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Pilots
and models await more lift at Llandudno...
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This was the second 2-day event planned
by the PSSA at Llandudno's Great Orme site this year. The first meeting,
back in June, had fallen foul to the weather. Not that the weather was foul - far from it! The
forecast was dominated by high pressure and there was little
or no wind, leading to the event being cancelled. It
appeared that we may have a little more luck this time
around, although again the web based forecasts were seen to
vary tremendously! Averaging these out and adding a
sprinkling of optimism - Saturday was forecast fair with
winds ~10mph from
the SW. That was good enough for me - I loaded up the car
and prepared to travel early on the Saturday.
I arrived on site at 10am. As I
drove around the toll road and began the
gentle climb up the hill I entered a layer of mist which, by the time I
got to the car park on top was really quite thick!
Lurking in the mist I found Simon Cocker and Tim Mackey who
were having some debate about the CofG position on a second
hand BAe Hawk model Tim had recently acquired. Tim had
been there some time, he'd already flown a foamie in the mist and was reporting the
slope to be working fine, so clearly we just needed the
visibility to improve and we would soon be flying PSS!
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Alan Hulme and his new Fairey Fulmar |
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By 11am we had been joined by PSSA
members Alan Hulme, Matt Jones and Andy Conway who
had travelled down from Edinburgh with his
wife, Edie.
As aircraft
started to be rigged, it was clear there were some
new PSS models on show. Alan Hulme unveiled
his new PSS Spitfire (from the Parkzone electric kit) for light slope
conditions as well as a brand new Fairey Fulmar model, built from
Alan's original plan. Matt Jones had travelled from
Abingdon with
his fantastic Avro Vulcan, still untested, as well as a very
neat own design Lockheed Tristar model. |
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Matt Jones brought his O/D Lockheed Tristar and
(right) his impressive Avro Vulcan models. |
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We rigged all but the heaviest of the
models and set up camp on the nearby SW slope. By the
time we had established a pit area, the mist had cleared
sufficiently to enable Simon Cocker and I to test the
conditions with our EPP T-33s. We flew these
together for 15 minutes or so, but the wind had shifted
slightly to the SSW and this, combined with the windspeed
meant the lift was marginal. I actually landed out
just below the launch point despite my best efforts to
continue crabbing up and down for lift. There just
wasn't quite enough!
Once again we were forced to rely on the
lightest of PSS models to enable at least some stick time.
My trusty E-Flite P-47 was now joined by Alan's new Spitfire
Mk IIb, which performed very well on its maiden flight in these
gentle conditions. Alan enjoyed a 10 minute sortie and
even managed a text book landing in front of the admiring
crowd of spectators! This model is bound to be well
used whenever the lift is light. The Parkzone kit
(distributed in the UK by Horizon Hobby UK Ltd)
comes effectively complete out of the box, and is clearly well suited
to life as a PSS model. We should all have one in our
inventory for days like this!
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Simon Cocker launches Alans' Parkzone Spitfire Mk
IIb... |
...and the model performs well off the slope! |
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Following lunch the windspeed dropped
below 8 mph and even PSS light was proving tough. Andy
Conway and Simon Cocker stepped in and treated us to 2 very
different high speed electric flight demonstrations.
Andy flew his O/D Supermarine Scimitar EDF model which he
launched using a bungee and ramp over the edge. Once
up to speed this model flew so realistically, with smooth,
jet style turns and climbs, it really looked the part! Simon upped the stakes even further and went 'truly
ballistic' with his new 'PushyCat' all moulded racer.
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By this point we had been joined by a
number of local Orme
flyers, who had come with the intention of seeing our PSS
models in action. As we were effectively grounded due
to the low winds, they flew a mixture of thermal soarers and
electric sports models to keep us all entertained.
Sadly the lift never improved and by 4pm
we decided to call it a day. I agreed with Alan to
check the forecast for the Sunday carefully that evening and
make a decision regarding day 2 of the event either later
that night or very first thing Sunday morning. Sadly,
the forecast for Sunday showed even less wind than Saturday.
RAF Valley (just a few miles across the water from where we
were flying) were reporting only 4mph winds from the South.
The decision was clear, and sadly Sundays meet was
cancelled. |
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Phil Cooke and Simon Cocker with their EPP T-33s |
Having travelled from Scotland, Andy and
Edie were staying local in Llandudno for the weekend.
On Sunday, Andy performed a fitting tribute to one of the
PSSA's founder members, Ron Collins, whom sadly we had
recently lost to Cancer.
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Andy and Edie Conway with Ron's T-45 Goshawk |
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Ron was a prolific PSS modeller, and had
enjoyed flying on the Great Orme since the
mid 1980s. Earlier this year, knowing he would not be
able to join us, Ron had asked Andy to fly one of his models
for him out from the slope and into the sea, to commemorate
all his happy memories here.
With little or no wind, this tribute task
was made more difficult than expected, but Andy made good
use of his EDF model bungee equipment to launch Ron's trusty
old T-45 Goshawk to sufficient height which then enabled a
gentle controlled glide down to the ocean.
Well done Andy, a fitting tribute to Ron,
he will be missed by us all.
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