Not racing but great flying

   It's a fantastic problem to have but with Emma at a pre competition camp I just couldn't make it to the euro tour race at the H of H. I did still have the opportunity to spend the day on the Mynd flying the Saker and Falcon.

  Flying is much more than racing so the chance to have 2 days flying was so much fun.  The Saker was as much fun and as fast as I expected. Waiting for the thermals before you start ripping about males F3F runs so easy. Practicing my thermalling between runs was the variation that keeps UK racing fun.

  The Falcon was a massive blast from the past. I've been flying the wyverns for the past couple of years but this doesn't make the Falcon less fun.  I just love this model when it gets on 'step'. Everything clicks, the controls sharpen and she goes so nicely.

F3F round 3

 

  Whitesheet has always been a slope where I enjoy sports flying, you can fly for a week and no 2 flights ae the same.  When we all arrived at Sunday’s race we all hoped that we would be the one that got the elusive thermal and leave the sink to the next guy.  This week I was that next guy!

  F3F models look very different in different air it’s easy to overlook the effect of this and blame your model or set up, despite those 2 elements combining so well in the weeks leading up to the race.  My only chance of good air was dashed as the race was paused for 10 minutes whilst the thermal moved through the course in front of me- sometimes its just not going to be your day.

  Seeing John flying his Saker and Wyvern into 3^rd place does help to remind me of the models performance and success.  It gives me a huge amount of pleasure to see my design going so well.  It also helped to stop me from messing with my own set up.

  Mark Redsell is in a different league this year and even in these conditions he delivered round after round.  Well flown Mark- that’s the way to do it!

Summer evenings

  The longer evenings have given slope dog and me a chance to enjoy some smooth air flying with Saker and Wyvern.

  Definitely good for the blood pressure! I've said before how relaxing the predictable behaviour of the Saker is.  But it doesn't stop me enjoying myself!

A tail of 2 weekends

   It's been a hectic week catching up after my weekend at the nationals.  3 days in glorious sunshine with some excellent company reminded me of many of the non flying reasons I compete.

  It certainly wasn't my results or luck! We knew that the air would drop off each day to very light conditions. But the organisers had the course up and running each day on time and you can't ask more than that.

  After 10 rounds the top of the field were sorting themselves out and it was no suprise to see Mark Resell taking the trophy. My own weekend was summed up by my near land out at the end of day 1. But I've only myself to blame for the cut on day 2 that cost me a couple of places.

  You have to have some luck on weekends like that but you also have to know your model to recognise the good air and make use of it. 

  I switched from Saker to Wyvern as the air got lighter. This weekend in 35mph winds I did the same, but for ground handling.  As a club mate commented 'if I only had 1 model it would be one of those'.

  This weekend I was with club mates on whitesheet with the thermals swinging the wind around the lift was variable but unlike the week before I could wait for the air to come on before the full hooligan flying could commence.

  It was good to see a number of pilots flying a range of models.  Models such as the Baudis Pitbull don't get any slower just because they aren't in production anymore.

  I have spent the last few months working on reducing the weight at the extremities of my designs.  The improvement in performance and handling has been noticeable. Perhaps it was this that made me notice the different philosophy shown in models such as the 2m Tocatta and 2.5m version.

  Just fun flying

Weekend on the Mynd

  A weekend flying light winds and occasion thermals is very different to some of the racing weekends we've enjoyed recently.  Comparing the 2 types of flying is a little unfair. There's a huge amount of pleasure to be taken from each.  I'm lucky to have some fantastic models that excel in a huge range of conditions. 

  Theres less room in the car as the family and their bags grow but the Falcon and Wyverns don't take up much room.

  2 days of flying gave me the chance to meet up with Mike Evans and share some company.

 

  2 days flying does mean I had plenty of time to play with the settings of both the Falcon and Wyvern. Its been a good time since I flew a Falcon.  It's a different model to the Wyvern, the broader cord and thicker section give a more buoyancy feeling model.  Both can be reactive and a huge amount of fun, the versatility of these models is part of their attraction, there's not many days when they're not the best model for the conditions.

  Good flying and good fun

Champion of Champions 2025

 

  Over it’s 15 years the Champion of champions race has become one of the highlights of the racing season for me.  Never because of my own performance but 2 days of top class racing by some of the best pilots in the UK (and now Switzerland).  This year’s race saw some incredible piloting on 2 days that showed the different skills of the pilots.

  Saturday’s conditions built from fast to ballistic as the winds increased to 63mph as we wrestled our models back into the cars.  John showed just what the Saker could do in these conditions as he carved the sky up.  John, like the other pilots in the top 5 showed how to race by collecting the buzzes rather than waiting and turning.  Those of us waiting for the buzz just showed how rusty we are.

  Sunday and as the wind fell the sun came out on the Ice cream slope.  A slope with little or no edge and one where I found it almost impossible to spot the bases.  Mark Redsell continued his dominant performance, the sun seemed to energise John Philips and his decision to race the Wyvern looked inspired.  Energy carried, buzzes collected and round wins starting to come.  The Wyvern looked more and more to be a great summer racing model, the slightest hint of good air and she showed no need for ballast as she tor off.

  Huge congratulations to Mark on his win and John for a well deserved podium for Team Saker, just kept from second by Paul Garnett.  Just about everyone left the slope with a grin and a bit more of a tan than we started the weekend with.  Thank you to the guys who got and kept the show on the road.

Some great days out

 After a frustrating few months where everyone has almost been convinced that good racing conditions just don't happen any more.  This week I've been able to get 2 days on the back of the Wrecker and then the Crest.

  In the lighter air the new lay ups of both the Saker and the Wyvern have delivered a real step up in turning performance.

  The Saker remains just easy to fly and carve all day.  With the heavier weight that the Saker fly's at, it was cutting through the airs variations with very little skill needed from my thumbs.

  Today as the wind built I was really pleased to have the easier ground handling of the smaller Wyvern.  I used my original Wyvern wings that are 120g heavier than the wings we are now producing.  But with the turns opened out the speed built really nicely.  Those heavier wings made flying the Crest's compression so easy and so much fun.