|
Following on from the RAFMAA slope
event held on the Leek and Moorland slopes (again many thanks
fellows); things have been slightly quiet on the soaring front.
After consultation with my playmate Colin, we booked ourselves and
partners into our favourite B&B in Church Stretton with a view to
enjoying three days of soaring on the Long Mynd. This of course is
only made possible on the domestic front by the fact that Church
Stretton has an excellent train service to many and various retail
therapy centres for the little ladies to enjoy. We all drove down on
the Friday and following advice from our hosts, enjoyed a very good
meal in a small country pub just east of Hope Bowler. Unfortunately,
after the meal the road back was blocked by a Road Traffic Accident
which required us to navigate, by little more than sense of
direction, as the phone Sat-Nav wouldn’t function (No signal). After
a lengthy detour via very narrow roads we returned safely to our
B&B. Little did we know that this was a taste of what lay in wait
for us tomorrow.
Saturday 13 Dec 14.
Clear and sunny with a light wind from
the South West. Overnight the temperature had dropped considerably
with some evidence of ice on the road outside the B&B. Of course
upon our arrival at the foot of the Hill we were greeted with a
“Road Closed” sign because of snow and ice. This has happened to us
before, therefore, we back tracked with the intention of taking the
back road via Darnford to get to Pole Cottage at the top. With me
leading, we drove steadily taking note of the frost patches and
frozen puddles. Having just passed the Car Parking area we use when
flying at Darnford we negotiated the cattle grid and which
unknowingly, marked the point of no return down a medium downhill
stretch followed by a tight left hand bend. Both Colin and I were
lucky to keep the cars on the road which we found out was covered in
  black
ice. Just around the corner was another car parked in the middle of
the road having also become stranded as its driver had gone on foot
to survey the rest of the descent. The bad news was that effectively
the road ahead was impassable and due to the black ice, hill and
bend we were also unable to return the way we had come. We were well
and truly stuck. Of course the really bad news was that at the time
the wind wasn’t on that part of the hill. Eventually after about 90
minutes the sun softened the ice on the road and after a couple of
attempts, we were able to reverse back up the hill to return to
Church Stretton.
After suitable restoratives, coffee and cake, we noticed that cars
with Hang-gliders on top were driving up to the Long Mynd and not
returning, so we set off only to be greeted by the same road blocked
sign. No doubt some cars had set off and made it to the top, so were
we to follow?
Those who have flown at the Long Mynd will remember the access road
which is called “The Burway”. It is very steep with a steep bank on
the left as you up the track and an almost sheer drop of several hundred feet on the
right. Common sense prevailed, no model flying is worth risking life
and limb. Fortunately on a previous visit (Article: Three go mad in
Shropshire) we had taken a very pleasant evening walk along a hill
ridge located on the other side of the A49 from the Long Mynd and
Colin could remember the way there.
Upon arrival we parked and armed with a Mini-Milan and Weasel each
we walked to the top of the new hill. A quick experimental launch
proved that the hill was working so we set to with the Mini-Milans.
Also on the hill with us were the local fox hunt and their hounds so
we took care to keep the models at a reasonable distance so as to
avoid any risk of “spooking” the horses. Once the hunt had departed
with the trailing riders bidding us farewell, I remarked that as the
hill was very long and narrow we could probably fly the entire
length. We therefore, landed, secured the weasels on our rucksacks
and set forth. This was to be a very pleasant outing and gave us
some good flying with the hill working all the way to the end. So
the day ended far better than the mornings experience had suggested
that it would. We had flown, discovered a new hill and not broken
anything. Time for beer, food and medals in a local pub.
Sunday 14 Dec 14.
Overcast with low cloud, wind 20 – 25
mph South West. Fortunately the overnight temperature had risen and
The Burway was open allowing us to drive up and park in the car park
by the Pole Cott slope. With the threat of rain ever present I
strapped my fishing shelter on top of the rucksack and we set out
equipped with a Dude and Midge each. I had intended to fly my Jart
however I soon discovered that I had the fuselage from one Jart and
the wings from another. Blonde hair dye added to future
requirements. Once the shelter was erected we were able to protect
not only ourselves but all the models and gear we were carrying. A
course of action that was necessary during the passing showers
allowing us to get out of the wind with a hot drink.
  Colin’s
Dude was very new having only been briefly test flown in light wind
conditions at his home slope - Parlick. Once away in the wind Colin
was able to further refine its performance and with suitable
adjustments to the CROW flap landing settings, was able to
demonstrate a very docile landing approach with an accurate touch
down on the smooth grass area. Not many flying wings have the
ability employ CROW flap. I flew my Dude by way of comparison and
the performance was found to be roughly similar. Colin’s Dude
appeared to have slightly better handling in flight and landing
which may be down to its relative youth and lighter weight. Once
into the early afternoon the weather started to deteriorate with
which coupled with a dropping temperature indicated that we should
head home. Notwithstanding the short winter days we still racked up
about 90 minutes of stick time and we didn’t even get to fly the
Midges.
Monday 15 Dec 14.
Similar weather conditions to the
previous day but with a very light South West wind. Again we set up
at Pole Cott, Colin with his Dude and Midge and me with a Solange
and Fox scale glider. Whilst flying the cloud level would drop down
to the ground requiring some very close flying in order to keep
visual contact with the model. My Solange is mainly red with a white
and chequered underside and was much easier to see than Colin’s Dude
which had a white and blue colour scheme. Pink is even better but
that is another story. We were joined by three other flyers who
unfortunately arrived at the same time as a large rain shower. After
the rain passed the cloud remained firmly at ground level severely
restricting visibility. After a short while the three local flyers
departed as they believed that the conditions wouldn’t improve and
lo and behold shortly afterwards, the cloud cleared and the sun even
came out enabling us to enjoy a last hour of good flying.
So the last slope session of the year
draws to a close. Fortunately the building programme is ramping up.
Colin has almost completed his Charon, at present Lee Wilson has the
only example, and I am about to start my Charon. For those of a
historical leaning Charon is the name of the ferryman who conveyed
the souls of the dead across the underground river Styx. (Chris
Rea’s song, Don’t Pay the Ferryman). Colin is also fabricating wings
for his Pink Flamingo fuselage and is about to commence work on his
1/5 scale Janus with me still deciding upon whether to do a 1/5
scale Foka 4 or a Zeffir. Personally the next summer season is
looking to be an extremely busy one with other irons to shuffle in
the fire. But as they say that is a story for another day.
Here’s hoping you all have a really great Christmas and you have
many happy landing next year.
|
