FOOTLAUNCHaugust
July started well but look
now… Tornados in Brum!
Now is the time
of year when all good flying folk head for warmer climes. Spain seems favourite
this year - there has already been a floppy expedition to Piedrahita and by the end of the month the stiffy pilots will be showing all and
sundry their snaps from Ager.
Bit of a lean month
newsletter-wise I’m afraid. My fault
probably. Must try harder! Thanks to
Chris, Tim, Jim, Cupid and Doreen for the input.
Safe flying, Richard.
Next club meeting; on Wed 10th August at the Plume of Feathers, Castlemorton.
SAFETY MATTERS and other stuff
The lack of safety matters here does not infer that the sport has become any safer!
Dear Doreen,
Got a flying
problem?
Ask Doreen Campervan!
Dear Doreen Campervan,
I was recently told that, "over the years the various colours that have
been used for Hang glider sail is not only down to the aesthetics but also due
to the different qualities that different colour cloths have."
With this in mind could you please let me know: What is the Fastest Colour?
What colour goes up the best? What colour is the easiest to land? What are the
beneficial properties of pink?
Best Regards
C. Stunt
Well Cupid, I’m always
surprised at how many letters I receive from pilots with aviatory colour
anxiety. Personally speaking I think you should be flying a blue or
green Gingham glider - It’s so much prettier than those plain but gaudy colour
combinations you men seem to prefer – and should you meet the right girl, you
can cut it up and she’ll run up a lovely tablecloth and matching curtains for
your new home. Those brave men in Colditz certainly had the right idea! The
fastest colour is blue - but do remember to wash your coloureds separately. And
please Cupid, don’t worry about the best colour to get you up fastest – It
doesn’t matter, but I must say, if you want my suggestion, I’ve always found
green serge to have an overwhelmingly captivating hue.
Although brown is no easier
to land than other colours, it does hide the stains well and is easy to iron so
I would go for a dark earth - maybe with crimson stripes to add a little flair.
Pink? Pink?! Pink?!! Let me
slap your hand Cupid! Heavens above! There are NO benefits… even in a Gingham
cloth. If you find yourself ‘fancying’ this colour then throw away any old
Jimmy Somerville and Gloria Gaynor records you may own and become a pipe smoker
or something!
Doreen.
Dear Doreen
Campervan,
As a low air time pilot my thermaling technique is very poor, on easy ridge
soaring days, I find it hard to distinguish between ridge and thermal lift and
on low wind days I may only get one chance to get it right, as I have little
experience of what to do I inevitably get it wrong. So I am in a bit of a catch 22. What can
I do to get out of it?
Jim
Jim, what I advise you to do is come round
to my office ASAP where I can show you a few instructional videos. As a more
experienced lady I often come across fresh pilots who, despite being very
eager, are a little unsure of themselves. Briefly though, this is what you
should be doing: Firstly search around a bit to find the sweet spot (and please
don’t fiddle with any of the instruments in front of you at this point) then,
once in, push gently yet firmly (I’m assuming here that you fly a hang glider;
Paraglider pilots always tend to rely on a slightly more vigorous tugging
action with either hand) whilst remaining in control to make sure you don’t
sideslip out, all the time monitoring your rate… and… bingo…before you know it
you are a mile high! It really is that
easy! Anyhow Jim, I’m glad to see that you aren’t blaming your equipment, as
many new pilots do, so I feel confident that with a little coaxing you’ll soon
be there, soaring the heavens with the best of them.
Doreen.
Historical Pictures (one day)pic Nigel Dewdney.
Sunday 10th July at the Blorenge, BCC.
Flying Diary COMPETITIONS & MEETS
Go4it 2005
Rules
1.
UK flights only.
2. No infringement of airspace.
3. Must have Pilot rating or be under instruction from one on
the day.
4. Flights between 01/12/04 to 30/11/05.
5. Co-ordinates for T/O and landing required plus distance
from point to point in Kms as a check. Flights will be scored to nearest 100m.
6. Defined flights (BHPA rules) Coordinates for turn points
in addition. Double distance awarded provided 60% of flight outside ridge lift.
7. Stone's throw award for smallest flight submitted (or
known about) provided distance 5km or greater (previously 3 miles).
|
NAME |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
Bryan Hindle |
40.4 |
42.6 |
85.4 |
6.7 |
17.6 |
34.9 |
62.4 |
26.7 |
49.1 |
54.5 |
420.3 |
|
Tim Crow |
29.8 |
15.8 |
22.3 |
31.6 |
63.4 |
26.4 |
18.6 |
|
|
|
207.9 |
|
Chris Smith |
15.5 |
22.6 |
10.1 |
50.1 |
13.4 |
31.4 |
|
|
|
|
143.1 |
|
Nigel Dewdney |
27.0 |
19.6 |
15.5 |
46.0 |
18.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
127.0 |
|
Dave JH |
60.8 |
53.8 |
10.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
125.2 |
|
Rob Davies |
20.4 |
8.7 |
83.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
112.2 |
|
Dennis Ferneyhough |
40.4 |
15.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
56.3 |
|
Rich Sheppard |
24.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.3 |
|
Carolyn Dewdney |
13.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Flight
Types
Open Distance (score = distance)
Open
Distance flights do not have any turnpoints. Open distance flights will score
the straight-line distance from the start point to the end point.
