Author: Dave Garwood
Edition: Model Aviation - 2013/02
Page Numbers: 115,116,117
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Joe Chovan reports on Soar Utah 2012

By Dave Garwood

[email protected]

Soar Utah

Everything flies at Soar Utah. I’ve attended this event since 1995, and each time I have looked forward to seeing a great diversity of aircraft and flying styles. The Intermountain Silent Flyers (IMSF) club has been hosting Soar Utah during Labor Day weekend biennially since 1996. The group always manages to make participants feel welcome.

Although they can’t control the weather, the beautiful and exciting locations and friendly folks make it an irresistible attraction for me and it remains a highlight of my vacation road trips. In recent years, slope soaring participants have shared in a community that corresponds daily through forums such as the popular online Slope forum in RCGroups. It’s great to meet and fly at one of the world’s best venues for slope soaring with those you’ve known online.

This year we met August 30 through September 3, and were treated to some fine soaring at an enjoyable and memorable gathering. Participants tend to arrive a few days before the start of the event to maximize flying opportunities in unpredictable weather conditions. Event information, including detailed flying-site access and hotel discount rates procured by the IMSF, is posted within the RCGroups Soar Utah event online discussion thread. Participants are encouraged to camp on the south-facing side of Point of the Mountain (POTM), which also serves as a flight park for paraglider and hang-glider pilots.

Flying sites

  • Point of the Mountain (POTM): A huge sandbar from ancient Lake Bonneville several hundred feet above the valley floor, offering both north- and south-facing slopes. The wind typically blows from the south at daybreak and reverses midday, so fliers often switch sides when the wind turns. The switch can happen abruptly, within 10 minutes or less, although there have been situations in which fliers on both sides reported lift simultaneously during the shift.
  • Widow-maker (north side of POTM): Favored by Dynamic Soaring (DS) pilots; roughly 45° faces and rises an additional 400 feet above the northern flight park. This hill requires a hike and calls for good physical condition, sunscreen, water, and preparation.
  • Eagle Mountain: A popular DS spot close to POTM. Landing can be challenging, so foam airplanes are preferred.
  • Antelope Island (Great Salt Lake): Reached by a 7-mile causeway; includes Buffalo Point with sweeping panoramic views and southwest- and northeast-facing slopes accessed via short hikes.
  • Francis Peak: A ridge over 10,000 feet tall with commanding views of Antelope Island and often great alpine soaring when conditions allow.
  • Grantsville Salt Flats: Location of the thermal aerotow event and a venue for large-scale flying activity.

Event schedule

  • Thursday: Welcome social at POTM.
  • Friday: Open slope flying at POTM all day with aerotowing at the Grantsville Salt Flats.
  • Saturday & Sunday: Open flying, an exhibition F3F race, and static-display judging for craftsmanship awards.
  • Monday (Labor Day): Possible excursions to other sites and travel day for many.

As wind and weather conditions changed, IMSF club members offered to lead interested parties to various locations. Site access and meeting coordination details were posted daily on the RCGroups event thread.

Ted Fraughton’s Aerotow Report

The Bonneville Salt Flats qualify as the fastest playground in the world, for man or machine. The miles of dry, open lake extend through much of the west desert outside of Salt Lake City. After the winter storms fade and the warmth of a desert summer claims the dry lake bed, we fly on a runway that nature annually resurfaces. This surface has formed throughout centuries, even millennia. It is approximately 150 yards wide by 350 yards long and attracted many participants for the aerotow event on Friday, August 31.

Chris Hahn and Wid Tolman coordinated this successful event. This location was chosen because an airplane could safely land on it when traveling in nearly any direction.

The tugs consisted of:

  • A Pegasus operated by Tom Hoopes
  • A Pilatus Porter owned by Mike Gibson
  • A 1/3-scale World Models Super Cub flown by Paul Bradshaw
  • A recently completed scratch-built Fieseler Storch shown by Ron Mendel

These expert tug pilots provided aerotowing services for gliders with wingspans up to 7 meters and inspired a level of confidence that kept them busy towing all day. The IMSF hosts several of these aerotow events throughout the summer, so check the schedule for details.

The day concluded back at the Point of the Mountain with good conversation and light refreshments. As the western horizon swallowed the last rays of sun, some pilots flew into dusk and beyond.

Canadian Invasion

Sam Cook, Russ Bowman, and Thomas Rauber led a troop of fliers from British Columbia to Soar Utah. It’s great to see pilots from British Columbia arrive at any slope in a van packed with beautiful airplanes, often with tales of slope adventures along the way. These pilots love to fly slope and do so with skill and gusto.

Sam and Russ flew their brand-new Habicht vintage gliders in formation. Despite rain on the maiden flights, it was a pleasure to see them fly. Sam’s 1:3.75-scale Moswey 4 is a full fiberglass-molded version of the fabric-covered original and features authentic surface detail as well as a custom water-ballast system. Watching it carve up the Utah skies was a treat.

On Sunday the trio performed memorable aerobatic stunts with their F3F-style sailplanes. Seeing the grace and hearing the “whoosh” of these clean, sleek birds as they streak by inspires one to seek the slope siren’s song like nothing else.

The F3F race was scheduled and postponed several times on Saturday because of changing conditions, but a couple of rounds were eventually held as an exhibition on the south side of POTM overlooking the gravel “bowl.” Top times were posted by:

  • Bobby Brown (Sandy, Utah)
  • Frank Slaughter (Teton Village, Wyoming)
  • Russ Bowman (Victoria, British Columbia)

This was a great chance for pilots with little F3F experience to try a manned course with timers, judges, and a working sound system to signal pylon crossings. Conditions were favorable for the first round, but the waning wind switched abruptly from south to north and ended later heats. The wind changed from roughly 5 mph south to 20 mph north in a matter of minutes, and pilots scrambled to pack up as wing covers, hats, cooler lids, and light airplanes tried to blow down the hill.

The static competition was held Saturday. The sailplanes were inspiring works of art showing ingenuity and craftsmanship. Winners included:

  • Modern Scale Sailplane: Larry Bennington (Eden, Utah) — DG-800S with full-cockpit detail and working spoilers.
  • Vintage: Sam Cook (Alert Bay, British Columbia) — Moswey 4.
  • Power Scale Soaring (PSS): Phil Herrington (Boulder, Colorado) — Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a scratch-built 108-inch wingspan, 19-pound sailplane with immaculate detailing.

It’s always difficult to leave an event such as Soar Utah. Knowing we can stay in touch online helps ease the departure, but as Ted Fraughton observed, when such opportunities present themselves it seems no amount of flying can really be enough. With this in mind, I look forward to Soar Utah 2014.

Sources

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