Calling Cornwal

[Cam]

For those whom are unsure of Ridge Soaring, these photos will give a definitive insight

I lived in Cornwall for five years and so ridge soaring became my discipline. I only got sloping once since moving to Bristol and that was with a friend who was unsure of the wind direction or slope locatlion. So I hired a transit for a week and visited friends and my old club in Cornwall, and I flew for five whole days : ) I flew at Lantic Bay for two days in a row, then there was a day of rain, and then I flew, only at Cornwall and Britian's best soaring site, St.Agnes.

Lantic Bay: Friday & Saturday 26th June: Light wind soaring, The 2nd flight of the Focus, Low Level Combat, Touch and goes, the Swift is Dead.

The first day at Lantic Bay on Friday 25th June was magic. The lift was spot on the slope, (well that€™s why we chose to drive all the way and get the car ferry to Lantic Bay)! The air behind the slope was dead- but not turbulent- allowing for precise and perfect landings. I flew my 4.2m Focus glider for about an hour and I scratched the slope with the foamies (the lift was too gentle to get them going properly). Lots of first class soaring and many circuits and bumps. No one broke anything that day.

The very next day, I drove the Transit back to Lantic bay since that€™s where the wind was blowing, with friends Florian and Grahame and Len again. Only the wind was stronger and the lift was not as good. Very different conditions. The light models like the Swift and the Nebula buffeted everywhere. Then there was a shower and the wind changed direction. After the shower, the wind was blowing from right to left. This meant we had to fly over the left side of the bay to get lift, but the headland on the right was spoiling the air as it came across the bay, so we were flying in turbulence- fairly challenging. Grahame let the Nebula whip downwind and he only just got it round back into the wind to see it settle down behind the hedge! And then the wind really started to pick up. Getting up to around force five- and my light wind Swift was still soaring. I realised it was drifting downwind while facing into the wind. I called out €œI€™m too far downwind and I MUST get it back!€ Then a gust pitched the model up, it bunted over the top in a stall and then a moment later it had met the ground head on in a vertical dive I could not recover from.

The Swift was dead. I got all of it back, minus about twenty wing ribs and the moulded nose : ( Most of the servo arms were broken and the gearboxes were shredded. The tails were racked forward at some angle and there was not much left the wing. My carbon-reinforced fuselage was all split. So I stamped on the smashed part of the Swift wing and flew the foamy instead and stuffed that into the ground many times for fun then felt much better.



The Car ferry at Boddinnick. Costs £2.00. Great view. Very steep and narro wroads with high hedges around the corner.



Uncle Grahame in his element





Grahanme the first to sample the air with his SAS wildthing



Grandad Len with all his foamy gliders made by a good friend of his, Stan Yoe



Len over the Slope with his Pheonix Models Eppisoarer



The mob at the slope



I got my machine out to play. Did one flight and a most perfect landing in the still air behind the slope.



My machines Shiny white gliders



Not that I can see flourescent red or anything



The Speed Demon Dimond about to fly or die



Mmmmmm Caarbon. Carbon cloth and epoxy...lots of : )





Eight cell NiCd



And away she goes!



Flaps down and they work (See My New Toy)



I got Gra a Ripmax Nebula- never did I expect him to fly it in on the first day! It only soared around for about six hours.



Gentle soaring, weaving across one another



Everyone flying together. The Swift the highest, followed closey by the Nebula, the heavier EppiSoarer at the bottom of the elevator, but then the Eppisoarer bounces!

[Cam]

All these pics are from Saturday at Lantic Bay. The lift was off and the result was putting models down wind in a stalled situation and I killed the Big Swift by putting it too far away ]



















My AMG2 soaring high and inverted- it is!



I had to try soaring with flourescent red cloth tape and I found it to be really visible



A slightly heavy landing and all six bands on my undercarriage broke- but at least my fuselage was ok



Nebulas floating around again!



Swift is Dead.





Im not about to repair this althogh I have fixed worse. I have decided it is finally better to earn money and by new ones.

[Cam]

Monday at St.Agnes.



