SilentPilot Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Eventually got a flight with Pete Beadle at the Beacon. Not quite the actual Solstice but the next day so not too far off in Geological calendar terms! The wind was set up for the SW bowl which involves quite a brisk walk to get to the flying area. With this in mind I decided to only take two models, my Ahi and a ~4m RES glider, plus my camelback (containing a packed lunch as well as the obligatory water), umbrella, wind/waterproof jacket, extra sun cream and of course a transmitter. Quite a load!!! We got to the flying area and I then discovered that I had omitted to bring any spare batteries My Ahi was bound to a different transmitter and refused to enter bind mode with the onboard 4.8v pack. The receiver is a combo telemetry unit and needs a 6.0v battery to bind properly. I should have asked if any of the other guys there had a 5S Nixx I could use but I got flustered and forgot. So after all that I was down to one model... It's a good job it stayed up! It may have a 4m wing but it's a heavy old lump and needs to keep moving or it gets wallowy and 'feels' like it's about to spin in if you get too rough with it. I had a couple of close calls but Ivinghoe was nice and offered up some usable thermals as well as the slope lift. Once or twice I was caught out and had to scurry back for a quick landing. One was even upslope round at the South slope. While on the subject of the South slope, a few of us decided that was the better area to be in. At about 1400 I was ready to pack up but Pete was doing well with his smaller glider and there was another ~4m jobbie staying up so I decided to have that "one last flight". Normally something of a mistake, not this time though, I launched on the SE slope and after scratching away I rounded the corner onto the South slope with some others. It ended up being my most enjoyable flight of the lot The South slope has a nice landing area but small. I had two fly throughs before I managed to get it down. Might have to make the airbrakes a bit bigger! Nice to get another site under my belt Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentPilot Posted June 23, 2019 Author Share Posted June 23, 2019 Ah yes, the Ivinghoe Sink. There were a few landouts! Including the Yellow one I think you are referring to. When I launched for my last flight I knew there was a high chance of landing at the bottom. As it happens though I got away and had a nice flight. Once I had gained enough height to cross the bushes I walked over to the South slope and had a great time. The thermals seemed to be forming nicely there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentPilot Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 Cheers Pete! It must be my full size thermal hunting training kicking in. I’m often low down and need to use ground features to find lift instead of using the cumulus clouds which only seems to work when over about 2000’ AGL I’d love to come down for Nostalgia Day (is that 4m nostalgic enough? Or I could bring an Impala) but I can’t make any promises!!! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentPilot Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 Cheers Pete. At this rate I may need to join ISA as a country member! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentPilot Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 Cheers Pete, I've got BMFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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