RC Slope Soaring
Dave Garwood [[email protected]]
Guest columnist Greg Smith takes us on a Slope Safari
FOLLOWING IS a second guest Slope Safari USA report from traveling flier, writer, and photographer Greg Smith. He will present an over-the-road trip west from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the Tri-Slope Six Pack event in Washington, the Southern California PSS Festival, and back to the Midwest Slope Challenge.
With the coming of spring and the beginning of the Slope Soaring season in many areas of the country, thoughts of big air turned to May events on the West Coast: the Tri-Slope Six-Pack at three of the most famous slopes in the world—Eagle Kiona and Chandler Buttes in southeast Washington—as well as the Inland Slope Rebels Spring PSS Festival held at Cajon Pass in Southern California.
I began the odyssey at 6 a.m. on the Tuesday before the Tri-Slope with the 12-hour drive to pick up Jack Cooper in Lucas, KS. By the way, if you don't already know him, Jack owns Leading Edge Gliders and relocated last year to this small town that is host to the Midwest Slope Challenge. He produces the best EPP Power Scale Soaring (PSS) airplanes in the business, is a great supporter of the hobby, and is an all-around nice guy.
"The general plan called for a time tested and honored tradition we call the Slope Safari. Because the transportation of about 30 slope models requires driving to events, we try to plan our route, watching weather and topography, to allow for the best chance for discovering and flying great spots on the way to and from the organized events.
"In years past this procedure has provided some of the most memorable sloping I've experienced, and this year, with a route that took us through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, California, there promised to be a lot of great slope spots.
"We headed north to Wyoming. If the powers that be in that great state don't change their state motto to 'Wyoming, the Undiscovered Slope Country,' they're missing a major marketing opportunity. There are literally slopes everywhere you look in most parts of the state and Wyoming is one of the windiest states in the U.S. In fact, more than one local resident has gone crazy from the constant blowing; however, being slopers, we love the breeze!
"On this trip we stopped at several new slopes including one that was just awesome, slightly north of Interstate 80 and Rawlins, WY. The slope is publicly accessible and is 800 to 1,000 feet of west-facing slope was very good when we started flying, and it built through the evening to produce excellent conditions by 7 p.m.
"I flew my Pixel, Opus, and Barracuda. All were great airplanes to take advantage of the good conditions. Jack wrung out his Jack Rabbit. Thomas Rauber had an airplane rarely seen in the US called a Rudy. If you are familiar with the Higgins Rodent, the Rudy is a fiberglass airplane produced in Germany that looks similar and flies very well.
"Saturday brought the official start to the event. The air was light at Eagle, where we had a brief pilots' meeting, and soon the air filled with Discus Launch Gliders (DLGs) and Electrics.
"I flew my electric Majko and Mini Ellipse. Doug Boyd had an NYX with a really clean electric conversion that let him range far and wide to find thermals. Jay Decker flew his LS4, bolstering the big Scale tradition at Eagle. By 3 p.m. the wind stopped and many fliers left early with the expectation of better slope lift conditions on Sunday.
"On Sunday, with a Southwest wind already blowing, Jack and I made a brief stop at Eagle Butte where the conditions were good for the big Scale models. A 4-meter Lunak and a 6-meter Discus were soaring gracefully in the smooth lift. After a short stay, several of us set off to Chandler Butte where the conditions were favorable for the PSS and ballistic sloping.
"Some of the best pilots in our sport were camping and flying at Chandler. Dave Reese, Craig Toothman, Tom Seitz, and Dieter Mahlein ripped up the sky with some really great slope aircraft. Dave and Dieter flew the elusive Kestrel; Dave had a cool little pithcheron called the Twister, made in limited numbers by Mickey Crawley. Tom and Craig had Mojos that, again in really limited numbers, produce.
"Brian McLean and one of his customers named Tom were flying one of Brian's new 100-inch Exremes. Very fast! It was great to see not only some of the best slope pilots but also some of the coolest models in the air.
"One of the hallmarks of the Tri-Slope Six-Pack has been a strict no-foam policy. That may change for future events.
"Jack Cooper brought along a 2-meter EPP airplane he'd named the Jack Rabbit. At Chandler on Sunday, Dieter took the sticks and had an ear-to-ear grin as he put the model through the paces."
With performance approaching the fiberglass airplanes at the event, Dieter dubbed the new airplane the Crossover because it combines EPP durability with near-fiberglass performance.
“In addition to the Crossover/Jack Rabbit, Jack had his 60-inch P-39 Airacobra EPP PSS warbird. These EPP airplanes fly great, with performance rivaling the fiberglass PSS models.
“Future Tri-Slope events may allow these types of high-performance EPP models, recognizing that it is not the material an airplane is built from but the way it is designed, constructed, and flown that should be the criteria for inclusion in this event.
“Don’t think that means that you can trot out your Combat wing, however. These airplanes and the inevitable furball they provoke will not be part of the scene!
“All too soon, the Tri-Slope event was over and Jack and I continued down the West Coast to our next event, the Inland Slope Rebels Spring Power Scale Soaring (PSS) event held the following weekend in Southern California. At the conclusion of the PSS festival, Jack and I headed east to prepare for the Midwest Slope Challenge held at Wilson Lake KS.
“As with several Slope Safaris in the past, the trip back was a blitz affair. It seems like it is easier to plan stops on the way out than on the way back. There are great slopes all over the US. Go on your own Slope Safari and check them out!”
Thanks, Greg, for covering the highlights of the Tri-Slope Six-Pack event and sharing the joy of an overland slope-discovery trip. For photos of 2005 events and information about 2006 events, visit the following Web sites.
Tri-Slope Six-Pack: event photos (541) 954-6482 www.shredair.com/3s6p/3s6p05.html
Mid-Columbia Soarers: event information www.mcs.rchomepage.com
Southern California PSS Festival www.inlandslopeebels.com/pssfestival/festival.html
Midwest Slope Challenge www.slopeflyer.com/mwsc/index.html
Acme Flying Machines, Mark Triebes (916) 752-3831 www.acmeflyingmachines.net
Hobby Club, Lunak source (949) 425-1362 www.hobbyclub.com
Leading Edge Gliders, Jack Cooper (785) 625-6263 www.leadingedgegliders.com
Northeast Sailplane Products (802) 655-7700 www.nesail.com
SlopeFlyer.com—photos from the trip and the events www.slopeflyer.com/galleries/ss2005
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
