Club Notice - powered flying

Whoa!!! The first entry in months and it has to be to issue a word of warning to our members and visitors.... :)

As of end of September all flying at our field will be exclusively thermal. No form of powered flying will be allowed at all. This quote was posted on the MGA blog by Lionel:

"Members of GEMS (Greenfields Eastern Model Soarers) were informed on Saturday of a Falcon breeding / training site located next to the field. To prevent startling these highly strung birds, and with immediate affect, no powered flying (gas, IC, electric or electric assist gliders) is permitted from or around the field. This implies that only thermal RC soaring is permitted.

We have informed the landowner that we will notify all prospective pilots of this restriction & sincerely request that you comply with this. We will shortly consider erecting a signboard at the field informing members & visitors of this specific requirement.

Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Paul Carnall or myself.

Regards,
Lionel Brink
GEMS"

2010 Sungazer (or is that Cloudgazer).....

Although the weekend turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as far as the weather goes, the socializing, the Saturday evening free barbecue, salads and beers, the free cold drinks and hot dogs on the slope all make up for the lack of flying. Even though the gloomy weather prevented quite a few pilots from coming, the collection of aircraft that made it to the slope was something to behold. Altogether 22 scale gliders in the line-up for the group photo and a few others sitting on the sidelines made for impressive viewing.

With this being the 3rd Sungazer, the trend towards ever bigger and bigger gliders is quite apparent as the growing collection of 4m+ gliders and the noticeably smaller number of Far East ARF's present will testify. Quite a few "old timer" gliders were also dragged out the hangars with two Minimoas, a Grunau baby, a Ka6, Ka8 and a very unique SG38 filling up the ranks. Pity we never saw the SG38 flying.

Battery power saved the day for many of us and enabled us to at least get some airtime. Ken Kearns' electric ASH26 saw the most airtime of all by far and also managed to chalk up the furthest out landing I think anyone has ever had the privilege to witness at this venue. The ASH's powertrain gave up the ghost and Ken nonchalantly bettered his Fox’s record of last year by at least another 200-300m. Measured on Google Earth (is it as the ASH flies or as the crow flies…..?) the ASH landed at least 1800m from where Ken was standing! All this without putting a scratch on the plane.... We won't say anything about his ego ;o)

Charl has promised to build a Scratching Post Trophy for next year and knowing how daring Ken is, he’ll probably be first in line as contender. Another fearless pilot trying out for this future trophy was Herman Weber who tempted fate twice over the weekend but each time managed to save himself the walk of shame. First with his Junk Mail Special (an unidentified scale looking glider) and the second time around with the immaculately detailed ASG29 complete with retract that he recently scooped up from Andries Gouws.

Paul's well weathered Fox, Norbert's inimitable SB10 and Johan’s classic Minimoa all saw some airtime on Sunday afternoon on the Northern slope when a 30-45minute window presented some usable lift. Yours truly chickened out from tossing the ASG29 and rather tried playing photographer in the tricky light conditions. This point on the slope is not visited all that often as the prevailing wind direction is NW, but in recent times it has occurred all too often that the wind has come from the direction of Majuba power station.

I left at 13h00 on Monday, and as Murphy would have it, the chaps who stayed behind had some good flying late afternoon. Funny how that happens….

The Sungazer committee did an outstanding job of organizing the event and this year even saw some temporary ablution facilities being dragged up the mountain. Well done boys! If this is a trend for future Sungazer events then I might even be able to persuade the other half to join me next year. Thanks to the committee and the sponsors for making this another memorable event. Just fire the chap who forgot to order the wind.... ;o)

And here are some more pics

Ken Kearn's Ka6...	... and his Ka8 that won Best Vintage Glider award....	...and his electric ASH26 that did the record out landing.
Gert Nieuwoudt's Minimoa	Another of Ken's Ka6	Grunau Baby of ...
This SG38 is truly an amazing work of art. Everyone ogled over the exquisite covering job and the intricate rigging.
	After initial "servo problems" that turned out to be a servo plugged into the wrong RX channel, Johan's Minimoa gracefully took to the sky
	And the look of satisfaction says it all

Roll on Sungazer 2011!!!

