Just so much fun

 I know this is the time of year when you're supposed to be writing a reflective postvabout the past year. After the year my models have had i will d that. But today was get out and hit the road before the sun was up to get some air time. 

. Forget avoiding shopping, 15-20MPS winds and just a huge smile on my face!  Both models ripped up the sky.  Trusting the airframe is a big part of getting the most out of it and i do!

Simply joyful fun. 

Happy Christmas 

Sharing at christmas

 Just because the weekends race was cancelled was no reason to cancell meeting up with a few mates. It seems that a good number of other pilots also decided to do the same and whitesheet was the busiest I've seen it for a good while. 

 The gap between flights gave JP the chance to snaffle my new model and program it into his transmitter. 

 Turns out it can go go much faster with the right thumbs, resulting in a happy pilot!

. While IM already looking forwards to the woollybacks 2023 continues to be a fun year!

New Wing fit out, new servo gearing

   Although the weather hasn't been great for flying lately I've been busy putting a new wing together with some improvements made to the fit out.

  The quality of the materials and fit in the wing continue to improve- and they have been good for a long time- just like the Kingmax servos.

 I have never taken to LDS systems, I'm not sure why, I've seen them work and they look great.  But I just feel attached to horns and clevises in the wings.  Luckily that lovely man at Flight tech has helped to develop a hybrid that allows me to use the very neat LDS servo arms and ball raced servo frames but connect to the horns I just keep using.

  What was immediately obvious was that the fit is very easy to set up with effectively no slop.  When I was setting up the servos, the throws would need to be increased to get the same movement.  Greater resolution, lower strain on the servos and slop free- that all sounds good.  After a few flights the controls actually feel more crisp and with more servo throw things like delayed and curved snap flap seems easier to set up.

What a blast!

  Its that time of year when the family look at you as if you've gone mad, the weather getting colder and storms blowing across the county it should be a time for lighting the fire and staying at home.

 Slope dog and I found ourselves drawn to the slopes instead. With the wind gusting between 25 and 40mph i had the falcon ballasted to 3.4kg and streaming around the sky. 

 One thing change I've made since last winter is to use the hybrid LDS links and clevises. Its on days like this where you want maximum power going to the surfaces and zero slop that it shows itself. 

. Sometimes its good to just have a blast and enjoy yourself!

 

The Saker cleans up across Europe!

   Today was meant to be a considered pause after a great weekend at the HoH.  I will do that justice soon but today looks to have been the day that all the league results are in for the UK and also the Eurotour.

John and his Saker has swept the board-.

  The British League climaxed this weekend, with JP edging out Mark Redsell in the final race.  For me a great summer in a range of conditions and slopes that has shown the Saker's versatility over the months.

The EuroTour- also a win for JP and the Saker.

Not sure what to say, it's been an education to see JP fly the Saker this year.  Practicing, setting up and learning the model.  

I can't think of better evidence of the Saker's quality and performance than such a dominant year's results.

Final weekend of the season

 I've made the trip up to the Hole of Horcum for the climax of the summer season. After races the top 2 pilots are separated by fewer than 5 points so even when my thumbs put the brakes on it should be a great contest to witness. 

 Its been over 10 years since my last flying visit here, that's been too long.  Simply a great place to spend a Saturday and even better when There's the company of other pilots. Ignore the sat NAV distance and the early morning - today feels worth it before the race. 

Storm force winds and Ballast

What a combination! the prospect of 30mph+ winds  and the opportunity to get out with the Saker should definitely not be turned down.  Flying is not all about racing between the bases and there's such a rush in ripping up the hill.  The Saker's lateral stability makes flying in rough air a dodle.

 I'm not sure that Slope dog was quite so pleased to be out in the wind!