Sunday April 24, 2005

People have been asking about how high the planes have been getting now that thermalling conditions have improved. Last week I took my Skydancer to over 3000 feet in clear skies and it was getting a little small to guide well. I will usually lose sight of the stab at 2500 feet directly overhead.

For comparison, the Pike got to 2754' today (over 1/2 mile high) and it was easier to see against the random cloud cover. A Zlog plot is located here. Link

On this flight, after the line break launch to 400 feet, it took less than 6 minutes to get to the top. This was not the strongest thermal of the day, though it was consistently smooth and easy to core. By no means was the thermal gone at this height, the plane could have easily continued to climb. Based on the comparison of relative size, we are routinely flying over 2000 feet.

Now we know. (Thanks to Warren Man-Son-Hing for providing the summary and the link)

Today I counted 10 pilots (9 pilots flew).  Conditions were very good over all.  There are some new molded airplanes on the field this year like Stratos and Pike Superior - nothing like new toys.

Saturday April 23, 2005

    Beautiful day at the field, only 6 pilots and Martin came out to enjoy the sunshine and large lift. Martin was more interested in golf club acquisition than testing the great conditions. After waiting around like a "fat kid for a Smartie", the conditions were great for trimming out the Pikes, Stratos and Escape. Brian Olson was setting up the Stratos for the season. An unfortunate hi start launch incident for Bill Pearson left the Scooter in a few pieces. Through the afternoon the lift cycles were apparent from the wind shifts, I had the Pike to 2000 feet according to the Zlog.

Kevin H. blew a knee at the moment of throwing his modified Spirit and nosed it in for some minor repair. Turned out the program was incorrect as well, so check the TX model loaded before operation.

After some mechanical issues with Matt's winch, we switched to the HD hi-start and Olson's superwinch. The wind tapered off towards late afternoon and it was time for some lazy flying. (Thanks to Warren Man-Son-Hing for providing the summary)

Thursday - Friday April 21-22, 2005

    In the past two days we have been getting winds out of the East Northeast and South Southeast.  The winds were few degrees off from (off of the perpendicular to the slope) the West bluff slope, however, still flyable.  Thursdays winds were quite weak - 15 to 20 km/h.  However, today we got exactly what the doctor ordered - gusts up to 45 km/h with a high of 21 degree Celsius.  I was able to test out a new Let Model ASW 28 - 3m acquired back in October 2004.  I have to admit that I'm quite surprised how responsive this model is.  In addition, in the air, the model handles and has the appearance of a larger model.  It has excellent energy retention (at 1.5 kg total weight) and does not drop a wing at slower speeds.  I expected that this model would have to maneuver a bit quicker due to the skinny airfoil but I was wrong.  Landings are very predictable and the spoilers are extremely effective with mixing in the elevator.  I have to admit that you get what you pay for with Let Model...now all we need is some great weather for the weekend...to do some more flying of course...

Saturday April 16, 2005

    Today turned out to be a very frustrating day indeed.  About five club members showed up at the field hoping that the day would turn for the better.  Adam and Ryan had about 3 tows (Tug/ASK21) - all successful.  Warren test flew his new pride and joy - Pike Superior.  Unfortunately, the good day we all hoped for did not really happen at all - by 8:00 pm it was actually quite nice. ;-(  Discouraged driving back home, there seemed to be wind blowing out of SE - bang on the West Bluff slope.  Jozef and I had over an hour of flying time - the temperature reached a high of 16 degree Celsius - the wind gusts were up to 52 km/h.  Not bad considering that at 1:30 pm it was 7 degree Celsius.

Sunday April 10, 2005

Saturday April 9, 2005

    Saturday's weather did not turn out very well at all.  It was quite cold, windy and no one really flew to the point of absolute "satisfaction".  However, it appears that Ryan and Adam ironed out all the glitches in their tug.  All we need now is a solid sunny and a calm day ...

Sunday April 3, 2005

    Despite the "breezy conditions" it turned out well yet again.  I counted twelve people at the field - nine pilots.  The thermals were there despite the light breeze from the East Southeast.  Even the grass is trying to wake up.  We are still about three to four weeks before the "vegetation" kicks into high gear.  No major mishaps today, although, Dave had some "exciting" landings - thanks for the entertainment Dave!

Saturday April 2, 2005

    Today turned out to be a quite enjoyable day.  The forecast was for high velocity winds, thus, thermal flying was pretty much out of the picture.  However, the winds out of the Southwest proved to be just what the doctor ordered for some slope action.  The winds were gusting up to 48 km/h which provided plenty of lift at the Cochrane hill.  We reached a high of 8 degree Celsius, therefore, it wasn't that bad with the windshield.  What made the day extra special was the spectacular view of the mountains.  We had a total of three R/C flyers show up.  In addition, we had the pleasure of sharing the slope with at least 7 Hang Glider pilots.  There was  definitely enough lift for everyone to go around...