Weekend - July10/11, 2021

[bdg]

What a weekend!!! Saturday was supposed to be blowing a “storm” with the follow-up from Post Tropical Storm Elsa passing through the region. But the winds were quite calm by mid morning. Popped by SP and met new member Kevin along with Bob and Bill. And a real treat to see Al’s 1967 Malibu which has been lovingly restored….. and what a paint job too!!!

Sunday was a sellout with a good crowd but still with care being taken with safety and distancing. Good to help Tim get his legs under him again; and Kevin was remembering the ways of flying with great skills on our club Apprentice. Way to go, guys!!!

Brian

[JohnOSullivan]

Sunday morning, a light Northeasterly breeze provided some hot thermal activity in Shannon Park and in the afternoon a group adjourned to the sloping site at Lawrencetown which required a Southerly wind. Mother nature provided us with the required 180 deg change in wind direction (Sea Breeze). Only problem is that it brought in a big FOG. Visibility was less than 50 metres and although we had an excellent flying session, we had to be careful not to lose sight of the models. Kevin Baker, Joshua, Chris Dean and I had a great time.
Joshua had his first Slope flying session and it cured any apprehension of throwing his models over the cliff.
I had my 4m Pulsar out after a big rebuild of the right aileron after a midair a couple of weeks ago. Flew well without any ill effects.

I would encourage everyone to at least try Slope soaring at Lawrencetown. The wind from the south or southwest hitting the hill produces an upcurrent which keeps the model aloft. It does not have to be a sailplane I have seen all kinds of Warbirds and other non sailplane models perform very well on the slope. Those familiar with slope flying are always ready to help out.
Come and give it a try!! Our Slope Fest days, up to now organized by Vic and Mary are the highlight of flying in the Halifax, attracting attendance from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

[bdg]

Great report! How did the discus launcher work at the slope? Needed some lights to help see it in the fog??

And how did the delta wing fare?

[JohnOSullivan]

Winds ranged from 8 to 11kph and were very much on the light side. Kevin Baker's ZAGI was the wing and was struggling in the lighter winds to maintain height, but in the higher winds flew fine. The Zagi is a foamie and probably one of the most popular slope wings ever.

Joshua flew his Spectra which suited the conditions well. He tried his 1 metre HLG which was perfect for the conditions. As he had flaps, ailerons and camber changing ability, he was able to experiment with the various setting on it and optimize performance. It really performed well.

Chris Dean had his Dream Flight AHI, a state of the art aerobatic foamie, but had trouble staying aloft in the light winds. He likes 25kmph ++ for this model.
Fog kept rolling in and out and there were several occasions when models were disappearing for a second or two. We spent over 2 1/2 hours of solid flying.

[DoverSail]

The slope was a very enjoyable experience! I look forward to doing that again. The location is beautiful, there's a cafe there with beverages, and lots of curious passers-by looking for more information.

As John said, the Spectra was quite at home in those light winds. The Mini Dart 2 DLG was also a lot of fun; the ailerons/flaps made it agile so I could do all sorts of very close-in maneuvering, and landings were a breeze.

Thermal conditions at Shannon Park were also very good; at one point I was flying my Hollein Introduction F5J in a straight line, and gained about 40 metres of altitude in 10s or so. My variometer was having a heyday.