wind from S

[kankrz]

Hi all

I am new here.  I came to Dublin from Poland in 2004. Since last month I am trying to fly by my glider (Andromeda from ArtHobby) on Killakee slope.
Few days ago I bought new model 'Destiny' from Valenta and it's almost ready to its first flight. My question is : Where usually do dublins guys fly with S wind ?.
We will have S wind  this weekend.

thanks in advance and sorry for my broken English - Cris

[Fred]

Hi Cris,
Welcome to the forum !  

If you want to stay in the Kilakee area and want to fly south, you have to go to Glencree.
When you are at the main West slope, continue the road and pass the main slope for about 3 kms. you will see on your left a crossroad leading to Glencree. Don't go there, stay on the main road and park your car after the crossroad... The mountain on your right, well, that's your slope !
You can see the East face, but once you climb a bit, you can fly southerly winds. Here is a view of the slope and of the crossroad :


Very good east slope, and not a bad one for the south too ! Plenty of space and High grass to land. You can fly any sizes here, so, at least, the ones you can carry with you !  :?:
You have to climb for about 10 - 15 minutes, depending on how many cigarettes you smoke !  

If you stay on the main road and continue to drive, you have lots of small south orientated slopes, but in the area, the best one is the Glencree one.
And the Destiny is a really good model !  :clap:
Hope this help, but don't hesitate if you have other questions,
Fred

[Peter]

Hi Cris,

I think we met last weekend at the Glencree slope and enjoyed that nice southeasterly breeze.  If the wind is due south, the Glencree slope will not work so well unless you walk up to the steep slope above the lake.  In the past we have driven further south past Sally Gap on the old miltary road and there is a low gradient south-facing slope there that works OK.  However, I would not rule out being able to use Killakee - if the wind is even a little west of south, this can work.  We will probably meet there at c. 2.15 on Saturday afternoon and if it does not work, head further south.  Perhaps see you then.

Peter

[kankrz]

Hi Guys

I would like to thank  everybody for all hints where to fly.
Tomorrow I am going to check mentioned places.  'Destiny' is ready to fly, batteries for model and camera are also ready.  I hope, the weather is not going to be worse.
After flying I will try to put here a few pictures from this trip.

Thanks and see you on the slope - Cris

[garrykeogh]

There is a site not too far from Kilakee that works OK in south winds.  It is about as good (well maybe a little better) than the area where you fly NW conditions in Kilakee.
It is on the road between Sally Gap and Roundwood, between Lugala and Lough Dan.  In fact, in a west wind and on a summer day, you get the most fantastic mix of slope and thermal lift over Lugala lake.  It doesn't look at a glance like you would get a helium baloon to fly here as Lugala mountain is staring you in the face at the other side of the lake.  When there is wind, there is surprisingly strong slope lift (on the promenance that the tourists stand on to look down on the "Guinness House").  When the wind falls off, you feel like you ought to get the model a bit closer as the lift would normally fall off, BUT the still air in the tall trees acts like a heat trap and willingly liberates LOTS of thermal lift.  It's a strange feelilng.
Now on a couple of occasions we have been "moved along" by the ranger from the guinness lands saying that there is a radio communication system used by the houses in the valley and that the R/C transmitters interfere.  I did point out to him that his radio system was malfunctioning or on a band reserved for flying R/C but he was having none of it.  In reality, I think he was just a grump!

Going back to south winds...
If you travel along this road until the last car parking area just before the road drops down to the gate into the Guinness Estate, there is a sort of bowl that is pointing over the avenue down to the guinness house in the direction of Lough Dan.  I have flown lightly loaded models from here until I could hardly see them.  The lift is quite OK and extends further out than I can fly and I have perfect eyesight!

Worth an exploratory visit if you have not already tried it.

Garry

[joe]

Hiya Gerry
Thanks for all the info!
Have fancied a go at Lugala for a while now but haven't gotten round to it.Looks like a beautiful place to fly!
Will try out the south slope as well.Sounds very interesting.
Am going to create a slope site forum on here and maybe we could all share our info!