SLOPING OFF...
...Christchurch and District Model Flying Club’s Magazine for April 2023
A WINDY DAY AT WHITE SHEET
BY DAVID BICKER
I thought that I'd have a go at flying on a really windy day, so I was at the SW bowl at Whitesheet this afternoon (March 30th). I have a video of the wind meter speed gusting from 25 up to 30mph.
The Topmodel CZÂ SWEET 1.8m has a balsa built wing section & a fibreglass fuz
I have added home made flaps to the model but even with 2 extra metal geared mini servos added at 890g the model weighed in 10g under the plan recommended maximum. I also cut a decal of a wrapped sweet instead of the word SWEET for both sides of the left wing as I thought that it looked better.
I launched it with Crow fully deployed to counter the enormous lift belting up the slope & threw it at a downhill angle. It flew well & was stable & predictable. It has a slim 12mm thick wing section, so quite a slippery section. I got in a good 20 min flight.
My only alteration before flying it again will be to reduce the elevator throw on Crow by about 20% as it flew downhill fairly steeply when Crow was fully deployed. So I landed it on 3/4 Crow.
No ballast was needed for it, or my Zagi LE. In total I got in 3, 20 minute flights over the 2 hrs period that I was there. I had to stand shoulder to the slope to stop the gusts pushing me off balance.
I won't try that type of high wind flying often as it's much more relaxing flying a 10-15mph blow, but it was fun & an experience.
At one point 3 Red Kites followed my Zagi LE around for a few minutes & I had the pleasure of hearing (& eventually spotting) a Skylark singing its heart out.
I was lucky with the weather as it drizzled both to & from the site but was dry the entire time that I was there flying. 3 of the Whitesheet club flew there in the morning, but I had the place to myself apart from dog walkers passing by. Lots of clouds scurrying over with occasional patches of blue & the sun showing itself from time to time.
David