|
|
Post by sean on Jul 13, 2007 22:57:46 GMT 10
Yep, another good day of flying. Jase was flying very well for his first day and Andrew's new Ozprey looked good in the air. My poor old Bat took a big hit DSing on the back of the hill which ripped the coreflute fin mount to shreds and broke the balsa elevons. Fortunately I had a spare fin mount so with some glue and tape the Bat was in the air again. Amazingly the Profilm held the split balsa of the elevons together well and she flew just as well as usual!  DSing there was fun but the speeds weren't huge, I think DS speeds could be good there in the right conditions, and with that tree gone it should be brilliant! I agree with Andrew, when the speeds get up and your plane really starts to whine, and you can see it picking up energy as it hits the shear layer it's very addictive!  . |
|
|
|
Post by jase on Jul 14, 2007 9:56:17 GMT 10
was a great day and i was shaking like a leaf on my first couple of flights.. after my 4th solo effort Gerard convinced me to land on my own..... i pulled off 2 perfect landings. one i'll claim, but it was really an avoided crash that touched down perfectly. and well the others, i guess i just got too cocky and put her in hard... touch wood. barely even dinted the bee.
sean's DS'sing attempts were awesome to watch.. i was kicking myself that i didn't take my video camera to get some footage, some of the manuovers he pulled off were down right nail biting. especially the pass where he clipped the tops of the grass.
was a great day and a big thanks goes out to Andrew and Gerard for taking me out and teaching me to fly.
|
|
|
|
Post by thevon on Jul 21, 2007 18:53:18 GMT 10
The bureau forecast a "strong wind warning" with 20 – 30 knots swinging from the SSW to become S to SE today, We’ve been super keen to get a southerly to try out Kevs Ridge, a legendary-looking DS ridge which faces S. So we got all excited with the plans to get up there. Jase and I came from Redcliffe, Sean from Flaxton, and Ezza with his son Michael drove 3 hrs all the way up from Byron Bay! With Ezza being such a total DS addict, we were very keen to see him in action. He also brought along his new Opus, a high – wind DS and speed plane hoping he might get to maiden it.
The much awaited strong wind didn’t eventuate but we had intermittent periods where we were able to DS at Kev’s. But it was great for Jase – he had excellent learner conditions today and spent nearly 100% of the time flying! As soon as I got there I started DSing the Scorpian. Then Ezza arrived and soon chucked off his beaten warhorse Reaper and wow, did it get going! I was keen to learn from a master, and immediately saw that his technique was for much smaller circles than I’d expected, but as the speed picked up they got bigger. Sean turned up and got the back screaming around similarly. I didn’t do too badly with the Scorpian and the modified Ozprey either. Ezza got out his radar gun (a really good Stalker Sports one) and I think the fastest DS speed he clocked for Sean was just over 60 mph and I was around 50 to 55 (correct me if I’m wrong guys, I forget). I got a couple of loops in with the Drongo and it was very stable but needed more wind to get howling. The wind was never more than light to moderate, but it proved that it’s an awesome DS slope and we wished we had more wind! Unfortunately we don’t get Southerly winds much which is a shame!
I forgot my camera but Jase took some video and a couple of basic stills too, and hopefully he’ll post them. Michael had his beaten up Skua there but it didn’t go too well in the lighter conditions.
Ezza’s Opus is an incredible looking thing – feels terribly heavy, stiff as a board, and a totally glossy finish. But we didn’t get to see it in the air today. However he got out his Fling when the wind dropped a bit. What an amazing plane! It really flies extremely well, and is very responsive and penetrates excellently. Wow. Very impressed.
Later in the day we called my wife to check Seabreeze and found that although we were still feeling the flukey wind coming straight up the slope, it had in fact gone SE and it must have been curling around the back of the mountain to us. So we decided that the wind might be more consistent at Pedwell Rd so we drove there. Initially it was iffy, but picked up and we had some great flying there too.
I have always wondered if I’d ever see someone successfully DS a foamie at Pedwell Rd. Well today I not only saw that, but I witnessed Ezza DSing a Fling there! Crazy, it’s a tiny, tight, tree infested high-risk spot and the plane looks very fragile! Sean and I found that we could get a few loops in but kept moving back a few metres each time so eventually you’d go in.
The Reaper is amazing – felt like a dirty old brick, but flew amazingly. I couldn’t believe how well it not only stayed up when the wind was lightish, but it really cranked around. But once more we were all very highly impressed by Sean’s Bat (getting sick of hearing myself say that, but it’s true! I’ve never seen anything fly as well as Sean’s Bat.)
The day encompassed a bit of everything – dogfighting with eagles, midair collisions, highspeed crashing, inspiring DSing, and I took my plunger so I even had a decent cup of coffee. Not a bad day at all!
|
|
|
|
Post by ezza on Jul 21, 2007 21:13:52 GMT 10
Great to meet Andrew, Sean and Jase. You did really well with all the camera work Jase, especially filming that eagle.....not easy. Also quite good on the sticks considering it was your second go at it, you will be ds'ing in no time.
Sean's little Bat was amazing and I think the top speed measured for it was 77mph while ds'ing. Andrew managed a 63mph with his Scorpian and 83mph in a dive. Very good considering the light conditions.
