Amarc2002

I will concentrate on two sites that I know well and both are very local to Bristol.When the winds are howling enough to put you off flying on the flat fields then it should be windy enough for Slope Soaring and here are some worthwhile hills to visit, anything blowing from the South West or West and around 20 MPH plus(that’s 4-5 on the Beaufort scale) will do but this will depend on what model you wish to fly and I will go into that later.

First we go to the hills near Dundry.

I have flown from several hills on the fields around Dundry and to get there all you need is an Ordinance Survey map and follow where the footpaths can take you.

The next time you are driving towards Bristol on the A38 by the Barrow Tanks look over to your right up on the hill where you will see somesites accessible by public footpath where good Soaring can be had when the wind blows from the west or south west.

The main site at Dundry that we use is a short distance drive from Whitchurch and the directions are as follows; take the Wells Road (A37)out of Bristol towards Whitchurch drive out through the village until you get to cross roads with Queen Charlton on the left and Norton lane to the right. Take this right hand lane to the village of Norton Hawkfield where you will come to a small triangular patch with a sign post keep to the left and park up. Now walk up towards the triangle and a little down the road on your right you will see a public footpath leading up the hill, on arriving at the top it should become clear where to fly as its in a large bowl shape and looking out to the west (your right) is a large tump which leads to East Dundry lane and from this point you can see Hengrove and also looking towards East Dundry lane where by the way you can park along this lane and walk across the fieldsbut there have been some car thefts from this point so the short but steep walk from the village of Norton Hawkfield is recommended.

So a few things to remember please take along some good warm waterproof clothing don’t worry how stupid you look, a hat, gloves,  shoes, some clear or normal goggles or glasses, a back pack with a hotflask drink, chocolate bars etc Transmitter and a small 12 volt field battery and charger that should keep you flying all day.

Now for the DraycottSlates

Head off down the A38 and turn off towards the village of  Cheddar on the A371 towards Wells, go through Cheddar to the village of Draycott and as you approach the church there is asign for the gliding club (full size) turn left (this is New road) carry on up the steep hill until you come to a side lay-by area with a public footpath gate on the left walk up the footpath to the edge of the tree line by a water hole ,this is where  you fly from but if there is not enough lift look behind you and you will see a cliff type ridge, this is the slates. Walk to the top and fly from there, this is a great place to spend the day as you may not see anyone at all while enjoying some fantastic views across the Somerset levels looking right over to the sea off Weston-Super-Mare.On a windy summers day I have watched Sparrow Hawks attacking my Zagi and Buzzard soaring alongside my models in graceful curiosity.

So on to my choice of basic models that I enjoy using on these slopes, my foamy Zagi which is strong and tough and can take many knock sis the favourite but there are also some EPP foam planes which also take a fair amount of abuse, but without going into too much detail there is a huge range of gliders through small and lightweight, semi or true scale up to the more sophisticated and sometimes large wingspan models.

Howdo you do it?

Take off

Launch the Model into the wind out over the crest of the hill by throwing it with the wings level and nose pointed slightly down. Let the model build up speed and when it finds the lift (which usually occurs between 7 and 25 metres out) make a turn that brings the flight path of the model parallel to the slope.When you need to turn the model around, make your turn into the wind away from the slope and again fly parallel to the slope. Repeat the above procedure whenit is time to turn again. Flying this flattened figure eight coarse back and forth across the face of the slope is standard procedure. This helps keep the model in the maximum lift zone which yields the most altitude gain and speed.

Landing