With the Peak District blessed with so many slopes for all wind directions, the decision was made to use the PSSA website and last minute weather forecast to specify our meet point for the Sunday morning.  This would avoid the ‘backtracking’ and wasted travel time which affected a number of modellers in previous years.  The forecast on Friday was fairly promising, giving an Easterly wind at 14mph, but with the threat of some showers.  Armed with this knowledge we agreed to meet at the ‘Blue John Cavern’ car park and fly from Treak Cliff, as we have done once before.  Treak Cliff, at the foot of Mam Tor, is a good Easterly slope with ample parking and minimum distance from the cars to the launch site – an ideal setting – especially if its wet!

Come Sunday morning the wind was up even higher than forecast, and it looked fairly bright - as long as the showers kept away we were going to be in for some good PSS flying.  Simon Cocker was first on site, and had flown his ‘Blade’ before even I had arrived at 09:20!!  By 10am a few more of ‘the usual suspects’ were on site with their models rigged – so up we went to the slope!

Steve Griffiths was first to fly with his P-40 Kittyhawk.  The lift was in abundance and clearly all model types could be flown – I for one was impressed as to how well the P-40 (and the rest of Steve’s lightweight model squadron) performed in the high winds.  Despite the low wing loadings and low AUWs these models still track and penetrate very well indeed!  Steve was clearly enjoying himself with a display of constant loops and rolls in the lift.  Mike Briggs joined Steve in the air with his grey BAe Hawk 200, and this too was clearly in its element.

Steve Griffiths flew all of his models on the day, including the Kawasaki Ki-61 and the FJ-4 Fury.  They all went very well.  In fact the only model I didn’t see airborne was the smart black and yellow Shorts Tucano by Mike Briggs.

Later in the morning I flew my EPP Sea Fury on only its 3rd flight.  The conditions were superb for this heavyweight model and I enjoyed beating up the slope for 30 minutes or so before damaging it slightly on my landing.  In fact landings at this site were the toughest element of the day, especially in the high winds.  The field at the back, with ample room and short, soft grass, requires a short walk from the edge and a hop over the stile before you can consider starting your approach.  Once round the back and ‘committed’ though you have to fight a serious ‘rotor’ element all the way down, and a few models were unceremoniously ‘dropped’ in during the pursuing fight.  My Sea Fury simply refused to slow up into wind and I very quickly ran out of room, the model still hurtling towards the gathered modellers and parked aeroplanes!!  I made a cross wind turn and ditched it just short of the fence, but it wasn’t a pretty arrival! (more of a controlled crash than a landing!) Thankfully no serious damage was done to the Fury or any other model on the day, but the landings were certainly a test for us all.  Still, it would be boring if it was easy and conventional all the time wouldn’t it?

We flew on in a very informal and relaxed atmosphere until about 14:30, when I think everyone was beginning to feel the cold – so with the coffee drunk, the butties eaten and some rain visible on the horizon, we elected to pull stumps.

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