Weekend away at the Mynd

  It's not often that driving round after the family fits in so well with a trip too the slope.  With Emma having a full day at Lillieshall I had the time to enjoy a sunny few hours on the Mynd.  It's been a good few years since I drove up the steep road that climbs to the top of the big old lump that is the Mynd.

  There was more wind than I expected at the top.  Not a gale but a steady 6-12mph and glorious sunshine.

  I did my usual trick and carried 2 models across to the slope but I only ended up flying the Falcon.  It feels a light weight model and very responsive to lift and thermals.  When the lift did come through, some smooth flying had the Falcon scooting around very nicely and carrying the energy very very well.  I was enjoying it too much to switch to the Harrier before the wind died off.

  It was great to meet up with Andy Burgoyne to see some great flying with his freestyler and excellent company.  A lovely day out and I'm looking forward to the next trip out.

 

English Open weekend

   A fun weekend's flying with the Harriers.  I've not been able to make any league comps for a good few years but a 2 day comp close to home was one to make.  Day 1 was cancelled and so I had the chance to fly Beer cliffs.  A stunning place to fly with 400ft vertical cliffs and a steady breeze. But as prep for Whitesheet it wasn't the best!

  Whitesheet's thermal lottery was always going to be a challenge.  The organisation from the club managed to squeeze 10 rounds in and give everyone the chance of at least 1 good flight.  Once I remembered where the bases were I was really pleased with the pace of the Harrier between the bases.  When my good air did come (round 9) she was away and screamed around the course to set the 2nd fastest time of the day.

  My eventual 10th is the second time in 2 comps that the Harrier has delivered this year, after the Nationals.  Looking at the other models on show it's clear that there's more than 1 way to set up and fly each model.  The Pike Precision 2 was a good example, Mike Shelim had his set up really nicely and and when the lift came he delivered some very impressive times.

  A few weeks to the Welsh open any my next comp.

Dusting off the Harrier

  Between kids holidays and having so much fun flying the Falcon for he last few week's I realised that with the English open thermal lottery next week it was about time I got the Harrier going again.

  Sunday was Whitesheet's open slope day and it was fantastic to see so many modellers arriving at the hill with an array of toys.  Rusty? oh yes! but its wasn't long before I was wondering why I fly anything other than the Harrier- this is possibly why I always seem to take 2 models and just fly 1 when I go flying.

  I see that flightech have received their latest batch of Harriers.  It won't be long before there'll be more of these in the skys!

Summer evenings

  Starting work again has meant that trips to the slope have been more restricted lately.  But some summer evening fly shouldn't be turned down when you get the chance.  The Falcon has been the model that has come with me on just about every trip.  Forget the the Harrier did so well in the nationals, I'm just loving the Falcon.  Where as the Harrier I love putting the ballast in, the Falcon seems to feel better with a lower wing loading.

  I really do enjoy a 100inch model, a lovely size for glide performance and agility as well as being able to centre on small pockets of lift. 

    Summer evenings, flying until the light goes are a special part of flying that I really enjoy.  The  antidote to that storm flying in the winter wearing 3 jumpers.

Harrier goes electric

 I've been sent details of Guillaume's excellent blog.  He's taken a Harrier and electrified it.  This is something that I have very little knowledge about and so I wouldn't want to make any recommendations of my own.

Harrier build log (guillaumeplayground.net)

It's great to see someone taking the Harrier and having fun with it, this is the whole point of this flying game!

Falcons in the sunshine

   After a great weekend at the nationals, the light winds and sunshine tempted me out to whitesheet with the Falcons. I had my blue fuselage model to maiden, a great excuse to get out. Team tea bag were, of course, there. 

  With the usual conversations going on about 'this model fly in up to 10mph then I'll get the next model from the car' I couldn't help to remember that this was the falcon that I had screaming around the crest in 40mph. 

  Dry, the harrier are spritely models and I've been dialling back the ailerons when in 'speed mode' to reduce the drag. It's light weight really helps it circle up in the summer thermals. I've not done much playing with reflex but having a lovely time learning. 

Weekend at the nationals

 Racing on Micky's is something I've not enjoyed for a long time and racing in the sunshine on Micky's feels like such a rare thing.  Combined with catching up with some old friends and life was good!  There was enough of a breeze that you were unlikely to land out but the warm sunshine generated a regular cycle of ballistic thermals and sticky sink, perhaps my first flight summed this up, a 68 run followed by such an epic thermal whilst I was going to land that my Harrier was climbing with the CROW out.

  For the last year I have been loving flying my Harrier and that's meant a lot of air time.  Until you're up against the clock and other models on the same slope you're never quite sure just how quick the model is.  After Saturday's racing I feel that we have proved what we already knew- if you have the lift you will go fast, if not you won't.  Having flown the Harrier for a good number of hours I felt prepared to react to lift coming and going during a run and reacting to this.  It became clear that those other pilots flying 1 model were generally in a similar position.

  Those switching models in order to try and attract a thermal seemed to do less well.  I was really pleased with the rounds where the Harrier ended up in 2nd/3rd and 5th position but just about all the runs felt settled and straight.  The Harrier was just easy to fly.  I think my 1 cut may have cost me a top 6 place but the Harrier turned really well.

  Pete Gunning was simply fastest and smoothest all weekend- you can't fault him.

  The other models on show that caught my eye for some very different reasons were the Shinto- a beautiful elliptical plan form and John Philip's Impulse 2- the sheer simplicity of the planform and tail remined my of my own models and it's can't half go!

  A great weekend, I can look forward to the next one confident that the Harrier can mix it with those more expensive models.