RC Slope Soaring-2013/02

Larry Bennington of Eden UT flies his DG-800S. Larry won the Modern Sailplane category with this aircraft.Sam Cook and Russ Bowman, both from British Columbia, fly their Habicht Vintage Gliders in formation.Joe Chovan reports on Soar Utah 2012by Dave [email protected] Utah has become a premier event in the Slope Soaring event lineup because of the wonderful topography, weather that usually cooperates, and the outstanding hospitality of the sponsoring flying club. Traveling writer and photographer, Joe Chovan, from North Syracuse, New York, filed this event report. 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. There are several flying sites in the Salt Lake City area that offer Slope Soaring opportunities. The main site, known as Point of the Mountain (POTM), is a huge sandbar from the ancient Lake Bonneville several hundred feet above the valley floor, and offers both north wind- and south wind-facing slopes. The wind typically blows from the south at daybreak and reverses midday, so fliers 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 of POTM have reported lift simultaneously during the shift. For Dynamic Soaring (DS) junkies, the north side of POTM offers the famed “widow-maker” hill, which has roughly 45° faces and rises an additional 400 feet above the northern flight park. This hill must be hiked, so it helps to be in good physical condition and prepared with sunscreen, water, etc. before trekking up this legendary motorcycle hill-climb challenge. Eagle Mountain is a popular DS spot with the local fliers, and is a short drive from POTM. Landing can be challenging, so foam airplanes are preferred. Antelope Island lies in Great Salt Lake, slightly north of Salt Lake City, and can be reached by the 7-mile causeway. The island offers flyable slopes including Buffalo Point, which has sweeping panoramic views. These southwest- and northeast-facing slopes are accessed via short hikes from the Buffalo Point parking lot. Francis Peak has traditionally also been a flying attraction. More than 115Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comRC SLOPE SOARING115
Andy Gregory from Calgary, Alberta, launches his Spider 60.Thomas Rauber of Black Creek, British Columbia, flies his Tragi 801 X.10,000 feet tall, the mountain ridge has a commanding view of Antelope Island. The view—and often great daily Alpine Soaring—make it a must-see and must-fly venue if time and conditions allow. In addition to Slope flying, the Grantsville Salt Flats is the location of the thermal Aero-Tow event. Soar Utah is among the least competitive of all of the RC Slope Soaring events. Although there are planned race demonstrations and a static display competition, the atmosphere is one of casual flying. The flying spaces are so large that it is easy to keep airplanes separated, and with a little common sense and courtesy, midair collisions are rare. 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 POTM, which also serves as a flight park for paraglider and hang-glider pilots. Thursday evening kicks off the festivities with a planned welcome social at POTM. Friday offers a dual site opportunity with open Slope flying at POTM all day and aerotowing at the Grantsville salt flats. Saturday and Sunday offer open flying, an exposition F3F race, and static-display judging for the craftsmanship awards. Monday (Labor Day) offers possible excursions to other sites and serves as a travel day for some. 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. This prize real estate plays host to a number of adrenaline junkies, including those who anxiously anticipate Soar Utah and Speed Week each September. After the winter storms fade each year, and the warmth of a desert summer claims the dry lake bed, we fly on a runway that nature annually resurfaces. It is a surface 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, and Ron Mendel showed his recently completed, scratch-built Feiseler Storch. These expert tug pilots provided aerotowing services for gliders with wingspans up to 7 meters, and they inspired a level of confidence that kept them busy towing all day. The IMSF hosts several of these aerotow events throughout the summer, 116Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.comRC SLOPE SOARING115
Sam Cook of Alert Bay, British Columbia, flies his Moswey 4, which took first place in the Vintage Sailplane category.Thierry Juliard of Calgary, Alberta, launches his Jaro Muller Espada-R.so check the schedule for details. It appeared that no amount of flying was enough, and the day concluded 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 the pilots from British Columbia arrive at any slope in their 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 to match any opportunity. This trip, Sam and Russ flew their brand-new Habicht vintage gliders in formation. Despite rain on the maiden flights, it was a pleasure to see. 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. Seeing this baby carve up the Utah skies was a treat for me. 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 Saturday because of changing conditions, but we were eventually able to hold a couple of rounds for an exhibition race on the south side of POTM overlooking the gravel “bowl.” Top times were posted by Bobby Brown of Sandy, Utah; Frank Slaughter of Teton Village, Wyoming; and Russ Bowman of 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 then the waning wind switched abruptly from south to north to end my last heat, and this halted Saturday’s flying on the south side. The wind changed from roughly 5 mph south to 20 mph north in a matter of minutes, and we scrambled to pack up and head north as wing covers, hats, cooler lids, and light airplanes tried to blow down the hill. That was exciting! The static competition was held Saturday. The sailplanes were inspiring works of art showing ingenuity and craftsmanship. Larry Bennington of Eden, Utah, earned first place in the Modern Scale Sailplane class for his DG-800S. Larry’s sailplane has full-cockpit detail and working spoilers. Sam Cook of Alert Bay, British Columbia, won the Vintage category with his Moswey 4. Phil Herrington of Boulder, Colorado, earned first place in the Power Scale Soaring (PSS) category with his Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Phil scratch-built this 108-inch wingspan, 19-pound sailplane and the detailing is immaculate. 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: Soar Utahhttp://soarutah.org RCGroupswww.rcgroups.com League of Silent Flightwww.silentflight.org117Model Aviation February 2013www.ModelAviation.com115