...a ray of sunshine The weather this autumn and winter has been dreadfully windy, all the more remarkable given that this is usually the stillest time of the year and the opportunity I'd taken to fly off the lake in the still afternoons. However, there have been a few occasions when the gusting northerly has abated and yielded bejewelled afternoons, like this one.
Heading down to my usual spot, lovely cumulus decorated the vivid blue sky, the dark grey of their undersides vividly contrasting with the sparkling white of their peaks. As on the best late-afternoons, the clear horizon allowed a full spread of lush, golden sunlight to drench the lush greenery of the fields and add a sense of magical perfection to the scene. These are my favourite flying conditions, preferred to sunny mornings or even lovely sunrises, except for when I'm suddenly wanting to capture a special moment of exceptional light, or beautiful cloud formation, or ibis flying formation. Fortunately, in some cases such as this, I don't need to worry as I've got the video running and I can enjoy the moment. Flying the Raptor now is lovely, my favourite being it's red and white wings contrasting vividly with the blue and greys of the sky as it sweeps past...
...a little slope soaring I've chosen to set up the Phoenix 2000 as a pure soaring glider without motor, running a 2200 3S battery located right at the firewall and some small-change ballast installed in the nose cone. I have configured the Phoenix with crow brakes, as I discovered that having some sort of brake/lift dump is essential, whether that be fence-type brakes or, in this case, flaps and ailerons configured to generate drag and reflex the airfoil respectively
There are, unfortunately, no good slope soaring sites nearby, however I decided to try the hill at the far end of the paddocks where I fly; not particularly high or steep but enough to generate a little lift. The wind was a strong north-wester, a little gusty too, and I launched the Phoenix with as lusty a hurl as I could summons. The Phoenix flies well enough, catching what little and sporadic lift was available here. I tried the Phoenix with and without flaperons active but, given the very turbulent conditions, I couldn't asses the effect they have. Similarly, I didn't get the opportunity to really test the crow brakes, however they were effective in slowing the glider down and didn't cause it to climb when deployed which is good. However, as a first try, the Phoenix is encouraging, so I'll be trying to get it flying in some better lift...
