BuiltWithNOF

 

Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
Sloping Off - our newsletter

Chairman’s chatter

Terry Antell

What an amazing Summer & Autumn 2014 has been.

The Friday Night Challenge has been better supported this year. More use of the water facility by members at Longham and Strawberry Field has had greatly increased usage, too.

Slope days out started as monthly and many have been weekly. Up until August that is! Yep, good English weather has changed for the worse during August but it improved during September & October. At that time we received the news that a NEW South & North slope had been found. An agreement was in place with local farmers/landowners. Nothing to do with me. It was TERRY WHITE, who used to own & run Purbeck Sailplanes. He did ALL the work AND paid money to achieve continued use of the SE slope, plus obtained agreement to use a new S & N slope, including driving on private land to get access.

These slopes are marvellous. The South slope has been used a couple of times by our members. If you are REALLY skilful you can do a little Dynamic Soaring (DSing) when the wind is Southerly and you fly on the Northerly slope. Yes, Adrian Chapmanlaw proved it on Friday 31st October!

Indoor flying continues twice monthly, 7.30pm till 10pm. Cost remains unchanged at £3 per session and FREE to those just watching.

I have been entering Electric Thermal Glider comps at Wessex Soaring Association site at Chalbury Farm. Five other members have also entered, many also being WSA members. I’ve won two of the four Open comps so far this year and 2nd or 3rd on others. I don’t believe it! I won the Open series.

Your committee have replaced the projector & screen that were stolen from the back room at The Walkford. The new equipment is of a far higher quality giving HD standard reproduction and the new screen is a commercial size, too, being 80” diagonal.

Alex Bush has continued cutting the grass at S/F with assistance from other members.

The incident I suffered when driving the mower should be okay by November. The problem happened in June! It was a good reminder why we always say DON’T CUT THE GRASS ALONE. A metal round stake went 1” into my leg just above the ankle. I have been attending doctor & nurses twice weekly for months. (It is still getting better at 03/11/14)

I have made arrangements for talks, etc. up to and including May 2015. As we now have 120 members it would be nice to see a few more at our monthly meetings. We are still holding training sessions at 6.45pm prior to the main club meeting each month.

Once again I have booked one Tuesday afternoon each month at The Walkford, starting in September for training afternoons.

If any of you would like a talk on a particular subject or a particular speaker please let me or Malcolm Bird, your secretary, know.

Till next time. Happy, Safe Landings.

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