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Slope Soaring - Devizes 23 to 25
November 2007
 Slope 1 event was
held later in the year than usual giving us less daylight and lower
temperatures.
In attendance were: Lee Wilson, Mike Matthias, Mike Bernard, Ian
Pallister, Stan Elworthy, Phil
Morgan and paying a visit but not managing to get flying was Martin Gay
and Steve Hart.
Those of us
travelling from Marham once again stopped at Ivinghoe Beacon on the way
down to
Salisbury. Weather conditions were good if not a bit cold, we expected
this in November so we all wrapped up warm and the stig (Bernie) brought
his bike helmet. We arrived at Boscombe Down and the accommodation was
the same as last time but the toilet and shower renovations were
complete so we were all happy.
On the first
Morning the wind was more or less northerly and Steve Hart suggested we
try a hill called White Horse near Westbury. It was a nice looking venue
and as we walked to the edge of
the slope we found the wind was more north-easterly making it difficult
to find lift as the hill
needed northerly to north-westerly for better conditions. This was
unfortunate because there was a perfect spot just off the car park with
benches at the slope
edge. We took a
walk round the hill
until we came to a place where the lift was adequate and there
was a landing strip.
The weather was
nice for the time of year with plenty of lift. However, this was a
hindrance for those trying to land without airbrakes on the relatively
short landing
area causing gliders to overshoot. This resulted in Bernie crashing his
stargazer into the road behind the hill after clipping a tree and
disappearing below line of sight in an attempt to fly far back enough to
scrub off speed.
Lift got
progressively better as the wind came on more northerly
so I experimented
with my twinjet. I had previously taken out the motors and speed
controller and added a small receiver pack to see if it could slope
soar. After a few attempts and adding a bit of lead as far back as
possible giving it a tail heavy C of G it flew great, enough to impress
Stan who bought it from me with a plan to revamp it for the next slope.
I look forward to seeing what he
does with it.  
On day two we
headed up to a venue
we were all familiar with - Roundway. A round of fun fly got underway.
Only one round was completed
due to the fact we needed  a break in the flying to warm up our numb
fingers and thumbs.
Although it was a
bright day the wind chill
made the
temp
drop to -2 and below which I tested with my new wind meter. None the
less, we all had fun
racing round flag
poles and flying limbo. As the
day came to an
end everyone returned to camp except the crazy individuals (Mike
Matthias and I) who
decided to try
some night flying. Mike had a glow strip powered by a 9V battery
strapped to the top of his Zaggi and I had a pocket full of Cyalumes
(Glow Sticks). As it went dark we were having too much fun to
notice the cold, in fact we would have probably frozen
up there if the rain hadn’t stopped play. We met up in the block and
went out for a well deserved meal at the new Harvester down the road.
Day three and we
were back at Roundway minus Stan who decided to
leave
early. He may have made the wrong decision because the sun was out
warming us all up. Actually the only rain we had
was at night so we felt rather lucky. There was no wind first thing in
the morning so I went back to the car for my Discus Launch Glider and
Ian Pallister went to get his Hand Launch Glider but by the time he got
back the wind had picked up anyway. After an enjoyable morning and
staying longer than intended because of the nice weather, the rest of us
departed for the drive home. Lee Wilson
Lee Wilson
Lee Wilson
RAFMAA Gliding Compsec
email:
rafmaa-gliding@rafmaa.co.uk
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