainly because it's an 80 mile round trip, and often the wind strength/direction forecast have not always been favourable when I was free to go, it's a long way to go just to turn up and find there's hardly a breath of wind to even blow the seed heads off a dandelion !

Fortunately I've just read on the MMSA website that they now allow 'power assisted gliders. Having a power assisted glider will now make all the difference between a wasted journey and being able to fly, with power assisted I should even manage to get enough height to catch a thermal or two ! So thank you MMSA, and hopefully I will have more trips to the slope.

laughthumbs up

Ronaldo

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Posted by Ronaldo on 26/05/2016 21:12:11:

Hmmm .... I'm on the 'once in a blue moon' side. I've been a member of MMSA for 3 years and only flown there 3 times ! Mainly because it's an 80 mile round trip,

laughthumbs up

Ronaldo

80 miles?? Ouch! I used to do that to race RC off road, as there was nothing local, but decided the cost was too high.

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I answered once a month, as that is probably closest to what it averages out to, though I don;t get to the slope nearly as often as I would like to.

I've only been sloping for a couple of years, first envisaged as something to do when the wind was too strong for flat field flying, but instantly found the change in discipline to be fascinating, and it incorporates a bit of exercise too, which is very virtuous. The feel of riding the air and getting a flight for free, without needing any other motive force, is exhilarating and more of a challenge than flat field sports flying. If you haven't tried it yet, I thoroughly recommend having a go - nobody is more than 50 miles from a suitable slope in the UK.

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With a suitable model like a DLG, Alula, or other light powered or unpowered glider (HK have a few and cheap DLGs) you can have fun and get a slope fix on quite small ridges that you might find not too far away or even around town. This activity has come to be called suburban soaring and you can hunt out prospective slopes on Google Earth or by keeping your eyes peeled when you are out and about. It's always a good idea to seek out the owner of the land and ask permission to fly there - we have to do that by law in NZ.

I found this one in a new subdivision just 5 minutes away from me (best to click on the Vimeo icon and watch it there)

 

 

 

Edited By KiwiKid on 29/05/2016 23:20:10

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Posted by Justin K. on 30/05/2016 08:33:13:
Posted by leccyflyer on 29/05/2016 11:59:02:

nobody is more than 50 miles from a suitable slope in the UK.

Really ? I think the good people of East Anglia would disagree with that.

And they would be wrong to do so, since you need nothing more than a sea wall, or a minor tump to be able to slope soar the models shown in the previous post.. IF you can paraglide there, you can slope soar there and this chap seems to be having some success.

http://cefn.com/blog/hill_search_ipswich.html

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