HELP SLOPE NEWBIE IN THE MAKING

[Kiwi]

Guys,

For the past ten years I have been driving past these massive cliff faces on my way to our flying field. You dont need to be a rocket scientist to see these have to be perfect for a spot of soaring as the birds have been doing it every day for the past zillion years. The para glider boys also hang out here and I have watched them soar up and down the beach for hours without a break.

So no credit is due to yours truly for thinking of giving a cheap slope soarer a run for the money.

But heres the reason for the post.

The winds in the afternoon are in the 20 knot range and run at 90% to the cliff face. Thats got to be perfect I think. I want something that if it goes in the drink (ocean) I wont jump the 100 plus feet to go get it. It need not be fast in fact for a start something slowish so I can feel my way into this would be great.

Who makes em, I dont have time to cut foam or build much. I'm too busy trying to build up my retirement fund so I can do lots of that later so for now its ARF or RTF. Servos and stuff no problem of course but the guts of the beast please give me some clues.

Last but not least dont tell my wife as me getting Sunday morning to go fly the heavy stuff is OK, but stopping by the beach on the way home and loosing track of time is going to ruffle the feathers.

So Kiwi's in absolutely new ground here. I have not a friggen idea so fire away guys.

Kiwi

[SleepyC]

Dude... nice cliffs.

[Kiwi]

Sure are Sleepy but I'm sure you can see that if you get below the crest and loose lift theres no way your getting anything back. Further to the North there are some beaches and they are accessible so I would start there for sure.

Mate the Pelicans come along that cliff top like dang F16's so its got to be a hoot if i can sort it out.

Kiwi

[wizard]

I have one of the little Fling HLGs. It has a 48" span, 2 channel. Easy to haul and I love the way it flys. They are in the right price range. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGVW2&P=0

Another way to go might be one of the GWS kits. Most of them can be purchased as a slope soarer. Just get the balance right and give it a toss.

[pitviper51]

thats a killer spot!!!! you might beed alead sled to fly off of that! for cheap easy fun the weasel is great.. EPP faom and very agile.. tho im not sure how it would handle the heavy lift... heres a link
http://www.dream-flight.com/weaselpro.html

these are also very good, one thing to remember buildign these is doesnt have to be very light.. youll end up loadign it with lead anyway... GOOP and fibertape is first layer of covering then ultra cote.. http://www.skykingrcproducts.com/rcp...nd/minisr.html

or you can get a combat wing... but seeig the lack of recovery full contact combat would be good only for the beach sites,, goood luck and keep us posted. im sure more of the slope nuts will chime in any time now...
mike

[asher]

Let me start by saying you better have some good excuses because your quick stop will soon turn into a till you cant see anymore evening. I have had some of my best times flying when I was slope soaring. Here is a link to a site with some nice planes. Some epp for high durability and some other really nice stuff that is not as crash tolerant. I haven't been able to go in a long while but every time I look at the cliff we go on it makes me want to find more time. You need to get some friends into it and do some combat. Serious great fun! After that find a spot to DS, Dynamic soaring. When you get to 100+ mph on a foam non powered airplane behind the mountain its just indescribable. Here is a video of someone DS'in doing 301 MPH!! Just incredible. Watch all the videos on this page. They are good
http://www.slopeaddiction.com/thekids.html

[SargeNZ]

Hey Allan mate you could try a homegrown Canterbury Sailplanes model.

[Kiwi]

Asher,

I can normally get away with a bit of scheming on my excuses for being late but arriving home with no gas smell on the hands might make it harder. I have two good friends who are keen to have a go at this mainly because these cliffs are ten minutes from the offfice door. In summer its dayligh until 10:30 pm but usually the wind has dropped off by then. Mid mornings are always windy and in September October I would guess ws get a steady 30 plus knots all day.

As for the DS I will get some pictures of the local mountains and slopes. Sure they are harder to get too but we have near vertical coastal mountaind that rise 4000 to 5000 feet straight out of the ocean. I need to get onto Google earth and look for a place where they rise to a peak and then drop off immediately over the back.

Combat sounds like killer fun and I am sure we will get into that.

Thanks a million so far guys for the info. I will be away for a week so its likely hard for me to stay in touch. Work for three days then the AEROSHOW 2007. Its our biggest event and growing every year.

Keep the info coming please and I will be back here when I can.

Kiwi

[asher]

I forgot to give the link for planes.
http://www.californiasailplanes.com/

[Toro]

www.soaringusa.com

[pitviper51]

susa have a ton of great stuff!!! go for it!,, (soaring usa for the non glider ppl heheh)
mike

[Slopemeno]

20 mph at those cliffs will support a fairly heavy plane, especially if the wind is as close to straight in as you say.

I'd start with a flying wing, like a Zagi, Wing Warrior Raider, etc. Once you get good with it, make a 1-lb ballast block you can tape (heavily) to the bottom. It'll rip with a pound added to it.

Once you get that going, you need to find yourself a 'sled. Something heavy and fast. I reccomend you build yourself a Jart. If you go over to Jartworld (www.jartworld.com) you'll see all the different versions that have appeard the world over. You can build one fairly cheaply, and you can build it with three mini servos and a full size receiver. I've flown Reeds Jart and it is such a ballistic flier....words fail me. The performance is like a cross between a jet fighter and an aerobatic plane. The roll rate is somewhere between frenzy and blur. If you are at all handy, you can build one. Go for it.