The Parasailors are up- must be lift if they can get to 20 feet- they seem to struggl eto get any higher even in the best of lift! (We always get the model much higher)



I dunno the guys name, but he let me fly his plane and damn the Apache is sleek fun! I want a slope pattern ship now I am considering getting a Simoprop Saggita (Project 2)



Grahame torchering his SAS Wildthing again!



My 4.2m Focus just leaving the footpath





Some guy called Martin who put loads of lead into his Picojet to make it soar in the wind. Broke on landing



We flew until about half past ten

[Phillybaby]

ahhhh lantic bay, i had a great long lunch one day at work sitting there, parked up in some gate..

watch the para boys at St Aggy these days, the hang gliders are fine but the para's have some stupid attitude and have caused some huge problems. flying into a area full of gliders isn't smart.

[Cam]

Back at St.Agnes Wednesday



This is the view from the bench we sit on when we fly



Florian and his stretched Kyote. He's called it the milkshake.



Grahame assembling his 4-something-meter DG202



Biiig Canopy. Grahame had to keep pulling the heads off dolls to get a 1/4 scale body with the head the right size! But he has to have a female pilot ]




Me making sure Florians new Milkshake is balanced before its maiden. This got airborne then smacked the ground in a split second. We all told em it was too windy, but it had to be flown. I have a video of the event but I'll see if RArch can upload it from CD Cheers R.



The DG202 ready to go.



A mini ASW27 owned by a retired officer of the supersonic projectiles research part of Farnbourgh. Most fastinating guy to talk to.



The Apache guy back for the third day!



Super machine designed of course by Chris Foss. Grahame has always wanted one of these, but now he really wants one! (And since Chris has banned him from flying it as he gave it an abrubt arrival)!



Chris getting it airborne- rather nose up what!



Gliders having a moments rest- it's all they got!



The white ships



It wasnt only the glider enthusiasts that liked Grahames 4m+ DG202!!




Chris with his Multiplex High Lift



Grahame with his hands full, and so using his mouth to waggle the sticks to check the controls



Grahame and his scale, 3.9m Salto. He let me fly it and I made it stall turn, I am proud.

[Cam]

Philly, while I was in Cornwall I heard a load of club politics about some hang glider guy getting his arm broken and blaming a model for it! How bad!

[Cam]

With all the hard preperation and work keeping gliders airworthy and airborne, you have to eat. (I shant say sleep because that's what Florian mostly did- even at the cliff)!





Grahame with his awsome Salto and DG202. Two Magnificent machines

[Phillybaby]

yes, well the donkey flew between the pilot and model, of course the poor pilot can't see a thing and in his recovery back to sight he must have spooked the para idiot who then came in quick breaking his arm. somehow this is our fault??? we've shared the space for years with hanggliders who need just as much lift as everyone else, so we're not hogging one good spot, for some reason the para guys just have no common sense and idea of how to share space. it's there ass in the sling after all!
the two sides agreed to send reps to each others meetings, there guy didn't turn up.

[Richard]

Cam: Help me out here... which CD is this video on and whats its file name? Its like trying to find a needle in a hay stack, you've given me nearly 4GB of data to search!

Phil: I broke a glass jug the other day... by any chance were you flying at time? I'm looking to blame someone

[Phillybaby]

I've found a new ST AGNES!!! SITE!!!!!!!!!!! and best news it's an EASTERLY!!!

you can either walk around from the main carpark which takes about 10-15 mins, or go into St Agnes village, turn left just the other side of the centre and follow the signs to Dobles food..
i parked on the road just up form the factory ( just incase ) then followed the coastal footpath, Newdowns head is just on the left at the bottom and is a east facing bowl.

i was forced around here after the wind at the min site went off east, i decided to glide around the corner as i was still flying, all be it sideways.
this bowl is fantastic, i was flying very close to the slope as is slopes at 45 not like the steeper sites which mean you tend to stay higher, not that i couldn't go high but oh wow, what a site, the view is amazing. only downside is landing, i found a nice large patch of small spiky stuff and dumped it in. there is a field but it's hard to get to and on the back of a house.

the map shows the current sites and parking in red, green and blue, pink is the new site and parking.