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Further Adventure Of The Ninety Nine Acre
Wood Gliding Club - Parlick
 The
past two months have been somewhat hectic as regards model flying. The
weekend after Colin’s and my outing to the Leek and Moorland Scale
glider event was the BMFA Nationals which saw Colin taking a well earned
break and me pairing up with Paul Blakeborough to enter a few of the
Control Line Team Racing events at RAF Barkston Heath. The weekend after
this was of course the RAFMAA Annual Championships/Fun Fly held at RAF
Honington where Colin and I met up and with all the other old, bold and
newcomers and enjoyed a good three days of relaxed model flying in good
company. Needless to say a few pints of the falling down water helped.
Ever the sucker for punishment the following weekend saw myself and good
lady travelling to Lancashire to stay with Colin and his good lady. The
plan being that the ladies would take in the local sights and various
retail outlets whilst we did what we tend to do best, fly gliders.
 Just
a short drive from Colin’s house is Parlick Hill, one of the lower
slopes of Fair Snape Fell, which is where we headed for on the Saturday.
On the plus side the weather and wind was very kind to us but on the
minus side there is no road to the top. RAFMAA members of a certain age
may remember when we used to travel to South Wales and fly from the top
of Garth Hill, nr Cardiff. Whilst I am certain that Parlick is not as
high as Garth it felt like it to my legs.
Due
to the reasonably high wind we both took our respective Jart and Dude
gliders which apart from a short break for a passing cloud burst flew
for a good portion of the day. Parlick is also a popular spot for para/hang
gliders which therefore requires those flying models to keep a good
lookout whilst flying. Fortunately when the wind is up the para/hang
gliders tend to stay away which then only leaves the local gliding club.
From the top of Parlick you can see and watch these gliders being
launched and the first thing they look for is a spot of lift. This means
that they hotfoot to the slope and arrive usually at the same height
that you are standing. This is not a problem providing that all parties
concerned use common sense. I usually take the opportunity to study the
full size gliders close up with particular interest in the speed that
they fly in relation to our scale attempts and it is always surprising
how slow they actually fly. We continued to fly moving slowly around the
hill as the wind swung around from the south west to the west before
heading home for tea and medals.
 On
Sunday as the weather Gods continued to smile we returned to Parlick for
further fun and mayhem. On the previous day we had returned tired but
pleased as despite our best efforts we had failed to break anything.
Today was not going to be as fortunate. Flying wise, Parlick is an
excellent hill but we tend to fly from about halfway from the top,
therefore landings are on the face of the slope and usually in lift.
This requires a certain amount of pre-planning as it is possible to find
several little areas where the task is easier.
Colin managed to break the rear part of his elevator by what can only be
described as “backing it in” for landing. I for my part chose the wrong
spot, landed too fast and sudden and shook the wing bolt mounting loose
in the fuselage. Flying then took on a more cautious approach for the
rest of the time available; the time available being dictated by the
approach of some serious looking cloud formations. The warnings for once
were noted with the result that as we completed putting all the models
away in the car the heavens opened up. The weather Gods had spoken and
us mere mortals obeyed. This then brought what was a thoroughly
enjoyable weekend to a close, but all was not lost with a future trips
out in the offering.
Neil
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