We had a really fun day, even if the wind was lighter than forecast. The sites were excellent. Hopefully more wind next time!
|
|
|
|
Post by ding on Jul 21, 2007 22:37:51 GMT 10
That's great gents. I'll have to come out with you all one day and give the skua a go.
|
|
|
|
Post by sean on Jul 22, 2007 9:44:51 GMT 10
It was a good day, even though the wind didn't cooperate. It was good to meet Ezza and Michael for the first time and catch up with Andrew and Jase again too. Kevin the owner of the land was great too, he was so friendly and happy for us to be flying there. It really was the perfect DS ridge except, for the direction it faces! Ezza's Reaper flew beautifully and was definitely quicker than the Bat. And that Opus was a work of art, just spectacular, almost too goood to throw off a hill really . |
|
|
|
Post by ding on Jul 22, 2007 10:14:19 GMT 10
I forgot to say that in all my twenty-something years of flying RC I've never been able to use "dived down the backside" in a sentence in any meaningful capacity  LOL |
|
|
|
Post by sean on Jul 22, 2007 10:22:57 GMT 10
Yes, you've got to be careful ;D. Every time I write backside in regards to DS I stumble just a little... Just had a look at Seabreeze, there seems to be 15kt+ from SSW blowing right now....  |
|
|
|
Post by thevon on Jul 22, 2007 12:19:23 GMT 10
Yeah, I was just saying before I'm spewing about the wind today being just right! Can't get away today. Probably a good thing. Need to curb that obsession, look after other priorities, be a good family man. But just now I looked and it's gone SE ... hmm, maybe a quick throw at Woody Point later ...
|
|
|
|
Post by ding on Jul 22, 2007 12:35:36 GMT 10
Yeah, I was just saying before I'm spewing about the wind today being just right! Can't get away today. Probably a good thing. Need to curb that obsession, look after other priorities, be a good family man. But just now I looked and it's gone SE ... hmm, maybe a quick throw at Woody Point later ... I think there will be a few of us at SC too. |
|
|
|
Post by jase on Jul 22, 2007 12:47:52 GMT 10
gerard just rang me. i'm on my way to woody point now
|
|
|
|
Post by thevon on Aug 4, 2007 19:56:39 GMT 10
Well today was a real hoot, up at Sids Ridge with Steve (Ding), Callun, Sean, Jase and Bill (and me). Everyone had a top time. Jase is totally hooked on combat now. For me the highlight was seeing Sean's awesome DS pattern which got so fast at times that the Bat was starting to buzz. His circuits are now very controlled and to me it doesn't look like it can get any better! The wind wasn't huge and being a westerly it had holes and bullets in it. I can't wait till we get some easterlies in summer to try DSing in a more stable wind. Jase and I cleared lots of rocks off the backside of the hill when we arrived (we drove almost to the top this time). But I said to Jase that we had to watch out for the really big rocks down the back that couldn't be moved. Anyway I got straight into DSing, gave myself a few bad frights and when the brain got into gear I actually got some cracking loops going. Had a rest, floated about and had another go and it was really carving getting close to the ground and pulling up over the top, until with my usual style and control I banked a bit too hard at the bottom turn and absolutely smashed the Ozprey into that big rock I was talking about! But I was suprised not to find it in bits! A rushed patchup job to the fuse, ailerons, etc got it back up. Anyway long story as usual but I am humbled to go flying with such good flyers. I know I'm a total unco in prestigious company. Here are a few pics  The boys and the toys  Action happening both ends!  Silhouetted in the late arvo |
|
|
|
Post by ezza on Aug 4, 2007 20:49:02 GMT 10
Good to hear of another great day guys, wish I was there. I nearly made the trip after reading all of the keen posting. They still made me keen for a fly and I managed to score excellent conditions, over the big back cliff, at Lennox with a 15 knot easterly. Absolutely booming lift and good ds for the Reaper. Ds'ed until the fin was flopping all over the place. ;D
Can't believe you guys were flying with Westerlies today. I must come up and try out Sids on the next big westerly. Sounds like a great spot and alot of fun.
Eric
P.S. Great shots!! Is the one with the landrover in it, the frontside or backside?
|
|
|
|
Post by sean on Aug 4, 2007 20:58:25 GMT 10
That was a hoot today, since Andrew cut down the dead tree the hill at Sid's is an awesome DS spot. For only the second time I reckon my Bat hit its terminal velocity... on a few occasions some pretty ugly wing flutter set in, but the speeds were good considering the elevons are broken and held together by Profilm . Also, after crashing and breaking my Bat's fin in the first 5 mins of flying, Andrew lent me a spare fin of his, and it ended up being better for DSing than the orginal. It's a Bluto style, over/under fin and didn't flutter at all passing through the shear layer like the old one did. At the end of the day though too many crashes meant the Bat won't be flying again until some decent repair work can be carried out! Steve's Skua took the impacts well but stripped servo gears ended it's day. All good fun but major carnage experienced by all concerned! |
|
|
|
Post by sean on Aug 4, 2007 21:04:05 GMT 10
Hey Ezza, amazing you were flying in an Easterly, and also amazing you were DSing off the top of the cliff and Lennox  . Scary stuff. For westerlies the pic with Steve's Land Rover shows the back side. Should work well in an ENE too, so long as the Mt Mee range doesn't affect the breeze too much. |
|
.
. Scary stuff.