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.


Friday, 28 October 2016

Weekend Flying Forecast 29th/30th October

The days are getting shorter, the end of October is here and Monday is Halloween, and the temperature is dropping. So it's time to dig out the thermal underwear and the trapper hats for the next four months.

But autumn and winter doesn't stop the hardy boys of S Wales from getting out to the slopes when the weather allows, and most of us have been out on the slopes even when there has been a covering of snow.

This is also the time of year I use to make repairs or build new models, and I have three to get on with, or will have once I get my hands on them.

I have my PSS Skyhawk to complete. I am waiting on delivery from Valenta of my 3m L213A, and Michelle is buying me the little, (990mm) Vagabond for Christmas. So those should keep me out of the pub during the winter evenings.

So now onto this weekends flying forecast.

We have a visitor to the area from Germany, Robin Lutzenburger, and I know he's had some good flying so far at Rhossili and Southerndown, and I think today he is heading back to Rhossili to maiden his 2.5m Swift. But this weekend is looking to be much quieter wind wise.

Saturday - Dry and bright with a 5 - 6 mph south easterly.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time usually heading to a slope with that kind of wind speed, but if you insist then you could maybe try Back of Wrecker at the Bwlch, although the wind could be quite off the face. If you fancy adding some hiking into your flying day, then you could march over to the far side of the Crest. Another option would be Blain Bran at Cwmbran.

Sunday - Another dry and bright day with a slightly better 8 - 9 mph easterly.
So for me, the Crest at the Bwlch would be the obvious choice and, with such a light wind, the rotor shouldn't be to much of an issue.

Fochriw may be flyable although slightly off face with the added risk of para glider activity, and Manmoel is another option. But wherever you go, lightly loaded models will be the order of this weekend.

Keep your eyes open on the Slope Soaring in Wales Facebook group page for any last minute changes, and whatever you end up doing, happy flying.

Steve
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