All about model glider flying from slopes, to flat fields, mostly around Wales but sometimes I sneak away into England to do some flying also. My camera equipment includes a GoPro Hero 7, usually hat mounted and a Sony Handycam FDR-AX53. I'm also trying more of a Vlog style video rather than just video of models flying around, so you will hear some wind noise, (which is almost impossible to remove) and hopefully also some of my flying buddies chatting. If you are visiting SE Wales and fancy meeting up for a weekend flying session then message me and we can see if we can arrange it. It always makes for a good video.
Brilliant video. I had no idea on how to get to the Meio and that it was so close to me. Please do one for the Bwlch. I hear many flyers saying they are going slope soaring at the Bwlch. I have no idea how to get there.
I've been asked to desist in flying my Baudis Banana at Dodman point by the NT warden (good few years ago now. 20+) Told me it wasn't allowed because of nesting birds.
The same thing has happened at St Agnes. But it isn’t the NT who have brought this ruling in, it’s Natural Resources England who put pressure on the NT to stop allowing model flying & paragliding on their Cornish sites. The fact that nesting birds are more likely to be disturbed by walkers and dogs off leads is irrelevant. More fun policing in operation 😤
Good on you Nick, was sure nice to see, i have the same glider and have not been came to high start. Please tell me ,what thickness and how long was your rubber. Im guessing you had too lengths . I have two 8mm dia .ten meters long, is that similar to what you used and hopefully that's enough. Would really like to know what you used. Thanks for sharing john.
hello, I don't like to give advise when it's not asked, but for my part you really need much more ailerons = At least x3. That's aerobatic glider, not an easy glider ! I know very well lot of Valenta's gliders and I know sometime we have to work at bench to get a good servo travel. For Roll we need fest response but for gust too. have nice flights with this beautiful glider.
The serenity of watching your plane fly on such a nice day takes me back to my days flying a Melora a dihedral plane with the same flight characteristics. Cheers
Amazing Flight of the Heron. Can you tell me how to get those height readings as you enter the thermals. Which Transmitter, which voice etc? Many thanks...
My TX is the FrSky X20 which has built in telemetry & voice call outs, in conjunction with a FrSky RX which also has in built telemetry. It’s just a case then of setting up which telemetry readouts you want in the tx settings. It’s fairly easy with modern radios and why I upgraded from my Hitec A9.
Sorry, my dear, but that's not professional. The repair must initiate the force at the point of greatest load. 1. The material around the fracture is ground out 2. The glass mat is placed in layers 3. The resin is applied sparingly. This is how it goes and then...💪👌👍
I remember a lovely Summer's evening flying from Kent's Holly Hill slope. It was nearing sunset past 9pm floating my Sunduster glider too and fro on the very light breeze seeing hot air balloons taking off from Leeds castle in the distance with their bright glowing intermittent burners going and gradually getting bigger and bigger in the sky. The orange from the sunset was lighting up the Sunduster's semi translucent tissue covering and for 20 minutes or so I created memories that will last the rest of my life. Great times. A very relaxing video thanks...👍
Great! I see there is the Heron and the Solius. Which do you think is the better aircraft? I hear the Solius is quite arobatic, but is the heron also capable? I'm thinking of pure slope gliding in my case. Thanks!
Hi Steve and all. Once I had the wing pylon in the correct position on the fuselage, I glued it using Airfix/Poly cement. Run a bead around each loop, back and front. It won't come unstuck. Makes this great little glider so much more ejoyable without the wing moving all over the place.
I ended up using epoxy and PVA to glue the wings and tail feathers. Plastic glue (poly cement to glue the spinner). Worked great. I had to ditch the supplied rubber as it kept breaking so I bought 1/4 Lb of 1/8 FAI Tan Sport. I'm using the same 4 strands as per the 1/16 supplied rubber. It works well. Loads of power and runtime. No breakages so far. Now I need to add a DT timer or one channel RC. A really nice model. My RC planes are gathering dust. Rubber powered Free flight is so much fun. Back to basics.
