With a westerly wind and a clear sky what better way is there than to spend a few hours than flying off the slope of Big L?
I parked up at the entrance to the forestry lane of the west slope and started assembling the Alpina. It had been ages since this bird had felt the wind under her wings, and I do enjoy flying her. After a moment a large empty articulated lumber carrying lorry turned into the forest lane. It stopped and the driver got down out of his cab and came over to talk to me.
He asked all the usual questions. “How far does it fly? How fast does it fly? How much does it cost?” You know yourselves the types of questions that get asked. He seemed a nice enough guy so we chatted for a few minutes. I told him about the up coming glide-in at the weekend. He said he might drop by to have a look.
He shook my hand and climbed back into his cab and drove off up the lane, into the forest and out of sight.
I think I must have been a little out of practice at launching a large model. Although the Alpina made it out into the lift she almost stalled just after launch. Away up into the clouds she flew, a Split S manoeuvre brought her speeding back towards me followed by a steep climb, stall turn and out into the lift again. Oh, I do so love that plane.
After twenty or so minutes it was time to land her. I switched the Tx to ‘Low Rate’. Down wind she came. 90degree right turn, followed by another 90 degree right turn bought her into wind over the landing zone. A little bit of crown braking caused her to start slowing up, a little forward pressure on the elevator to stop her ‘ballooning’ meant she was just skimming over the grass. A wee bit more crow and she came to an almost complete stop just dropping onto the grass and sliding three or four feet to a complete stop. How satisfying was that!
I’ve assembled the Phase 6 so many times I’m sure I could do it blindfolded. I launched her out across the valley and watched as she bounced around on the quite strong lift. Much more agile that the big Alpina, she needs a slightly different flying technique.
I’d been flying the P6 for a few minutes when I heard the sound of lorry airbrakes followed a moment later by a couple of quick ’hoots’ on a loud air horn. I assumed my friend had returned with a full load of downed trees and wanted to turn out of the forestry land, and that my car was stopping him.
I turned around to briefly face behind me and waved to acknowledge that he needed me to move my car. I noticed some movement in the lorry cab, though I couldn’t see exactly what. I turned back to face out over the valley intending to bring the model into land……and couldn’t see the Phase 6!!! F++K :shock: …. God I hate that feeling. Mouth does instantly dry, and my stomach feels as though it’s risen up into my chest. I scanned the skyline, then the cloud base, couldn’t see the dammed thing. Then, from the lower corner of my peripheral vision I caught a glimpse of it. She was flying very low, maybe two or perhaps three feet off the ground in a nose down attitude!
I think she hit the ground even before I had started to pull back on the elevator stick. :cry:
If that wasn’t sickening enough what really pissed me off today was, that when I turned around to point out my misfortune to the friendly lorry driver, he had completed his turn and was driving off down the road!
They say, “Life’s a Bitch”…….the gods certainly weren’t smiling on me today, that’s for sure!
Little Keith. (Feling Exceptionally little today :cry: )
