Early start to go storm fling

  No one had told slope dog about the clocks going back, so as the first storms of the year reached us we were enjoying 25-45mph winds hitting Whitesheet's NW slope.

  Although the wind was being pulled around, when it did square up the model speeds were simply fun! I'm sure there's still lots to learn about the Cyvern's set up, there's no doubting its performance.  Pulling what became rapid figure 8 turns using no more than 50% elevator stick.  The Cyvern on step feels so positive and easy to fly- the speed just builds.

  I couldn't resist flying what is the first ever Wyvern. It's entering its 4th year of flying but when the air is good she just carved up the sky.  The 160g carbon wings mean there's no flex and in big air she sin her element.

  A good morning on the slopes!

More Mickie's fun

  Spending time learning and setting up the Cyvern is proving to be such a fun process.  This weekend was scale dates 29 and 30 so it was an early start to fly at Mickies.

  The slope lift was variable as the wind swung on and off the hill.  The Cyvern has proved to be remarkably easy to fly and carve around the sky, for a 2.75m model.  Opening turns up to get the Cyvern on step has delivered some serious air speed.

  The extra weight the the Cyvern is flying at, when compared to the Wyvern, is delivering a greater amount of vertical performance in the turns.

  Slope dogs are getting a lot of time on the slopes this autumn!

Wyvern and Cyvern

   Developing a new design means spending a lot of time flying just 1 design, Saturday was a chance to fly the New Cyvern back to bback with my Wyvern in the sunshine of the Bwlch.  With the wind lighter than expected neither Wyvern or Cyvern were ballasted up too much.  I'd forgotten just how much fun the Wyvern is, yes it's set up as I like it, but such a direct and responsive feel in light air- you can' help but have fun.

  Setting the Cyvern up like this will take some time and be good fun to do it.  The Cyvern is certainly  much easier as the air builds up or a thermal comes through. 

  As more and more Paraglider pilots chose to hurl themselves towards my models I shifted to the back of the Wrecker, in a SSW this isn't ideal but with the wind now gusting up to 9ms it was a good alternative.  The Autumn warmth meant that there were a good few thermals and associated sink.  Great for sports flying and I hope I can get the thermal air when we race there next.

Slope dogs choosing between Wyvern and Cyvern

Welsh Open fun

   It's always a disappointment when the weather takes out 2 days of a race- but that's outdoor sports for you.  It did mean that I only had 6 rounds to race the Cyvern.  The variability in the conditions were shown not only by the variation in times but also by my placings, from 4th to 27th between round 4 and 5.

  Although I was very much tweaking the Cyvern's race settings through the day it showed that it was a match for the other models being raced.

  Time for some fun in the winter winds!

The Cyvern is ready!

 

  Each model deign is a combination of many things- This was literal this weekend as I finally got the fly the ‘Cyvern wings with the new fuselage.  It a combination that have ‘clicked’ from the off.

  The Cyvern wing is a development to improve lift distribution across it’s span and aerodynamic performance.  The 2.75m wing tapers from 8.2 to 7.4%, it’s aerofoils have proven to perform well in the high angles of attack that characterise slope racing.  With in the wing is the kind of substantial spar and joiner to give me huge confidence to throw the model around any slope.

  The new fuselage that I have combined with the wing has several developments, some more obvious than others.  The fuselage is the first one I have produced with a nose cone.  Other developments are more subtle and improve both turning performance and straight line speed.

  Flyng the test model back to back with the same wings on previous fuselages, there is a noticeable performance shift.  Performance improvements are always hard to quantify but testing the new wing through 2026 it has flown 12-14% heavier than it’s previous iterations.

  The test model has finalised the servo tray CAD file so the model is now ready for orders, with the model price working out at £750 for the carbon version.

Meanwhile at the Worlds- the Saker!

Racing flights have been at a premium at the F3F worlds this week.  John has been competing his Saker.  Here's him at the warm up race.

As I type John and his Saker are sitting 3rd.

Saker at the worlds

A Maiden ready for Wales

   A week after delivery and I was on a slope testing the new Cyvern.  After a few incident free flights I just couldn’t get the smile off my (or slope dog’s) face.  Lots of set up tweaks and model learning to go but I’m just mad enough to be thinking about racing the model in 2 weeks time.

  With the servo tray CAD file completed the production model s ready and is available.  The price will come out at around £750 for the carbon version.

  Whatever I decide to race next- a very happy lad tonight