23 April 2012

dodging the wet bits

Never before in the history of sloping has April lived up so absolutely to its reputation. The last few weeks have comprised continual shower dodging sessions combined with the highly variable winds brought about by the overdeveloped conditions.




 here comes another shower....


Charlie's Fish owning the slope



enjoying a sunny bit



BOOM !




not even considering a landing...



...until the next shower swings in




Slope Phantom is watching you...
wherever you are!





16 April 2012

jack and jill via wolstonbury


A selection of the usual suspects risk a trip to the South Downs on a weekend.
Rather than battle the hordes at Bopeep, our intrepid slopers head for Wolstonbury.

there's good lift, but parking issues require a decamp to Jack and Jill across the way
(see above right of Phil's head)


verdant pasture, full size fly overs and spring blossom greet us!
another flier was visible over on Wolstonbury (above and left of Pete's head)




wind is off the slope, but thermals save the day
(windmill in the background available if you have £1.5 million going spare)


seven year old school boy type photojournalism documenting
the flagged up landing zone hazards



 Phil and the Falcon


Eric and the Stealthy Sittingbourne Soarer



 scalie and asymmetric flying wing





17s own the downs



It's a blowy day at Bopeep and Eric's got one thing on his mind...



it's time to give the ASW 17 a good honest thrashing


5 metres of lovely Pat Teakleness



Le 'aeroplaneur du pike' with its vomit inspired paint job
just doesn't cut it in amongst the other scale beauties today




wasting no time, Eric gets airborne...or is it Gary's 17?
no it's definitely Eric's, I can still hear it whistling...




look who's just turned up stage left!




Eric flies...



and flies....




 .....and flies some more.
 Ably joined by Gary with the elephantine 17, the two are caught here in a nostalgic fly by
(note the 35 meg aerial in foreground to heighten the vintage aura)




Gary landing.......down flap equals anhedral




 after many joyous hours in the sky, the '17 slides over to
give its master a quick blowy by way of a thank you





with its epic lift, great view and wide landing
area, Ray's still not sure about the mighty 'Peep 




comparing sky tools, Gary's careful not to rest his
16 stone fuz on Eric's dainty light weight





oh go on then...just one more flight!



Well, some good news from Ray; turns out that it was neither a hernia nor a haemorrhoid
causing the discomfort; the brisk stroll to the patch brings on contractions and he
gives birth to a 50 year old, fully clothed male. We christen him Mark and it turns out he's a natural on the sticks.


 time to pack up and head for home


01 April 2012

piggyback fail

Lack of decent wind drives slopers to desperate measures. In the mean time, a true pro shows us how it should be done.