FOOTLAUNCH

 

 

Next club meeting; AGM on Wed 9th Mar 8:00pm at The Plume - FREE DRINKS !!!

 Come along and have a say in how the club is run. Vote yourself on to the committee.

Having edited Footlaunch for 2 years I have decided to stand down this year, so that’s one vacant post already. It’s not an onerous job but really needs someone with broadband connection so that we can have a liberal sprinkling of photos if nothing else. I’m happy to carry on compiling the PG Go4it table.

 

A reserve chute repack session will be held in Upton village hall on Sat 12 March from 3pm to 7pm.

 

BRASS MONKEY RESULTS

South Devon Brass Monkey -  Jan 29th-30th 2005. Day 1 - Carbis Bay, Day 2 St. Agnes Head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pos.

Pilot

Club

Spot Day 1

Spot Day 2

Race Day 1  min.sec

 Race Points

XC Day 1

XC Day 2

Total

1

G. Phipps

Ker

190

250

4.45

1000

1000

1000

3440

2

M. Nicol

SD

450

460

8.3

550

            DSQ

1000

2460

3

T.Jones

Ker

370

330

7.15

700

850

 

2250

4

C.Smith

SD

495

390

7.3

670

0

0

1555

5

J.Bevan

Mal

475

390

7.3

670

0

0

1535

6

P.Coad

Ker

260

400

6.45

760

0

0

1420

7

M.Bosher

Ker

0

420

5.45

880

0

0

1300

8

K.Sweeney

SD

300

230

7.35

660

0

0

1190

9

G.Brooks

SD

495

/

7.43

644

0

0

1139

10

N.Collins

Mal

0

350

7

730

0

0

1080

11

P.Attley

Mal

0

290

6.55

620

0

0

910

=11

A.Hyde

Mal

?

210

7.15

700

0

0

910

=11

R.Green

Ker

450

0

9.15

460

0

0

910

12

A.Birch

Ker

310

0

8.25

560

0

0

870

13

P.Howse

Ker

400

0

9.15

460

0

0

860

14

A.Hughes

SD

0

/

7.05

720

0

0

720

15

D.Evans

Mal

0

/

7.17

696

0

0

696

16

B.Arkle

SD

0

0

7.32

666

0

0

666

17

R.Full

Ker

350

/

10.3

310

0

0

660

=17

A.Farrow

SD

200

/

9.15

460

0

0

660

18

Mick

Mal

0

/

7.59

612

0

0

612

19

A.Ashford

Ker

0

320

10.4

290

0

0

610

20

M.Phillips

SD

0

/

8.3

550

0

0

550

21

M.Reed

SD

210

/

10.2

330

0

0

540

22

G.Allision

Mal

0

/

9.2

450

0

0

450

Radios

From the Condors, something to bear in mind;
Rumour has it that a couple of official looking characters turned up at Seatown after everyone had landed one day carrying hand held radios and with a van full of electrical wizardry.

I gather that earlier there was a great deal of chatter on the radios, interrupted by someone saying the pilots were not authorised to use this frequency, and identifying themselves as being from Offcom!!

Radios and HG/PG Flying by Rod Buck

 

I am sometimes asked how one can legally use a 2-way radio when flying.

 

There is no easy answer to this!

 

There IS an allocated frequency around 118Mhz in the Airband.  However, if you bought an airband radio and got a licence, you’d be talking to yourself , because no one else uses it.

 

Why? Well, one frequency? Not much use when on a busy English site there may be 40+ gliders in the air at once! It would be complete cacophony.

 

And also, airband transceivers cost 3 times as much as standard 2-metre radios, and perform much less well, as they are AM, not FM.

 

So, HG and PG pilots use 2 Metre equipment, which has been “broadbanded”. That is, the frequency range opened up to wider than the allowed range of 144.00 – 146.00 Mhz for Radio Amateur use.

 

We use a small range of frequencies just below 144Mhz, and these are:

 

143.950                      Main calling channel

143.925

143.900

143.875

143.850           Alternative calling channel in busy areas

143.825

143.800

143.775

143.750

143.725

143.700                      Also used as calling channel by PG’s in some areas

 

The other channels “in between” the named ones are used for XC conversation, teaching and tutoring, retrieve, etc. Find an empty one!

 

The first one to try in most parts of England and Wales is 143.950. Can’t say about Scotland.

 

There was a tacit “under-the-counter” agreement with the Radio Licencing people many years ago that if we stopped our people using any old channel between 135 Mhz and 165 Mhz, (which these radios will do quite happily) and kept ourselves onto this narrow band, we would be left alone… and it seems to be so…I have not known of anyone getting harassed by the authorities when using these channels.

