slopeflyer.com

Citizens & AMA VS FAA Resources

Folks, I am getting back into our beloved hobby at a very interesting time. Not only has the R/C tech improved yet again but there are potentially new rules that I’ve only recently become aware of that may affect our ability to fly as we have in the past. In my research of the opinions and recommendations on what to do I’ve talked to several longtime pilots and also perused the web for info. Here are some links I came across that, I hope, will shed some light on the issues. Please feel free to comment! Let me know your rational for registering, or not!

Not withstanding that I don’t consider my model flying over the past 40+ years to be in the same vein as unexperienced drone “pilots” who can step back from active engagement with their aircraft, my inclination is to wait and see where this goes.

Super Cheetah Slope Plane Info Needed

super cheetah

Larry Pettyjohn sent me an email with the content below. Any help out there?

“I owned the Cheetah Models from 1986-1995 and produced the Super Cheetah. I sold the business to a gentleman in the state of New Mexico, around Albuerque. His name is either Alexander Scott or Scott Alexander. Have you ever heard of him or the where abouts of the tooling for the kit. I am interested in purchasing it back and need to get in contact with him. Any help would be appreciated.”

Shoot me a note if you know anything about this and I will forward it on to Larry.

Weasels Are Back! Long Live the Weasel!

Weasels are back! Here is part of a post to the Dream Flight blog from Michael Richter:

“We will activate our online order pages and purchase buttons at 9AM tomorrow (April 15). Yes, I know, its tax day… So, make sure to pay your taxes, but don’t forget to buy a Weasel too!

Looks like we have a busy week/weekend ahead of us… weasel kits to finalize and package, new orders to process, etc. At the moment, there are a few things remaining to be done on the website, so we’ll also continue work on those unfinished “coming soon” pages.

Thanks again to all who were so patient during the re-design / overhaul of our business and products.

Its good to be back!”

Good to have you and the Weasel back, Michael!

Greg – Lifelong Weasel Pilot

Slopestream and PSS Kit Availability

I’ve gotten a bunch of requests about the plane in the intro section of this site which is currently Carl Mass’s Aerostream flying at Soar Utah. Dan Sampson is the guy who is fulfilling the kit orders for the Slope/Aerostream as well as several other Slope Scale designs by Brian Laird. Check out his site at:

http://flybyudan.blogspot.com/

Also check out RC Groups for information on our ISR’s newest project, the F-84. Dan is starting to roll out some short kits which are available for sale. In addition, he is also working on a Lancair. Slope version! The prototype is about 90% complete. Can’t wait!

http://www.rcgroups.com/inland-slope-rebels-221/

slopeflyer.com Shop Moving!

We are in the middle of moving the shop…all the way next door. It is something of a sashay more than a move as I have to get the other tenant to move half their stuff out, paint and prep the first half of the new space, move my stuff in and then get the second half of their stuff out. What fun!

In the end we will have a more useful space that will allow me to combine a couple of projects and have a good-sized common area that can expand or contract depending on the work.

Besides slopeflyer.com’s shop area, I will have my office for my web design and media production company in the space as well as my bicycle business prototype shop.

Check Out Espen’s F3F Timing Gear With Weather Station

Espen and his partner have designed a timing system for F3F. What is so special with this system? They have incorporated a weather station into the timing devise.

The device captures wind and direction measurements from leg one to leg ten, average values can be calculated for both parameters, and the results displayed along with the time of the flight.

As such, the CD or timing gear operator will be empowered to confirm the validity of the flight conditions.

See more here:

http://aerotorp.blogspot.com/2009/02/timing-gear-with-weather-station.html

They plan to make these units available for sale to the F3F community.

Slope Aerobatics Website From Steve Lange

Santa Barbaran, Steve Lange, has begun what promises to be a super website on slope aerobatics. The site is located at http://www.slopeaerobatics.com (I’m surprised that domain name wasn’t already taken!).

So far there are photos, reviews and videos. A copuple of planes are well represented those being Le Fish, the Voltij and the Weasel.

As Steve’s mission statement states:

“SlopeAerobatics.com is dedicated to the joy and satisfaction inherent to flying R/C glider aerobatics on the slope. The website has an international focus and is meant to showcase the different styles of aerobatic R/C slope flying popular around the world.”

Sounds good to me.

BTW, I have a Le Fish coming, Steve. We’ll get you some pix of aerobatic action in the Midwest!

JART World Interview Series

Reed’s interviews of some of the best known names in slope soaring make for some great reading and give some insight into the thoughts and experiences of an influential bunch of guys in our slope soaring hobby.

As of this writing Reed has interviewed the following folks:

I look forward to reading more interviews from sloping luminaries!

PBS Series Nature Features Kyle Paulson DSing!