A GEM is born!

It may not be official yet (pending SAMAA registration) but a new RC gliding club has been born. Yes, yes, I know that probably everyone in our close knit gliding community know that some members from the old ETB club have been flying at a new field and have even flown a competition or two at the new polo field venue. But I bet you everyone have been wondering just who the heck this GEMS club is that hosted the F3J competition this past Sunday....

When our little ETB splinter group started the process of registering the new polo field with SAMAA we decided to keep things simple and kept the ETB name for the time being. I guess at the time it was hoped that all our old ETB compadres would join us at this fantastic new venue, but alas it was not to be. The old field is still more accessible to some of the old members and as such we, being the renegade ETB'ers, decided that it was no more than fair to the old ETB club to let them retain the name and find ourselves a new one to suit the new venue.

A good couple of suggestions were proposed; some good, some bad and some just plain off the wall! At our recent postals gathering, with a representative quorum of members being present, we kicked the idea around a bit more and with unanimous decision, opted for the new name. Although it would make for a heart warming story to admit that there is some hidden deeper meaning to the new name, we have to admit that it was much simpler than that.

Paul came up with the "Greenfields" bit, thinking it appropriate, given our world champs quality lush green launching pad. The "Model Soarers" bit was basically a given but somehow GMS just did note have that same "je ne sais quoi" sound to it that ETB had. I suggested adding the Eastern bit. Maybe subconciously wanting to retain some link to our origins in ETB. So, GEMS it became....

Maybe, with the progress already been made on the club house the polo chaps are erecting, we can have a roof wetting and inauguration party soon ;o)

ASG29 - Photo finish

It's funny how time catches you unawares. Although I had been steadily working at completing the ASG29 in time for the coming weekend's Sungazer event, thinking there was plenty time left, by the time you wipe the you-know-what out your eyes your time is gone. I decided to leave the bits that isn't essential to the model actually flying, so the scale interior, pilot and spoilers will have to wait for next time.... it does have a nose release for aero tow though ;o)

The 1:3¾ scale ASG29 has finally been completed and with not a moment to spare! If it was a horse race this would have been a photo finish. All that remains to be done is to add the nose weight tonight and she is ready to fly.


Hosa Volksies!!!

Some more launch animations

The more I play with Photoshop the more impressed I am with the software and the sorrier I am I never pursued my interest in photography at an earlier age in my life. Here is two more animations I created from shots taken at the new years fly in weekend on the 4th January. These scale gliders are a taster of what's to come during this year's Sungazer event at Volksrust.

Progress on my ASG29 is on it's way. I will try and post some build photos during the process. So come on! If you have a new project on the table for this event (or any other project) please show-and-tell!

Charl doing the honours for Mike, launching the big DG500.

Here Andries is helping Len's T21 Slingsby on it's maiden launch

HTL #2 @ SGC

Last Sunday saw us competing at the 2nd Highveld Thermal League of the season. Getting to SGC's field proved daunting but the condition their field is in is just superb. Worth the bone jarring, sump thumping drive there....

If you are expecting a full blown report I am going to have to disappoint you, but you can visit the MGA blog (link on the right) for Lionel's report on this event. I just wanted to post some pictures. Clicking on any of the pictures will take you to the album hosted by Picasa with slightly higher res pics in the album there. Anyone wanting the full res 10MP originals give me a shout and I'll email them to you.

I've been playing with Photoshop a bit lately and have managed to slap together some cool launch animations.

