About A470 Soaring


This is the blog for a few guys who spend their time flying radio controlled gliders, or slope soarer's, from the many and varied slopes around SE Wales.

This usually begins at the northern end of Cardiff, driving north up the A470 up to the Heads of the Valley's and the southern fringe of the Brecon Beacons. But the A470 road continues its windy way all the way to N Wales.

There are many slopes available for most wind directions, the most famous being the area between Nant-y-Moel and Treorchi known as The Bwlch, which has some of the best slopes and flying in Europe with many F3F competitions being held there each year and visited by many fliers from Europe and around the world. At 1500 feet (450m) above sea level, there is usually more wind than not, and certainly more than at sea level.

If you require any further information, are new to slope soaring or are visiting the area, please contact Steve at steve.houghton59@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing from you.

Take a look at Page 2 (look below and to the left here) for Google maps of our most popular Flying Sites.


Sunday 17 May 2015

PSS Lightning Maiden flight

So out on Meio Common today. The conditions weren't ideal really with the wind a little off the face and about 15-17mph in the compression zone, but I didn't know what strength of wind would be needed to keep my PSS Lightning in the air. The launch went well but I struggled to gain any height. I was able to make a couple of passes along the slope but then as I turned, the nose went up, I pushed the stick forward to lower the nose but she stalled and spun into the ground. Fortunately the damage is minimal. 
Here is the video.
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2 comments:

  1. slopesoaringsussex18 May 2015 at 08:32

    Hi Steve. What a good job you have done on the Lightning. Looked awesome in the air. Shame about the spin. It does need its flying speed but fortunately looks like it wont be too long before it in the air again. Hopefully see you next Sunday?

    ReplyDelete
  2. SteveH18 May 2015 at 14:57

    Hi Paul. Thanks for your comments, I've had a few stating how good my handy work looks. Not bad considering I haven't used iron on film in 35 years.
    I learned a lot in a short time about flying the Lightning.
    1. Keep it moving. I may set up the elevator with too much down trim so that it keeps moving forward and then just correct attitude on the stick
    2. It needs more air! I had 15 - 17mph yesterday which obviously wasn't enough. I think I'm looking at in excess of 20mph.
    3. Always carry a pair of Huggies Pull Ups, just in case butt clenching doesn't work. Lol.

    Weather permitting I will see you on Sunday.

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