Dog-Leg (DL) score = distance
Dog-Leg
flights are open distance flights with a single turnpoint. The turnpoint does
not need to be declared beforehand. The turnpoint is permitted when pilots are
forced to make a substantial change in direction.
Out and Return (OR) score = distance x 2 when the majority
of the flight is out of ridge lift.
Out and
Return flights commence at a start point, go round a single turnpoint, and
return to the original start point. The coordinates of the start point and
finish point are therefore identical. The start/finish point may be different
to the actual launch/landing points but the flight distance is only measured
from the start, to the turnpoint and back.
FAI Triangle (T) score = distance x 3 when the majority of
the flight is out of ridge lift.
An FAI
Triangle is one which satisfies the FAI's 28% Rule (shortest side must be
greater than, or equal to, 28% of the distance flown). To fly a triangle you must
round three turnpoints, and return to the original start point. The coordinates
of the start point and goal are therefore identical and for declared triangles
and local records, must be one of the turnpoints. The start/goal point may be
different to the actual launch/landing points.
Special Rule to encourage pilots to attempt triangle flights
Note that
for non-declared triangles, using GPS verification, you can fly a loop and you
will be scored the best triangle which can be fitted inside it. Your track log
points must cross to complete the loop. This means you don’t have to start and
finish at a turnpoint but may start midway along a leg. This is to encourage
pilots to try triangle flights.
Flat Triangle (FT) score = distance x 2
A Flat
Triangle is a triangular flight as above, except that it does not conform to
the FAI 28% rule. Completed Flat Triangle flights score the distance multiplied
by 2 when the majority of the flight is out of ridge lift.
Failed Triangle
(score = distance)
A Failed Triangle is an attempt at a triangular
flight in which the pilot fails to make it back to the start point. Failed
Triangles score the total distance from the start, around up to two turnpoints
and back towards the finish point.
A quick BCC update…
Merthyr 3rd
July
Couldn’t raise
a team so went free flying instead. I
guessed that the BCC would go to Merthyr and sure enough while waiting for Dave
J-H and Dean Naylor at Asda the Kernow team turned up and said that people were
flying. To me it seemed way too strong
but sure enough right on cue we watched a PG head skywards behind Merthyr. So off we all set…
On the hill it
was packed. Not only were there lots of
BCC PGs but loads of HGs (Neville Almond said they had all come over because of
cloud further east). On the hill there
was barely more wind than in the Asda car park, how can that be?
Bumped into the
comp organisers and offered my apologies for not being able to put a team
in. Luckily Dave pointed out that we did
have a team (totally by accident) and so a late entry was made. Phew!
Conditions were
looking good with a classic sky although the wind was a little off to the
south. A few pilots acted as wind
dummies for us but it looked OK.
We were about
to walk to the south end of take-off when there was a bit of excitement. Dave has the details…
“When we were on Merthyr Sunday, one of
the first eager BCC pilots had taken off and was soaring the cliff looking for
lift. With the wind being a bit more South of west than is ideal for that site,
the down wind beat was a bit on the quick side to say the least. Anyway, as
this pilot was soaring slightly above the ridge his glider suffered a symmetric
collapse which he very quickly reacted to by pulling hard on the brakes, this
stopped the collapse but the sudden loss of height resulted in him hitting the ground
and sliding through 1 or 2 other pilots gliders that were getting ready to
launch. Fortunately, no damage or injury occurred but I think we all were a bit
more wary of the conditions from then on.”
I didn’t see
the final event but I did see a tip go some 20 secs before so there was some
warning. At the time the wind was right
along the hill so I guess a combination of a SW prevailing with ‘something
going off’ in front meant the front of the hill was generating some turbulence.
In the air
things looked good as the first gaggle left.
I took off into a cycle but as usual lost it at a few thousand feet and
ended up back on the hill in no time.
Second attempt and again into a cycle, this time keeping with it.
I was
progressing slowly when Dave took off.
He was below me for quite a while but eventually we joined-up. I headed west, Dave more north. I saw him getting low but was suddenly having
to concentrate on having to land. I
didn’t see him after that and hoped that he was still in the air.
Dave takes
over:
“My flight to
Hereford was probably the most testing XC flight I've done to date. Almost
certainly the best sky and the most fantastic clouds I’ve seen this season.