What's the timestamp for the raptor encounter? I recommend adding it to your chapters since it's in your title. I love glider combat more than anything but sadly our group was broken up by the Great Polarization and just people aging out.
Hi Steve, great video. Could we not use epoxy (sparingly) to join the wings, and tail feathers ? I'm not a big fan of using packing tape and I don't think there would be much, if any additional weight. I saw a video where someone used PVA, but I wouldn't trust it for bonding the carbon spar or this type of foam.
I love these bird of times. I have one thats 30 years old or better and an original in the box. Also a sagita 600 and 900. Rc soaring is the best. Great videos thanks. ❤
I had an opportunity to stay in St. Agnes for a few weeks this summer and fly with John Woodfield, a real gentleman and great flyer. Traveled south to Cudden Point when the wind was south. Flying anywhere in Cornwall is a treat. Will be back !!
Glad you’re enjoying the template as I enjoyed the vid - those clouds are to die for 14:22 ! Just one point, there is no elevator compensation mix needed in speed mode as the reflex is preset, simply adjust the elevator trim.
We used to have a standing joke about power off the slope - "Every launch, with motor on, causes the pilots balls to shrink ever-so-slightly, until eventually, they disappear..." ;-) Much prefer to chuck her off and fight for it, only giving in to the motor when admitting defeat!
Of course I did edit a lot of the drive out, or everyone would have clicked away from my video before I’d even reached the M4/A470 junction. From my home to the slope is about 40 minutes ish, and the motorway is only 5 minutes from my home. Distance wise it isn’t far but I do drive quite slowly down those country lanes as I often come across walkers, horses etc.
Thanks for sharing, it is good of you. I`ve come across fellow flyers who are quite reluctant to share location of flying sites for fear of over crowding, nice to see that you are not amongst them.
There’s no fear of overcrowding up there. If we get 5 or 6 fliers there at any one time, then that’s a busy day for us. More often than not it’s just my flying buddy Josh & myself.
If we get some flyable weather on a weekend then I could do that. But I do have plenty of videos in my playlist that show a lot of flying the Bwlch. But certainly something to think about for the autumn.
Yes you have a number of videos from the Bwlch. What I liked about this vlog was the complete guide to getting to and flying the slope, very useful for those who haven't flown them! Hope to catch up with you again soon.
Excellent thanks for a great guide. Just what's needed. Would love to see similar for other sites. Not sure if you said the wind direction for the slope you were actually flying on but I believe its south west?
John's videos are not relaxing, they are mesmerizing. Once upon a time I flew a big yellow bird a bit like the Leprechaun. It really brought that all back.
Check frank zaic's "model glider design" , there is a table of hi start dimensions depending on the glider's wing area . Starting with 1/16 rubber for jobs less than 100 sq in. I did mine . Works great as long as you launch against the wind.cheers
Just getting back into slope soaring after a very long lay off, re using my very old '35' radio gear and an old Ace soarer. Regarding fly tipping, I reported finding a massive amount of builders rubbish on the 'unamed road' which leads to the meio, just around a month ago. I chased this complaint up and to be fair to Caerphilly council, it was cleared within a fortnight. The people who carry out this fly tipping have very low or near zero morals and even lower IQ readings. Be great to meet up and pick up on your (and Josh's) expertise. Looking at your videos It looks as though I am not pushing out far enough beyond the slope, worrying about loss of lift I guess.
Happy for you to join Josh & myself on the slope. We usually post on a Facebook group, Slope soaring in Wales, when we’re going. Join the group and you’ll see when we’re up there next.
@@A470RCSoaring Thankyou Steve, much appreciated. I have managed to avoid joining any Facebook groups up to now, for various reasons, but I think I may have to reconsider if it opens up access to soaring groups with the valuable knowledge/experience behind them.
