Lovely light lift practice.

Popped up to the Bwlch with Rachel and the 2 dogs today as it was a lovely afternoon and took the Precision along too.

We wandered out to the Crest even though I could have flown the Wrecker and Rachel and the boys kept walking as I set up the Precision for some practice and more fine-tuning. I don't have an anemometer so wasn't able to measure the wind speed but it changed over the hour from being able to pump and gain a hundred feet or so height to having to manage all my available energy to perform a decent run that would have been around 50odd seconds.
I'll be interested to see how she (and I) goes in stronger lift, but it felt pretty promising.

After a good hour of flight time in fading lift I feel much more comfortable flying again although I couldn't tell which style was working best in the light conditions. Obviously she was holding more speed managing the energy, but she was travelling a long way. I feel like banking and gently yanking had the best times in the light conditions. When the conditions were better earlier on I felt like reversals were working the best. I also imagine that if I had the comfort I developed by the end of my session at the start, my EM effort might have paid dividends.

I was getting pretty chilly by now and was also expecting to see Rachel on her way back along the top. The mobile signal is much better up there now and after a quick phone call IU found out that she had walked a massive circuit all the way along the top, then below the front of the Crest, back up the top and was almost back at the car!! Good walking!

Needle repairs haven't started yet. I'll get on it soon ;-)

See you on a slope soon!

Maiden done!

I popped up to the IceCream slope after a 2pm finish at work today for the test flights of the Needle124 and Pike Precision.
The conditions were lovely, cold, but lovely.
Precision was first to go and I launched her empty into a decent blow. I had nothing to worry about except my own ability! She was really a pussycat.
A bit of larking about, some setting of elevator compensation, snapflap and aileron differential and it was landing time. Easy as pie!

The needle was next. It was a very short flight. 2 things wrong were a very rearward CoG and I'd forgotten to reduce the elevator travel.
I did manage to get it down in one piece, although the fuselage piece was a bit broken....
So back to the Pike and I popped a few hundred grams of ballast in her. The conditions were weakening but she didn't let that worry her at all.

Another 15 minutes or so of hooning around, trying to improve the set up and came away after another fine landing with a few things to think about.

I struggled getting my hands comfortable on the transmitter. I've modified a transmitter tray to fit inside my old Transmitt. I took to the tray with a hacksaw tonight and it is a massive improvement! Comfy again!

I didn't feel like I was getting the desired effect of adjusting the Differential in the Ailerons so I'll reduce the amount of coupled aileron and hopefully reduce the tendency to fly behind me.

The elevator throw was too great so I didn't feel like I was adjusting the snapflap effectively.

I feel really really positive about this plane!!

I do also love the Needle124 and after a quick repair to the Fuz and sorting the CoG back into the early 90's, she'll be right as rain again.

It was awesome to be back on the slopes! So happy!

I'm READY!!!!

The Needle is completely ready! All painted, fettled control suraces,  set up on the taranis and ballast sorted. I like having a twitchy plane and have set the CG at 105. I've organised my ballast so that when my steel joiner is in, I remove some weight from near the nose. The weight is in for the carbon joiner. The rear ballast compartment is the only one that doesn't shift the CG too savagely.

The Precision is all as ready as the Needle except for paint.

I'm very exciTed to get out and set them up properly for me on a slope. The weather needs to play ball at the right time now. Fingers crossed!

Precision and Needle are almost ready to go!!

So excited about getting out on the slopes this year!
Probably won't be competing much, still not a great deal of time to spare.