Once I was up at base I expected to bounce from cloud to cloud but what I found
was that there was more sink than lift and every glide between clouds took up
more time and altitude. I found myself picking out several landing fields along
the way but somehow managing to find that elusive lift at the last minute. Not
surprised that most pilots went down in the Valleys. It may have looked good
but it was bloody hard work.”
I thought it
was hard work, especially as I only made Ebbw Vale! Most seemed to drop out somewhere between
Ebbw and Abergavenny. The best was just
the other side of Malvern Town (the one Bryan saw while he was on the Beacon I
suspect!). Top effort on making
Hereford.
An unexpectedly
good day and a good result for the team.
Distances for
the day:
Chris: 10k
Dave: 50+k
Blorenge 9th/10th
July
The forecast
was for a good couple of days with very light north to northeast winds. We met at the Bridge Inn in Abergavenny (with
breakfast for those that needed it!) with the intention of going to Pandy. In the end the Blorenge was called as it
looked too far north.
On the hill it
was pretty much northeast and quite strong (sometimes too strong). The clouds started to appear and on the
horizon they even looked a bit big. And
there it stayed all weekend, in true ‘not quite what was forecast’ fashion.
A large number
of teams had turned up based on the good prospects. I think there must have been 70 pilots there
on Sunday, including free fliers.
All weekend
people were disappearing over the back, landing mostly somewhere between
Blaenavon (5k) and Bridge End (45k).
As usual Bryan
was doing well and pushing out in front for lift to show us all where it
was. Occasionally there were lulls and
it got very busy in the bowl but generally it was quite strong and traffic wasn’t an issue. This was easily the busiest sky I have flown
in and I never felt as threatened as on a ‘good day’ over take-off at the Mynd!
Bryan made
Bridge End, along with most people, decked by the sea-breeze (although the
coast wasn’t much further away). I had
my best XC, landing in the middle of nowhere past Bridge End. I tried to track more W to avoid the
sea-breeze. I ended-up tracking the
poorly defined convergence, at one point going NW. Inexperience put me down, landing in a light
south wind.
Nigel left it
late to leave the hill but managed to put a good one in, forced to land when
the day ended quite suddenly. Dave spent
most of the day driving round the country for some reason and so was too late
for an XC, but did try for an out-and-return over Abergavenny in the magic
lift.
Chris Smith 45k
Nigel 15k
Bryan Hindle 48k
Sunday was
almost a repeat of Saturday. Graham
Shand helped me with a quick retrieve to be greeted by a spectacular site of a
large gaggle of PGs stretching from the hill to cloud base. Bryan made Bridge End again. Making it look so easy he started heading
back to the Blorenge! I think it would have
taken all day so he headed west to land at
Neath. Top stuff J
Chris Smith 15k + 30k
Nigel 45k
Bryan Hindle 44.5k
Final,
Mid Wales 6th/7th Aug
It came as a
bit of a surprise to me but we managed to come 6th out of 20 teams
entered and so are through to the final!
Well done
everyone who has taken part so far.
Qualifying
round results are on the website (http://www.flybcc.co.uk/show_results.asp).
Chris
(Actually, that wasn’t so quick after
all!)
The
Scottish Aerotow Club will be holding an Open Competition on the weekend of 20th-21st August 2005, with a
practice/familiarisation day on Friday 19th
August. All hanglider and paraglider pilots are most
welcome. For non aerotow rated pilots we may be flying from
some of the local hills in addition to towing, and there may be basic
aerotowing tuition available (if there is sufficient demand). If you wish
aerotow instruction please let us know in advance. Tows will be
available from 1pm on Friday 19th and free camping will be available at the
airfield on Friday and Saturday night. We have two tugs - a 462 high
power XL and a 912 quantum. There is an entry fee for the competition of
£5 per flyable day, and we will be charging £2 per 1000 feet for a tow
using one of our tugs. If you bring your own tug there should be room for
it in the hangar and there will be no towing fees, although there will be a
charge of £5 per night hangarage.
Unfortunately
there is no catering at the airfield, but there are some good pubs in the
village of Thornhill, and we will be having a barbeque at the airfield on
Friday evening and Saturday evening at a cost of £5 per person per evening.
More
information on our aerotow club is available at www.scottishairsports.co.uk, or
e-mail me with any questions you have. Please let me know if you are
planning to attend so we know how many pilots to expect. Finally, please pass
this e-mail on to anyone you think might be interested.
Hope to see you
at Thornhill,
Allan Phillips
Humour section
Tim Crow sent me a never-ending list
of aviation jokes but I lost them. (I didn’t get half of them anyway). RS
ADVERTS
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For Sale
Airwave Magic
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Tel 01322 412684/01905 764157 or jmdparsons@yahoo.co.uk
Dear
pilot, I am
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to Crete: 7 to 16 June 2005 Estimated
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Route de Sauve 30170 Pompignan / France
Tel/Fax : + 33 (0)4 66 77 61 51
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luc@lucmiramond.com
|
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