Last Saturday, Sept 9 - great flying, great day

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Ghost Flyer
Posts: 995
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 4:09 pm

Last Saturday, Sept 9 - great flying, great day

Unread post by Ghost Flyer » Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:26 am

Hi folks,

I had such a great day last Saturday that I thought I'd write about it. I have been having an exceptionally busy year and so this was my first time flying all year long! I couldn't have asked for better weather. The warm sun was shining, the sky was blue with some nice big clouds, and the wind was low. I arrived at SP a little after 11 AM and managed to get 3 flights in between my Spectra (used to be Tom Foote's) and my Funcub (doesn't fly straight anymore..lol). I found myself trying to catch thermals as low as 30-50' over the north end of the field. The thermals were there, but were difficult to stay in. I managed to get 10 minutes of in-and-out of low thermals without turning my motor on once (since finding the lift). I had some great guidance from RC glider instructor, Andrew S . (Thanks Andrew S!) Trying to catch those really low thermals less than 40' and fighting my instincts to turn on my motor was so intense, I could feel my shoulders tightening, but it was rewarding.

Brian G and I hung out at SP until about 2 PM, with fantastic flying. Thanks to Brian finding a thermal in the middle of the field with his Parkzone Radian, which I managed to sneak into, I experienced some of the best thermal flying that I've ever had at SP. The light wind was blowing into the field from the west, (where the buildings used to be). In the past, that wind direction used to produce an unstable wind condition over the field because of the buildings. Anyhow, the last 10 minutes of my 30 minute flight was without the motor. I managed to get up several hundred feet, brought it down to about 75' and up again. I did this a few times, all without the motor. Looking at Tom's red Spectra in the nice blue sky, I felt Tom must be looking down with a smile...maybe perhaps helping with such a great thermal. It was truly a great first day of flying this year, for me.

Try catching thermals if you haven't already. It may not look exciting to the spectator, but for the pilot, it's probably one of the most challenging and exciting type of RC flying that you can do.

Cheers,
AC
Andrew C.

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AndrewS
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Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:23 am
Location: Bedford, Nova Scotia

Re: Last Saturday, Sept 9 - great flying, great day

Unread post by AndrewS » Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:23 am

Good to hear you had a great day AC.
Wish I could have hung around longer and that I had had the HEFA Radian with me. A bit out of sorts though after the Pulsar incident, so I'm not sure if I would have been up to flying after that.

You didn't really need me, You just need some practice. You are right though...Thermal soaring is a lot "harder" that it looks, but is a seriously fun type of RC flying.

Andrew S
Andrew Smith,
HEFA 3
MAAC 76250

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Ghost Flyer
Posts: 995
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 4:09 pm

Re: Last Saturday, Sept 9 - great flying, great day

Unread post by Ghost Flyer » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:05 am

Thanks, Andrew S. I was very sorry to hear about your Pulsar. Hopefully, you and John O will be able to repair it. See you Wednesday night at the monthly Flight Sim NS club meeting. I installed Flight Sim World onto the club PC, tonight. Amazing cloud formation graphics! :D
Andrew C.

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