Friday, 22 May 2015

Willows in Sweden

  I have some fatastic memories of flying models on the coast of Scandinavia, I've recieved these pictures from Andreas flying his model inn Sweden.  Hope the flying did the views some justice!





Thursday, 21 May 2015

Summer Eveings

  Summer evenings are definitely here and the light evenings have given me the chance to get out and simply enjoy flying.


  The plan was to try for some practise but be warned- flying the Merlin first makes time disappear.  Light breezes and buoyant air greeted me and so 600g of ballast was put in the Merlin and we were off.  Spotting the last of the evening’s thermals and climbing out was a doddle and the weight in the Merlin gave it enough momentum to really have some fun with the height.
  I’ve been playing with programming in rudder/aileron mixing and she was loving that through some sweeping turns.  Some more playing and it became a case of what I could do to up-set the Merlin- it’s hard to do and she really telegraphs when she is getting close to the edge.
  All that messing around and fun meant that I flew for far longer than I planned or thought.  Nights like this really remind me of my old Wizard compact, simply well balanced, well mannered and fun- the one difference being that the Merlin’s extra wing makes it better suited to converting lift to performance.
  Launching the Willow 2 for a  quick go afterwards and in 1 word- slippy!  The Willow 2 flys lighter than the Merlin but the energy and momentum is remarkable.  As the evening move on and the sun moved directly in front of me to below the flight line it’s time for home.  But what an evening!

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Still Here!

The brisk winds over the last few days have given me my first chance to get out and have fun since the Champion of Champions race.  I can’t recommend ripping a Willow up and down the cliffs highly enough as a fantastic way of getting a week out of your head.
  As the wind was a crossed and variable there was a few times where i didn’t realise just how much air speed I was carrying until I pulled up and watched her keep on going up.  I’ve never flown a model which seems to carry it’s energy so well through different manoeuvres.  So was it good practise for racing- probably not, will I start to place better in races- probably not but wow I had a smile on my face!
  It’s Emma’s 4th birthday the weekend of the Nationals so I’ll be serving up Jelly and ice cream rather than racing but it gives me time to finish my lovely new Willow 2 and have more fun on the slopes!