The Great Orme PSSA Fly-In – 11th & 12th April 2015

Strong winds, clear blue skies and a host of maiden flights!

A report from a well attended Llandudno Fly for Fun – words and photos by Phil Cooke.

 

Our first planned event for 2015 saw us back up on the Great Orme with the prospect of an array of new PSS models being aired for the first time following their build completion over the winter months.  Saturdays forecast was for good strength WSW winds with sunny skies and this helped us effectively fill the main car park at the Tank Track site by 11am – levels of attendance at our events seem to be on the rise which is fantastic news for our sport!  I arrived with Rez Manzoori at 9:30am and already the slope was in active use.  The weather was generally perfect for PSS flying throughout the day, the winds averaging 45mph created a huge lifting platform and the models (once safely launched, often from the lower ledge) were in their element.  With gusts reaching 55mph, the conditions were deemed a little strong for some of the lighter models and a few attendees chose not to fly, however the slope was in continual use throughout the day until we left the hill for an evening meal at 7:30pm.

The day will be remembered I think for the number of successful maiden flights completed, I counted 10 in total, with some of these models having only been completed the week prior to the event!  An idea conceived over a beer at the end of last season, the informal ‘Tornado 40th Anniversary’ mass build actually only generated three models at this event, with Peter Garsden (below left), Steve McLaren (below centre) and myself (below right) all having burnt the midnight oil on the run up to get our new models flight ready.

Seven Tornados are being built in total, the remaining 4 will be on show in June and we’ll mark the occasion more formally then – when we are at full strength.  Here though, the 3 new models (a prototype MRCA, a GR1 and an F.3 variant) each built from the Andy Conway plan (who was on site to witness the test flights) all performed very well.

We had been joined by Scott Edwards from the Ivinghoe club who brought with him his 1/9th scale Avro Lancaster – converted to PSS from the Tony Nijhuis 134” span power plan and unflown, until today!  This is a really impressive model.  It spans an impressive 144” (the inner wing panels have been slightly elongated from the plan) and it’s finished in the legendary 617 Sqn ‘Dambusters’ colours, it has an all built up construction and weighs in at an astonishing 15lbs – I would have guessed 25lbs looking at the size and bulk of it – but Scott had worked a lot of good ideas into the build in an attempt to minimise the AUW.

This may prove beneficial for his more regular club flying at Ivinghoe, but of course on the Orme in a 50mph blow it really didn’t matter what it weighed in at.  Having tested the slope with a smaller scale Lanc, Scott, who was flying with us at the Orme for the first time, had his confidence boosted by the ample, smooth lift, and very soon the large Lancaster was making its way down to the slope in the capable hands of Tim Mackey and Simon Cocker.  Launched from the lower ledge the model climbed away beautifully and looked spot on flying out over the sea against the snow capped, mountainous backdrop.  We’ve seen a number of Lancasters flown as PSS models over the years but never this big – and at this increased scale the model flew more realistically than all the others, performing very scale, smooth banking turns – it was rock steady as you’d expect from a heavy bomber.  Scott enjoyed a lengthy maiden flight and travelled home a happy man after a perfectly controlled landing, a superb debut!

Tom Cooke and Noel McNamee both test flew their new BAe Hawks, built from the Andy Conway plan and both flying very well from the off – just requiring a little down trim in the ‘top end’ wind speeds we were enjoying.  Tom’s model was finished in the regular gloss black RAF training scheme (100 Sqn) whilst Noel had reacted very quickly to the Red Arrows recent announcement of a new tailfin design for the 2015 season and was first to fly a PSS Hawk in the latest patriotic guise!

Having attended a couple of events with the model last season, Andy Meade confidently test flew his SAAB JA37 Viggen in the strong lift which, in hindsight, may have proved a little too strong for the big ‘double delta’ in its current configuration.  The model was given a textbook launch by Tim Mackey and climbed away nicely.

However, as the model slowed up Andy struggled to penetrate through the compression band – the lightly loaded model hovering and then flying slowly backwards for a controlled landing in the 50mph headwind.  A second attempt was made following some minor adjustments but again the model failed to get beyond the ridge and properly into the groove.  Andy believes the model can be tailored with Perspex covers over the large air intakes to reduce drag, with the addition of ballast for operation on high wind days.  We look forward to seeing the unmistakeable shape of the Viggen flying successfully from the slope again soon!

Not content with one successful maiden flight, Steve McLaren also test flew his new Folland Gnat, built from the Alan Hulme plan and finished beautifully in a silver and day-glo orange RAF trainer scheme.  Steve has achieved a stunning finish on this little model, creating himself a true scale canopy moulding and fitting the model (for static display) with the long pitot tube characteristic of the full size.  The balance point proved in need of adjustment following the first launch which I provided, thankfully the model was undamaged and once corrected the model flew very well, looking superb dashing around against the clear blue skies.