Here's Paul giving Evan's Emoyeni a shove


and another of Dion tossing his X-Pro

Here is "Amazing Grace" Evan putting the Emoyeni together


Dion waiting for working time to start


One of the pics that the above animations were created from. Evan's Emoyeni taking to the air


And away she goes! Dion and X-Pro


Herman calling for Dion


and Paul calling for Evan. Not that it helped.... The Jaegermeisters, Red Bulls and Handgrenades of the previous evening were taking their toll on Evan's flying abilities ;o)


Hey Paul! The thermal is THAT way! Check out the "boep".... ;o)

Young Jason flew like a champ and even managed to beat his dad. Ag nee man Herman!


Herman being helped by Dion


Herman did a beautiful job of repairing and repainting this X-Pro


and did his utmost best to scrape off the new paint job on the nose.... The soft ground made for ideal conditions and these lawn dart landings were the order of the day.


Another spotstabber by Alan


and this one by Steph and his flying broomstick

New Years Slope Fly-in at Volksies

Friday 2 January 2009:

The first week of 2009 saw a bunch of the Volksrust regulars congregate at Tamatieberg to kick off the year with a bang. Norbert happily joined in when I offered him a ride and we set of early on Friday to join the chaps who have been there since Monday. It turned out to be one of the best slope outings in recent memory with all three days we spent on the mountain being flyable. When we arrived the conditions were already good and although interspersed with some slermal lift we could fly to our hearts' content. I was having a ball with the Gentle Lady in the light lift. At some point Len Thomas had his Bird of Time up and got caught off guard when a real Volksies Boomer tried to suck his model into orbit.

Len tried his best running away from the lift but to no avail and he started having trouble keeping an eye on it. I must have been the only other mode 2 pilot around, as I soon found myself with his radio stuck in my sweating hands. Not having spoilers on the plane and being warned that the wing joiner was slightly "sub standard", made it damned near impossible to bring it down without folding a wing. Charl helped as spotter in case I lost sight of the model. After getting to grips with the handling of the plane I tried getting it inverted. On the first try the BOT just rolled out of the half roll, like any half decent polyhedral ship should, but on the second attempt I got it right. Initially the plane kept on climbing but with the right amount of pressure on the elevator stick it soon started losing height. The landing was a breeze compared to the fight to get it back.

Ken Kearns, as usual, had an immaculate collection of craft. Here he is getting ready to launch the electric assist ASH26. With the motor the launch is effortless (far right).

To keep his planes true to scale Ken even goes to the extent of making his own scale pilots and he does not mind sharing info. Here he can be seen giving Glen a Pilot Making 101 course. Glen thanked him by a little later taking out the ASH26 in a midair with his Weasel.... ;o) Not to worry Glen, we know you didn't mean to. Sod's law #27 section 14 states that with only two aircraft in the air on the slope at any given moment in time the chances of them trying to occupy the same airspace at the same time is no longer a probability but a certainty, it's just a question of how long you can avoid it. Fortunately the damage wasn't all that bad and Ken had the model up again a little later after some quick temporary field repair.

	These two beauties are from Len's hangar. To the left the very scale like built up Handley Page Victor. The T21 Slingsby below is a "rag ship" that apparently took Len two years to build. Len prudently refrained from flying these two in the quickly changing conditions.

A late afternoon storm approaching from the south had us scurrying around the mountain flying on the NW, W, SW and E slopes. By the time it eventually settled on the Eastern slope it was blowing so hard even the birds were grounded.
Ken was keen on trying out his Celair Celstar G1 aerobatic glider. This model is based on a locally (Ermelo nogal) manufactured full size aerobatic glider of which there are, as far as I can determine, only three "copies" around.
Ken asked if I would mind launching for him. I was a bit apprehensive with the gale force blow tearing up the slope but Ken was adamant he wanted to give it a try. I quickly saw that the usual way of lifting the plane until the wings started working at more or less a horizontal attitude was not going to work as the wind almost twisted the model out of my hands.
On the second attempt I only lifted it to about 45° and gave it a firm push. It still shot upward like a cork in water. Ken was in 7th heaven...... right up to the point when the right hand wing folded :0( Check out the before and after pictures below.