 

However, it is illegal to use them, make no mistake.

 

There is NO way to legally use these channels. Or the 2 Metre radios.  And even if you were a licenced radio amateur , you cannot transmit from the air, so you can’t get legal THAT way!

 

So, the choice is:

 

  • Buy a legal airband radio, get a licence, and talk to yourself

 

  • Use 2 metre FM radios on the channels above, illegally, but have lots of people to talk to.

 

How do you get the radio frequency expanded, or “broadbanded”? Depends on the model. There’s usually a sequence of keypresses that unlocks it, and if you buy from a HGPG dealer, he’ll do it for you.

 

Otherwise, there’s usually a sheet of instructions that comes with it to tell you how.

 

Some Icom radios have a small panel on the back, and you take that off, and snip the blue wire that is visible there, and this does the trick.

 

No, I’m NOT going to tell you “which is the best radio”! Depends on what you want, and how much you want to spend – just like cars, there’s lots of different things to appeal to different pilots.

 

However, one word of warning, You may want to avoid Kenwood – they are very good radios, but have their own peculiar microphone and headset sockets, which are connected differently to all other makes, so bought-in headsets etc will not work with them. You have to buy Kenwood-specific headsets, etc.

 

A good place to start looking is either Maplin, or Waters and Stanton, in Hockley, Essex.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk

 

http://www.watersandstanton.co.uk/

 

 

FLYING DIARY

NORTH HILL MINEHEAD SUNDAY 20th Feb

Wind strength all day-15 mph, direction all day: due north .

Max height : THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL!!!!! I’ve never been so high at the coast!! Max sea thermal: 8 up ( on the averager!!!!!) Average sea thermal climb 3-4 up.

Flight: out and return: launch (North Hill) to Coombe Martin and return to launch-top landed in new cleared area behind launch. Time in air 3.25 hours.

Otherpoints: Meet Carl Sweeney on his king posted Scandal over Lynton at 3.5 thou heading to Ilfracoombe while I was on my return leg. Most of flight was at about 2.5 ASL. Most difficult part: crossing to Porlock- arrived 50 feet below top , scrapped into bowl- loads of lift. Return to North hill start 3.8 ASL 6 MILE GLIDE-LOST 1200 FEET!! AT 38 MPH.

 Anyone could have made this flight – even on a Scandal - and returned, I had 1500 to play with on arrival at Bossington!!!

Al where were you? Unfortunately too windy for Chris or any other PG.

Nick Collins

This sounds like a challenge to all those HGs without wires (and those with too I guess).

Nick had a suggestion that we should set some goals for the sites we fly, in particular the Malverns.  I thought it a good idea too, I know some other clubs do this sort of things.

The idea is that rather than just bimbling around we can push our flying skills a little bit and have some fun, say some easily identifiable triangles, out and returns or spot landings in unusual places (perhaps someone's back garden).   This would also be good for those that don't want to go XC (or can't on a particular day for some reason).

So, sound like a good idea?  Any suggestions for things we can try for on HGs and PGs in 2005?

Chris S

From: "Harriet Pottinger"

It's worth pointing out that Nick Collins is only the 2nd ever to complete an o/r across the Porlock gap, and it's only ever been done on a rigid (so far - it can only be a matter of time.)

 

 

 

Don’t forget - Airtopia demo weekends

 

Sites will be any Avon, S E Wales or condors open sites, decision made the evening before or on the day. 

 

Email  HYPERLINK "mailto:robin@airtopia.com"robin@airtopia.com

 Or Tel        01453 827202

 

        

Go4it 2005

 

 

Rules

1.    UK flights only.
2.    No infringement of airspace.
3.    Must have Pilot rating or be under instruction from one on the day.
4.    Flights between 01/12/04 to 30/11/05.
5.    Co-ordinates for T/O and landing required plus distance from point to point in Kms as a

       check. Flights will be scored to nearest 100m.
6.    Defined flights (BHPA rules) Coordinates for turn points in addition. Double distance
       awarded provided 60% of flight outside ridge lift.
7.    Stone's throw award for smallest flight submitted (or known about) provided
       distance 5km or greater (previously 3 miles).

 

ADVERTS:

       AIRTOPIA       

 

                                                                                            

 

Demo long weekends set for 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th March or

11th, 12th, 13th or 14th of March.

 

Ozone, Airwave, Gin, Up and Gradient.

If you are interested in trying new wings please give us a call…lots of new toys to try before buying.

 

Montenegro Holidays in September and October.

Prices from £250 - Flights for under £100!

 

For map and directions please go to WWW.AIRTOPIA.COM

 

 

Second hand canopies