The next developement continues

 Polishing up a set of wing molds is not a quick or fun part of develping a new model. It could be a long job but I can't wait to see the result of these!

VR 98 the mythical slope delivers

  With the weather and Welsh winter league not coming together this month I had the chance to meet up with some mates on the VR98 slope.  It's one of the most famous slopes in the UK which can deliver some incredible racing and simply amazing sport flying.  Getting out of the car into the teeth of a stiff winter northerly I also remembered just how dam cold  a place it can be.

  I can't remember the last time I raced on this slope in conditions like this.  With extra layers donned it was to get the first model out of the car, I had offered the Dark Lord Dakin a fly of the Falcon at the Welsh open and so this was the first toy out.  I was pleased with my first flight- and then Greg took his turn- someone had added a rocket and she was screaming around.

  "She's got good carry" as Greg took the Falcon vertical again and screamed is down across the slope.  The Falcon is defiantly Dakin tested tough!

  My next flight I decided to try and copy the style Greg had so well demonstrated, a minute or so in and a monster thermal came through.  The Falcon was off and I flew the fastest course I've ever managed.  This was after Greg and Mark Passingham had done similarly, we all sheltered on the hill with grins like Cheshire cats!

  The Falcon again had me leaving the slope amazingly happy.  But the next race- it will be so tempting to race the Falcon.  I think the 100inch span is about as small as I'd like to get a model like this, at a ballasted 3.5kg she certainly delivers!

it was interesting to see a Needle 100 on the slope.  It didn't fly unfortunately.  

 

Winter project

 I love a good winter project, plenty of time to think of some new ideas and ponder older ones.

Just for the fun of flying

 

  Flying is by no means all about racing.  Saturday was a great day to get out with 2 favourite toys, meet up with some mates ad fly.

  This is something that makes up a huge part of my enjoyment of flying.  The Harrier is like putting on an favourite pair of shoes, just feeling familiar and totally trusted.

  What is possibly becoming my favourite model is the 100 inch Falcon.  With excellent performance she is certainly the quickest and most responsive model I have flown in a long time.  As I enjoyed the week winter thermals I found myself pondering if it would out perform the Wizard compacts I loved for so many years.

  It was great to hear the comments from the other flyers about the models looks (I have to get some better looking tape) and build quality but also it's flying performance.  I was left coming away from the slope with a huge grin on my face- again!

I decided to measure and up-date the falcon settings in the build notes.  The Falcon's lightweight wings mean that they respond well to lower throws on the ailerons.

Simply joyful at Micky's

   What a day on micky's! Sometimes writing about a days flying is best done after thinking about it but the buzz from flying a great slope on a sunny day is something so good to have. 

  Although I couldn't make the race this weekend, the prospect of flying and setting up my Harrier wasn't going to be missed.  Pumping wasn't giving me much but on the edge the Harrier just grooved. It's nice to have a model that you can almost deliberately speed up and slow down by taking the turns differently. 

   It's so much easier when there's no buzzer and your thumbs are relaxed!

  I have got into the habit of only flying 1 model each time I fly. But the Falcon just kept looking at me. The falcon in these conditions was just pure joy and fun to fly. It feels quicker than the larger Harrier, if not faster against the clock. For pure fun and enjoyment I cant think of anything to top the Falcon today. 

Welsh Open

  

  What a weekend, the Welsh open never fails to deliver a fantastic weekend of good company.  This year’s race was 3 days of seeing some top draw flying that was like a mast class at times.  The first obvious lesson was don’t turn up to the race tired, damaged models and poor flying will most likely follow- In my case the pre-production Harrier I have enjoyed for nearly 18 months was cartwheeled on fight 1.

  The day did allow my to sit and watch some stunning examples of EM turn flying, particularly from the Austrian team.  With some brain picking the weekend really did turn out to be an educational experience.  The delay in the day 2 start allowed me to test fly my first production Harrier and that was it- I wasn’t going to put it down for the weekend.  With the stock set up, my times started to come down and scores up.  This continued through day 3 and some respectable flying showed how

  The typically thermic conditions gave everyone a chance of a good run but as always the better pilots just seem to make that bit more of what ever they get- regardless of style, model or slope.  Flying EM turns certainly seems to give more air speed but further travelled, when compared to the straight lines flown by many British pilots.

  A great weekend, well run by Kevin and the SWSA team.  Now to practise those turns!

Back to portland

 The Whitesheet club's 24th scale day of the year inspired me to return to Portland for the first time in many years and the first time with my Harriers. 

  It's my first trip to the sea side for a while and the Portland cliffs were an enticing site. With the prospect of racing off the wrecker next week it felt a good choice. 

  I don't think that I'd fancy self launching a design without the Harrier's fuselage to grip onto. But with a landing spot chosen and ballast added she was soon away and ripping the edge.

 The predictability that come from a model I've flown for well over a year really helped to put the harrier in the compression more often than not.  And that made it fast and fun!

  A walk on chisel beach on the way home with 2 scratch free models helped me smile all the way!