Before...

After...

Mike bummed the broken airframe off Ken, keen on trying to repair it. Ken just stripped out the radio gear and the pilot who had fortunately survived the crash.

We called it quits for the day when it started getting too cold and the call of a Windhoek around the braai fire could no longer be ignored.

Saturday 3 January 2009:

Saturday started off with a fresh enough wind on the NW slope that allowed me to kick off the day with a Toko-induced adrenaline rush. There are few experiences one can compare flying this carbon rocket with. One that comes close I think is that very first time as a kid you manage your first solo on your new bicycle with the training wheels off and Dad no longer keeping you upright. I get the shakes every time I fly this plane and every time it feels like the first time.

One of the highlights of the day was the launch of Len's T21 Slingsby.

	Andries Gouws, on holiday in Vryheid, had joined us for the day and was given the unenviable launching task. The Slingsby is literally more than a handful to launch with its wide body and very litte room for a proper grip. Under the watchful guidance of some of the regulars Len gave the order to launch and the plane climbed away gracefully. It soon became apparent that the Slingsby did not like turning slowly with a tendancy to dip the inside wing. It also did not like picking up too much speed. After some not quite comfortable flying, Len decided to rather come in to land and not being too confident with the handling of the plane, once again yours truly was roped in to do the honours, after ensuring me crash indemnity.
The tip stall tendency was quite noticeable and I lingered just long enough to suss out the handling characteristics and to see what the effect was of deploying the spoilers. I set up the landing making a wide downwind turn, mindful of keeping the speed within its narrow speed range. Nursing the very effective spoilers I managed to land it fairly gracefully to the cheers of the peanut gallery. Post flight inspection later revealed a bit of wash in on the wings (ooops) and everybody consented that the flutter experienced was due to the ailerons being driven by inboard servos via some bellcranks that just weren't stiff enough.

Andries launching Piet's Omei

Charl launching Gert's Coro Mig

	Piet could eventually no longer stand all the egging on and decided that the moment of truth had arrived.... It was time to maiden the Aero Commander. Andries was roped in to do the launching and after quite a run up the model effortlessly climbed out from the slope, doing its owner proud. Well done Noah!
Piet was ecstatic, but with his nerves in tatters, he could only manage about 7 or 8 minutes before he decided to bring it in. The maiden landing was smooth and uneventful.

Somewhere between all the launching duty being enforced on Andries, he managed to squeeze in a flight on his 3m Ash26.

Mike's Ventus 2ax with power pod strapped to it's back also got some airtime, again with Charl doing the heavy work of launching.

The Vulcan seen here being launched by Andries really surprised with it's docile handling and Len soon settled into some relaxed flying with this plane. From a distance you'd be hard pressed not to think this is the real McCoy.

Piet also had some fun with his Emoyeni in the excellent conditions.

Norbert's SB10 was graceful as ever.

Another big scale ship being launched, this time it's Mike's Diana 2 being launched over the lip.

We called it quits a little earlier than the previous day. One can only do so much flying before your energy reserves and your tolerance to the sun's unrelenting rays dries up.....

---

Sunday 4 January 2009:

Sunday started out even better than the previous two days and the big scale ships were soon tearing it up, like Mike's Big DG500. Once again Charl did the launching honours. With the wind registering way over 30kph on Charl's anemometer, even this 15kg bird took to the sky with nothing more than a firm heave (it's the picking up that gives you a hernia...)
Having shot close on 300 photos up till now, and to ensure some more airtime for myself I vowed to spend more time behind the transmitter than the camera for the day. I flew just about everything in my hangar and eventually by 3pm could quite happily say that I had had enough.

The year could not have started off on a better note and even the prospect of returning to work the following day could not dampen our spirits. One can only hope that the past three days was an indicator to what was to follow the rest of the year.

Catch you there next time!