Allan Patrick test flew his Jet Provost, the model just missed out on being flight ready for our mass build event in June last season and this was the first time we had seen it at the slope since.  It flew very well indeed, as I think all of the JPs built from the Andy Blackburn plan did.  Small and easy to operate, they have become a real favourite to a number of the our regular event goers, they offer a huge amount of fun flying them together and I think we will be seeing these models at our events for a long time to come!

So a day packed full of maiden flights, but the star of the show has to be Matt Jones with his magnificent DH Sea Vixen, a model we have been waiting to see at the slope for some time – it really is something else and takes the standard of PSS modelling to the next level.

The model has been scratch built over the past 4 years, starting with a drawing for a 50” span EDF version by Philip Noel.  This was scaled up to approx 1/8th scale giving a wingspan of 80”.  Matt then made a number of amendments to improve scale outline and designed a model that very cleverly assembles into a rugged airframe fit for slope use.  Fully built up and finished in glass with Poly C, the model weighs in at just under 22lbs.  It’s spray finished in the classic Royal Navy colours to represent a 899 NAS machine based on HMS Eagle circa 1968.  The level of detail when viewed up close is stunning, with accurate panel lines, stencilling and a hint of weathering, it really is a museum quality model, but this is a fully working Sea Vixen – fitted with a scale lighting system and a fantastic turbine sound system to boot!!  It created a lot of attention on the slope once rigged, the sound system enthralling all of us as it was demonstrated linked to the throttle position on the Tx through start up, engine spool to full power then cruise and shut down.

After a range check and some static photos the model was carried carefully down to the launch point, all other models were grounded with everyone watching on as Simon Cocker provided the launch for this memorable first flight.  I’ve no idea how Matt was feeling seeing his 1000 hour build model released to the elements but the launch was perfect and the model climbed effortlessly away needing only a little up trim to combat a slight nose heavy balance point.  Matt very quickly showed he was at ease with the new model in flight and was soon performing low level passes for the camera – it all looked very smooth and graceful, very scale like – and the resultant photos are totally convincing – they could easily be of the full size aircraft!  Matt enjoyed a lengthy maiden flight before bringing her in for a safe landing to a rowdy applause by all on the hill.  The centre of gravity was altered prior to an equally successful second flight later in the afternoon, all captured on film and video against a magnificent blue sky.  Well done Matt, we look forward to seeing you fly this superb model at our events for a long time to come!

Pilots enjoyed the conditions and flew as and when they wished with plenty of social banter in between sorties.  My only regret of the day was not arranging for a group photo – to be honest the size of the group made it very difficult to organise verbally in the high winds, something I need to improve for next time as with the large Lancaster, the B-52 and the Sea Vixen all rigged we missed an opportunity for an impressive photo.  The full list of models flown by the attendees on the Saturday is too great to detail here, needless to say all but the lightest of models were flown, and a huge amount of flying was enjoyed throughout the day.  With new and regular attendees travelling from as far afield as Edinburgh and Buckinghamshire combined with a healthy gathering of local PSS flyers, the amount of models seen at this event, new and old, was most impressive.  The conditions were bang on all day, we only stopped flying to enable a timely start to our planned evening meal.  It’s worth mentioning here that at the June event we plan to have a BBQ in the tank track car park (weather permitting) so we will be able to fly on and socialise with the intent of enjoying the slope conditions until sunset.  Fingers crossed the weather gods play ball for that!  And don’t forget to bring something to stick on the grill!

Saturday night we met up en masse in the Llandudno Junction hotel bar where a hearty meal was enjoyed with a few beers and numerous tales were told which had us all chuckling until it was time to retire.  Sunday dawned and as forecast the wind speed had increased to beyond storm force, and with it, driving rain too.  We drove up to the Orme to make a decision but it was clear we had to cancel, the wind speed was measured by Andy Meade at 103mph, too dangerous to consider getting a model out of the car!!  So Sundays activities were cancelled, and a note was issued by Rez on social media from the car park to say the second days flying was off.  It’s always a shame to lose a day, but it was a no brainer decision – and to be fair we had ‘filled our boots’ on the Saturday I suppose!

A link to more photos taken on the Saturday can be viewed HERE, and there are more photos and video captured at the event by various members on the RCM&E modelflying forum thread HERE.  Do keep an eye out for a write up in Simon Cocker’s RCM&E slope column very soon.

So our 2015 season is well underway… Our next planned event is at the same location on June 13th and 14th – I hope to see you there!