This was the first of 2 weekend events planned by the PSSA for 2007 on the Lleyn Peninsula.  The meeting was organised by Alan Hulme, as ever with Lleyn MAC member Don Brown providing the support and local knowledge vital for success on the array of proven coastal sites available to us.  Following feedback from the PSSA survey conducted earlier in the year, it was intended to run a Fly-for-Fun event on the Saturday with a low-key static and flying competition on the Sunday.

This was my first outing with the PSS fleet in quite a while, and with the promising forecast of Westerly winds and sunny spells throughout the weekend my expectations were high as I arrived with a fully loaded car in Abersoch on the Friday afternoon.

Saturday morning arrived and brought with it the clear skies and 20mph winds as expected.  A call to Alan’s mobile after a hearty B+B Welsh breakfast confirmed we were due to meet at the South Westerly Cim Farm site on Cilan Head.  This site is favoured over other South Westerly slopes in the area as it offers a superb short grass landing zone as well as some recovery area between the slope edge (or launch point) and the beach far below.

Unfortunately, attendance on the Saturday was limited to just 4 modellers with Nigel Moule joining Alan, Don and myself at the Cim Farm slope by 10.45am.  The wind was blowing 18-22mph on the edge and was square onto the face.  We gathered all the models we had between us and made our way down to the slope. With the strong coastal lift, clear skies and ample safe landing area we were clearly in for a good days flying, in my mind it was just a pity there weren’t more PSS flyers there to experience it.

One benefit of the few modellers on site meant that there was never any waiting for pegs or over congestion in the skies and we enjoyed unlimited flying all throughout the Saturday - switching from model to model as and when you desired.  A spoiling experience at such a fantastic site.

The ample wing area - so evident on this model when viewed in the air, made me wonder why this aircraft hadn’t proven more popular in PSS circles before!?  It is clearly a natural contender without the need to alter the prototypes shape or proportion.

Alan enjoyed a superb bombing mission with his trusty Handley Page Victor (below) which looked great flying out over the coastline and I was very happy to get the Sea Fury flying again in the conditions it is so suited to.  At 8lbs AUW this model is only operated when the winds are 15mph or stronger, so the wind strength this day, combined with the quality of smooth air coming in off the sea made this a very rewarding and memorable flying experience.

We flew on until 6pm on the Saturday, only ending then because we had arranged to meet soon after at a local pub for an evening meal and a chat about the superb days flying we had each just experienced.  A couple of pints and a belly full of food later and I was ready to hit the hay, the sea air and sunshine finally taking its toll.  I put everything on charge in the B+B and eagerly awaited another go the following day.

We were joined on comp day by Rez Manzoori from Derby who brought with him a Shorts Tucano and his fantastic Airbus A380, built from the Windrider PSS/EDF kit and superbly finished by Rez in Virgin Atlantic colours.  A phone call the night before to local flyer Steve Dorling persuaded him to join us too with his rendition of the same model and for the first time on British soil - two Airbus A380s met head to head and a fantastic photo opportunity was born! (below left)  These are impressive ARTF foamies, built entirely from white Polystyrene moulds but spanning 6 foot – and they are very scale in appearance.  They are lightweight too, despite their bulk, with an impressive wing loading of less than 10oz/ sq ft.

Rez was first to fly with his model once we considered the lift to be ‘barely manageable’. Although the lighter of the two models, (due to chosen covering method) he elected to remove the 4 engine pods for the first flight in an attempt to minimise parasitic drag, and the model was launched ‘clean’ into the gentle sea breeze.  As we had all hoped, the lightly loaded model soared away nicely and Rez enjoyed a good flight only landing out after 15 mins or so to fit the engines and improve the models looks for my camera! (It was commented how much it looked like an overweight DeHavilland Comet without the engines!)

Steve also flew his slightly heavier Airbus later in the afternoon, (he covered his in brown paper, PVA and film) again without the engines, but sadly the two models were not witnessed in flight together!  Next time please gentlemen!!

As the wind peaked at 10-12mph Alan Hulme flew his lightweight GWS Stearman model successfully on a few occasions, but the vast majority of the 18 or so PSS models on site were grounded due to insufficient lift – a sad contrast to the previous fly-for-fun day when a clipped wing Starfighter would have got away nicely!  As such any competition element to the day was cancelled, and we flew for fun with those models which were suited until 6pm again when we retired to the car park and made the journey home.  We had all enjoyed the flying we had achieved, particularly on the Saturday which was just one of those perfect, memorable and rewarding PSS days...

There is a second Lleyn Peninsula event planned for 21st and 22nd July this year.  I do hope that more PSSA flyers can attend and make this event what it should be, a vibrant, successful meet at some of the UK’s most suited locations for PSS flying. I hope you can join us there.

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