Radio Control Slope Soaring

Author: Dave Garwood

Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/12
Page Numbers: 123,124,125

The magic of Soaring in Utah

The Intermountain Silent Flyers (IMSF) delivered another first-rate destination soaring event. Each iteration seems to get better, and Soar Utah 2010, the eighth in the series, was without a doubt the best yet. The weather was superb, the people were great, and the home-club support for travelers was unparalleled.

Have you ever been served three meals a day on the slope? On Saturday the IMSF delivered a pancake breakfast, a handmade bag lunch, and a catered dinner of pulled pork and chicken. The club also supplied soda and bottled water all day for four days for up to 120 people.

Soar Utah was held Friday, September 3 through Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) in Grantsville, Draper, and Farmington, Utah — all near Salt Lake City. There were 70 registered pilots from California, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and Canada.

Friday was focused on aerotow, and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were slope-flying days. The winds cooperated, and I flew slope each of five days in a row. The more adventurous pilots among us flew the backside (dynamic soaring, or DS) four of those five days.

The mountainous topography near Salt Lake City is well suited for slope soaring. The centerpiece flying site is Point of the Mountain (POTM) ridge: a sandbar formed in prehistoric Lake Bonneville. POTM projects west from the Wasatch Range onto the plateau between the Great Salt Lake to the north and Utah Lake to the south. The POTM itself rises about 400 feet above the valley floor and makes an excellent slope-flying ridge on both the north and south sides for RC sailplane pilots as well as parasailors and hang gliders.

The north side of POTM ridge features the City of Draper Flight Park, and on the south side is the State of Utah Flight Park. I do not know of another location in the country that features this much government support of RC flying and other air sports.

There was enough wind and enough ridgeline that sport slope soaring continued all morning and all afternoon. A couple of PSS models were displayed but not launched; pilots figured they needed winds of 20 mph or more, which we did not get that day. Saturday evening featured the barbecue dinner, presentation of awards, and a raffle at the POTM South flying site. Many thanks to the makers and manufacturers who contributed generously to make the raffle a success. There is a sponsor list at the end of this column.

Sunday, September 5 — Informal Flying

This was another sunny day with light south wind in the morning. Any sailplane with a wing loading of 10 ounces per square foot or fewer could fly on the south side of POTM. The scheduled foamie race was not run because of a lack of participants. The F3F course was set up but used little. There was plenty of sport-flying in the morning. We had another bag lunch on the hill as the wind began to turn to the north, which it does most days.

Probably 40 fliers enjoyed a sunny afternoon with the sun at our backs at the City of Draper Flight Park as the wind built throughout the day. This location is remarkable, with sod, park benches, and flush-toilet restrooms. For the second day the RC fliers had exclusive use of the skies; hang gliders and parasailors stayed away by agreement. This was the fourth day in a row that pilots flew DS on the mountain ridge above POTM, and IMSF President Spencer Deputy set a hill speed record of 221 mph.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. a highly visible cold front blew through and the air temperature dropped 20° in 20 minutes. On Sunday evening Salt Lake City tied a low-temperature record of 44°, set in 1884.

Monday, September 6 — Trek to Francis Peak (Alpine Soaring)

For event day four we were scheduled for alpine soaring at Francis Peak, an alpine flying site north of Salt Lake City near Farmington. Francis Peak is soarable in west winds and in slope lift mixed with thermals. The elevation at Francis Peak is 9,547 feet — more than a mile higher than the Great Salt Lake at 4,196 feet — and it features an incredible view of the lake and the lands on both sides of the Wasatch Range.

The morning weather was sunny with a light west wind. Those who have flown thermals know that a cool night and a warm day tend to bring good thermal lift conditions. All signs pointed to a fine flying day, and close to 25 pilots joined the hill climb with Labor Day sightseer traffic on the windy gravel mountain road up to the peak.

Once at the site, several commented that although there was lift, it was cycling. There was enough down air to rob many of us of the confidence to launch off the mountain. No matter—on this clear day the scenery was stunning and the company was jovial. Temperatures were pleasantly warm.

As the afternoon passed, conditions improved steadily and flying started. The Canadians led with their high-end F3B and F3F sailplanes, and others launched with electric-powered gliders. The motors were used not so much to launch as to get out of trouble in extended sink situations. The lift kept getting better, and it seemed any pilot could get as much stick time as desired. Some flew until sunset. This was the best Francis Peak flying day at any of the five Soar Utahs I've attended.

The IMSF did a fabulous job of planning and presenting Soar Utah 2010. Although we did not have a day with legendary 40–50 mph winds for the heaviest and fastest slope soarers, we did have steady light and moderate winds to fly the front sides on five days and DS the backsides on four days. Many thanks to the IMSF crew for another fine Soar Utah and thanks to the generous sponsors, who deserve our support.

Day-by-day Summary

Thursday, September 2 — Informal flying
Weather: sunny, about 80°, north winds 5–10 mph.
Early-arriving RC pilots flew on the north side of POTM and cleared the area for parasailors who launched late in the afternoon. By agreement between IMSF and the hang-gliding association, both sides of POTM were reserved for RC pilots on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, September 3 — Aerotow
Weather: sunny, about 85°, south winds 10–15 mph.
I flew for close to three hours on the south side of POTM before heading to the dry lake at Grantsville where conditions were excellent for aerotow, with bright sun and little wind.
About 40 or more scale sailplanes and scale electric- and fuel-powered tow models were present. Winches were provided for those who wanted to fly thermal but had sailplanes not rigged for aerotow.

Saturday, September 4 — Main Event
Weather: sunny, 10 mph south winds building throughout the day.
Activities: pancake breakfast, scale judging, bag lunches, F3F racing, sport slope soaring all day.
The scale judging was low-pressure with scores based on judged flight, static judging, and pilots' choice votes. Models included nostalgia, modern, and PSS (power slope scale) warbirds.
The IMSF provided a huge sunshade-and-windbreak tent (roughly 40 x 60 feet) with tables and chairs for more than 50 people. Soda was sold for $1 and bottled water was free all day.
F3F racing was new to Soar Utah and provided excitement for racers and spectators alike.
Saturday evening: barbecue dinner, presentation of awards, and raffle at POTM South.

Sunday, September 5 — Informal flying
See section above for details.

Monday, September 6 — Francis Peak (Alpine Soaring)
See section above for details.

Soar Utah Scale Winners

Nostalgia

1. David Alchin (Modesto, CA) — Berlin HFS Helios
2. Lee Chaplin (Draper, UT) — Hall Cherokee
3. Lee Chaplin (Draper, UT) — DSK BJ-1 Duster

Modern

1. Larry Bennington (Eden, UT) — Glaser-Dirks DG-800S
2. Arthur Markievicz (San Diego, CA) — Glaser-Dirks DG-600
3. Only two models were entered — an opportunity for 2012?

PSS

1. Phil Herrington (Boulder, CO) — Lockheed P-38 Lightning
2. Cory Dennert (Idaho Falls, ID) — Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
3. Phil Herrington (Boulder, CO) — North American P-51 Mustang

F3F Race Winners

1. Nick Stong (Boulder, CO)
2. Dan Heaton (Salt Lake City, UT)
3. Ron Mendel (Salt Lake City, UT)

Sources

Soar Utah 2010 Official Web Site

www.soarutah.org

Soar Utah 2010 Thread on RC Groups (discussion, photos, videos)

http://bit.ly/8YjMPz

League of Silent Flight

www.silentflight.org

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.

Radio Control Slope Soaring - 2010/12

Author: Dave Garwood