As the dark evenings are still with us, our flying is necessarily limited to indoor sessions and weekends. Some of those winter building projects are in construction ready for that long awaited new flying season. I have recently finished the structure of a sixty inch Sopwith Pup which I am ashamed to say has taken two years up to now. I know many of you must have similar projects in hand. If you have, how about letting us know about them, a few lines to our editor is all it takes.
The slopes are now in action with a vengeance, which is good for our glider guiders who endured a very fraught time last year. Our indoor sessions are becoming very popular and we may have to find an alternative venue as we are now limited to one and a half hour sessions at our existing hall. This is really not enough time to allow everyone to have a reasonable flying session. At our last meeting we had as many as six models in the air at one time which is a recipe for mayhem, although it does indicate an increasing level of flying ability from our first indoor efforts. One session almost turned into a combat competition with the now popular foam 'Und-Nu's whistling around in all directions. For my part I managed to destroy the Limbo pole set-up with my foamy, which caused much amusement to the gathering. One new model, which merits comment is the GWS Tiger Moth being an excellent indoor flyer and extremely good value at around thirty five pounds including the motor and gear box. For anyone wanting to begin indoor flying he could not do any better than this model.
Our new trainer aircraft are now in use. Neil tells me that the new EPP Synergy flies well and is being used regularly for training on the slopes. The Easy Pigeon electric glider and the new transmitters are with Derek Longman and are in use as a basic trainer set up. So anyone wishing to try either of these disciplines can now be accommodated.
At the last committee meeting we agreed the final draft of our flying site requirements. It is intended that we set up a sub-committee with the express purpose of finding a new private Club flying site. We will need extra help with this project so if any of you feel that you would like to be involved, please contact a committee member. On the subject of private sites, I have been informed by Derek Squibb, who administers 'Howard's field', that there are a limited number of vacancies available. This is a very well run site with good grass runways, but it does require a reasonable flying standard, BMFA 'A' certificate or our club aileron certificate as a minimum. If this would be of interest, please speak to Steve Morris initially who would be able to explain the flying requirements more fully.
I was surprised to learn that our editor received very little feedback from putting the club magazine onto his website as a trial. We are considering putting the whole of 'Sloping Off' onto the new club website in the near future and some feedback would be of assistance. Constructive criticism is always welcome - and a little praise goes a long way?
Our new club year begins on April first and all members' subs will be due by that date, which is also when our new insurance year begins. So please ensure you pay promptly, or your insurance will be invalid. Well that's about all my news for now, so I wish you all good flying in the New Year.