The Great Orme delivers some superb conditions in a ‘game of two halves’!
Phil Cooke provides the first event report of the year from North Wales…
Our opening event of the 2025 season took place over the weekend of 12th / 13th April at The Great Orme, Llandudno. The run-up to the event had been ‘quite testing’ as an event organiser due to dominant Easterly winds which had been set in for roughly 2 weeks prior. Easterlies would have led to an event cancellation with the Pier slope access restrictions now in place until June each year, but thankfully, in the final few days of forecast watching we could see a change ahead. A big blob of high pressure and associated low (but changeable) winds was now due across the UK on Saturday with what looked like a half decent South Westerly wind now shown for the Sunday. As a result, the event ran both days, although we were a little down on numbers with some of our regular flyers electing to stay home and await a better weekend. For those who braved it and travelled regardless, there was big reward to be had on the Sunday which turned into a memorable days sloping!
Saturday was a slower day. Light winds saw us entertaining ourselves flying thermal soarers as best we could over the North West corner. The lift was far too light for even the floatiest of PSS models (Steve Kemp was first to try with his foam Vampire) until mid afternoon when, as so often happens, the wind moved round to the West and then WSW and built in strength eventually reaching a measured 20mph on the main Tank Track slope. 
PSS flying was then very possible, with various Hawks, Jet Provosts, U2’s, Vampires and Spitfires all seen in action in the final couple of hours of the event. We would have stayed longer, but for our Saturday evening meal plans at The Queens Head in Glanwydden – so by 5:45pm we packed up to prepare and travel out to the pub for an enjoyable social. Fantastic food, beer and team banter as usual.
Sunday brought good strength (WSW and then SW) winds from the off, and we witnessed a bigger attendance reflecting the confidence in the days forecast with a number of additional day-trip flyers. So finally, following a pilots brief at 10am, with the site all set up we got on with the weekends aim of PSS flying! And there was no shortage of models, there were a number of brand new aircraft on show and worthy of special note.
Jason Absalom was seen with his new L59 Albatross, 47″ span and built for PSS from the Hobbyking EDF ARTF kit, originally designed for a 90mm fan. He also showed off his new BAe Hawk T1, lovingly built from the RBC balsa EDF kit and finished in glass and paint to represent the latest RAFAT 60th anniversary Red Arrows colourscheme.
Steve Kemp rigged and test flew his new Lockheed U-2R, (see title image) a foam EDF flown with the fan still in place allowing a dual purpose model when needed. Steve had only been presented with this model at the event following a second hand market purchase, and he rigged, programmed and balanced it in the car park. It flew well too, although with the EDF still installed I think this model will see as much flat field flying back up in Scotland as it will on the slopes of North Wales.
Paul Jubb successfully test flew his new AT-6 Texan built for PSS from the old AMT kit and finished in the colours of the full-size example Paul’s father once learnt to fly on.
The attractive little model has a fuselage formed in polyester fibreglass with wings made from white foam skinned in Obechi.
Paul had glassed the wings using light cloth and Eze-Kote prior to adding the scale painted finish.
Towards the end of the afternoon Bob Jennings flew his superb little Avro Shackleton, built from a modified G&M Models Lancaster plan. The model had been successfully flown once before but this was the first outing at The Orme and it flew really well – the ‘Shack’ is a rare site indeed from the slope, and it looked great!
There was a huge amount of flying achieved by us all throughout the day – so good were the conditions as the wind continued to creep up in strength – and the following more campaigned models I think were worthy of note;
Andy Meade had brought out the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, which flew well in the conditions we were enjoying. Originally designed by Chris Collis many years back now, it was great to see this rare model being flown well. Such a bespoke shape from all angles, it drew everyones attention during a good length flight.
There was a pair of the larger Jet Provost T4s flown to good effect by Phil Cooke and Pete Garsden, both models revelling in the lift, and Phil Stone enjoyed a lengthy flight with his correx built MB-326 Impala – the build of which I believe is soon to be published in RCM&E magazine.
Simon Cocker was back flying at a PSSA event with his large glass Lockheed U2 in the classic white NASA scheme as well as a new MB-339 Aermacchi built from the Island models kit, both flown to full effect in the 35-40mph SW winds later in the day.
As the day started to draw to a natural close, the winds were at their peak – in fact it was so blowy it even damaged the linkage fittings on the new PSSA windsock!
The group flew on until gone 5pm when I think everyone had just about filled their boots, and with long drives home for most we brought our opening event of the season to a close – a successful weekend looking back – and despite a slow start we certainly made up for it in style on the Sunday.
More photos from the weekend can be viewed HERE.
Our next event sees us back up on the Orme 17th/18th May 2025 where we will be marking the 80th Anniversary of VE day with a collection of representative aircraft types on show both on the ground and (hopefully) in the air! See you there.