I caught the Raptor Force episode of the PBS series Nature today. It was a very cool show all about various raptors and their influence on aircraft design and studies of flight. One segment had Kyle Paulson DSing his 100-inch Exxtreme! RC on PBS. How cool is that? The segment was about dynamic soaring and the energy gained flying the DS groove.

The preceding segment showed how Condors do the same thing to fly long distances with very little energy expended.

The segment following Kyle’s demonstration of dynamic soaring showed a full scale glider and pilot exploring the phenomenon of DS flying the groove on the side of a mountain. How long before this is a real full-scale sport?

The nature series is on a bunch of times in my local market so you may still be able to catch a viewing in your area. Look for the Raptor Force episode.

WeatherBug Widget for Mac Users

If you are a Mac using slope soaring pilot this Widget for OSX is a must have! I have mine set for the data location closest to my local slope, about 6 blocks away, and check it regularly. Living on a large lake we get conditions at the lake that can often be different that just a few miles inland. Many is the day when I have been able to pop out and fly when other guys thought the wind was all wrong!
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JART Fans, Rejoice! Reed’s JART World Site is Looking Good

If you know about the JART slope plane you know it is one mean looking aircraft! Reed did a great job designing and prototyping the original and now provides plans to slope soaring legions around the world!

The site, www.jartworld.com, has lots of pix, info, interviews and videos as well as a Cafe Press store to order JART gear and one of my favorites from the past, PNF stuff.

So, go check it out!

Sad News – Slope Pilot Eric Molstead Perished in a Full Sized Plane Crash

The RC soaring community suffered a tragic loss with the death of Eric Molstead in a light plane crash near Vancover Washington’s Pearson Field. Very sad news indeed.

There is a thread at RC Groups that may help if you feel like talking about Eric and your memories of him.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365972

After corresponding many times via email, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Eric at Soar Utah 2004 and found him to be a really super guy. As you all may know from other posts, his build quality was fantastic and his knowledge was an asset to the soaring community. Eric contributed to this web site several times and was a genuinely nice guy. I will miss him.

My next in person meeting with Eric was to be at the Tri-Slope in only a couple of weeks. I am sorry that I did not get to know Eric better and send my heart felt condolences to those of you who were lucky to know him better than I, as well as to his friends and loved ones outside the RC soaring community.

Eric, I hope the slopes are big and the wind is in your face. So long.

 

Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper

Hey, y’all sorry for the delay with the report. I recently spent several days with Jack Cooper of Leading Edge Gliders working on a video project that you will see in the not too distant future. We are at the editing stage which often takes longer than I expect but I think the effort will be worth it. Jack is a super builder and we got a lot of his most prized tips on tape. As you probably already know, Jack is a great guy and really knows his stuff.

Of course the shoot went longer than I’d planned which meant that I was way behind when I got home. Been catching up since. Well that and we have had a couple of days of flyable weather here and that almost always tends to derail my plans. As you know, you gotta fly when the conditions permit!

The plane in the sunset shots is one of Jack’s Hughes H-1s and it flies pretty much like all his 60-inch planes which is to say really sweet. This one is actually belongs to and was built by Erik Eaton but he let us borrow it for some pix. Erik did a really sweet job shaping and finishing the plane. He is somewhat of a perfectionist and it shows. Well, that and access to Jack’s shop can’t hurt! The wind never really got blowing but the Hughes works well even in 10 mph of wind.
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SkyKing RC Products Reintroduces DAW 1-26s

Dave’s 1-26 is one of the best “do it all” EPP planes available. This may be the most popular EPP 2-meter ever made. Beginners and experienced pilots alike LOVE this airplane. Sky King is bringing back both the 2-meter and 60 HLG versions of this classic plane.

Sky King RC Products has spent the past year or more reintroducing some of the most well known slope planes of the last 20 years. The classic DAW 1-26 is no exception.

The 2-meter DAW 1-26 is one of the best all around planes out there. Many evenings have been spent flying in close formation with 4 to 6 of these tough birds in the “magic” air at the end of the day during the Midwest Slope Challenge. The air gets calm but there is just enough lift for these super planes to fly endlessly 2 to 25 feet over the edge of the slope. It is a riot to do low speed pylon racing with the inevirtable shunt only requiring a toss back into the action. Add a tree and a figure 8 pattern and you have somem of the most fun sloping I’ve done!

DAW 1-26 2-meter

 

When the wind comes up the fun with the doesn’t stop with the 2-meter 1-26. This plane makes an excellent first aileron ship as well as an really nice aerobatic trainer fro those just getting started flying at odd angles!

DAW 1-26 60-inch HLG

 

The 60-inch DAW 1-26 HLG is a fantastic plane to have in your car. It is always ready for action and with an aileron or polyhedral version available this plane can be enjoyed by pilots of all skill levels.

Check the both out at Sky King RC Products.

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