Combat Kings

Closing in

Break break break

Too late

Gone in

Sorry no ace rating for you

Why we fly

Look at that sea

And sometimes you get 3

How not to land a banana

Living on the best slopes in the world we’ve had lots of fun these holidays but this is not how to end a great afternoon!

Click here for video banana crash_0001

Now in slow motion

Aint she a beauty

Looking good

Right Kev RIGHT!!!

Too late methinks

Not so good

Don’t worry nothing some cyno can’t fix says Bill.

Bill I think the banana should be called the flying cyno bottle.

Two Oceans Slope Soarers PSS Festival

Its official, a date has been set and we are a go.
The intention is to host the Two Oceans Slope Soarers PSS Festival on the
19th and 20th June 2010.

Having seen the aerobatics event grow and the interest grow exponentially
its now great to challenge a new avenue in silent flight.
Quite a few of us at TOSS, heck a whole bunch of us,
have Power Slope Scale planes already, but the challenge will be to develop and
compete in the categories available. (to be made available soon)

All in all, it looks to be a blast, so get building…six months to go!
Below are some of the scale boys already out there,
and hopefully in one piece by the time the PSS Festival come around.

The ever Impressive Impala doing the rounds

Mustang, Lightning and Sea Fury on patrol at Hermanus 2008

And some more Impalas… at the possible venue

Marc Holds up Damian's new Mustang, just prior to launch this weekend, now that's PSS, check the detail!

Detail, detail, detail…

Mustang Maiden

Saturday afternoon and lots of wind but very strange too southerly and bumpy. So we flew wings mostly all afternoon and told Damian how good the lift was and that it was fine to maiden his Mustang. About 2 hours after he had declared he was not going to fly it and after we had beaten up his wing so badly that its servos had been dislodged he threw all caution to the wind and launched.

PS he got down in 1 piece with a really impressive display of how to land

3 2 1 launch

All Kevs problem as he says Steve launches like a girl

Up and away!

PS Kev it doesn’t weigh 5 kilos just feels like it

Now that’s how to decorate a warthog

carlo carlo please install the pilot!

A Cooked Goose and Xplanes Xplained

OK, so the weekend turned out to be like an oven, but early Saturday morning
the conditions up at Red Hill were luverly, and for once the early birds sure got the worm this time.
All the glass ships had a blast till about 1Pm, and that’s when the heat kicked in and killed
any lift on the slope. A large heat dome built up, and although showing on the bay,
the wind failed to materialise on the slope. The heat was insane and Steve
had a long walk down the slope after a failed elevator servo and nearly cooked his goose.
Various shades of a viscous red were evident through the liberal applications of sunscreen,
and the poor chap nearly had a sense of humor failure while hunting the glider in the thick bushes,
and then doing the long trek back to the top of the slope.

Sunday dawned as hot as Saturday, but totally windless and the day was spent
watching the Nedbank golf challenge through the back of ones eyelids,
prone on the couch, while watching “The Goose”… cook his goose.

While trolling the net I have come across a great site for those windless days…
Called Xplanes, it creates a view of some unusual looking planes that actually existed,
as well as some really brilliant fantasy creations. These ideas show a really creative minds
and great artistic skills, and a few concepts that could possibly be an inspiration for some really
alternative looking slope gliders

http://xplanes.tumblr.com/page/3

Check out the Supersonic Spitfire, by “Yann Savage/Kris S”

It’s well worth visiting this site regularly as they update constantly.

If you don’t know what you want for Xmas

Hermanus 2009-more than just a slope event

If you missed it… you missed out! Simple.

Having been to the last 4 Hermanus events, this weekend always rates as one of the
best weekends in the calendar year.Apart from the Two Oceans Slope Soarers Aerobatic Event weekend at the end of January, that is!
All in all the Hermanus event always turns out to be a blast as the dedicated slope community
gets together for a weekend of friendship, sloping and traditionally a huge dose of hilarity thrown in.
This year was no different, although the weather really did desert the crew who awaited
a howling South Easter as required for that slope. Friday produced Easterlies, which in Cape Town
may have been South Easters, but due to the geographical swing of the coastline,
eventually ends up being easterlies. Really not the best wind for that slope, it was still flyable
and for those that went up for the Friday, an entire days sloping was done.

Saturday started out promising, but due to the excessive heat, 28 degrees Celsius,
the slope failed to light up. The day was however was a blast as the light conditions
tested the gathered crew and a good few floaters made for the sky and
the trusty Banana reveled in the conditions, finding favorable hot spots to thermal to heights.
Steve Meusel had created a home brew light glider, pod and boom style, weighing in at under 500grams and that performed just brilliantly
in the light conditions and had a good turn of speed for such a light machine.
It was maidened on Friday and flew a few times that day as well as successive occasions on Saturday.
Well done Steve, one heck of a build on such a short notice. Now can we have a production version
please, cause I want one!

The combat zone as per usual was a blast and there was never a time when the skies above
the plastics zone was empty.  It was great to see some old faces there gain,
The Port Elizabeth Radio Flyers ( PERF) crew arrived just in  time on Friday to start heaping
a few insults in our direction, which were duly returned with interest,
and well done to all the PERF guys for doing the trip all the way down from PE.
Nice to see you again Shaun!.
Anton Benning was there with a great collection of his new scale Impalas
and a few hand launched gliders that absolutely reveled in the light conditions.
A good few lads even made the trip from as far afield as Gauteng and Durban.
Nice to see you again Dave Greer…

This proved once more the need to have a stable of gliders, each with it’s own ability
to cover the varying conditions each day may deliver. Lets not blame the lack of great conditions,
at the event, or anywhere else…rather create/build/buy something that can fly
each of the diverse conditions that slope soaring presents on any given day…

In the end, one of the best images to stick in my minds eye for the weekend
was of  virtually every TOSS member who were staying up at the chalets on the lagoon,
taking an Saturday evening dip in the Hermanus lagoon, heads bobbing in the evening sunlight while
cooling off and discussing the days events. Priceless…
that and a lot of morning Wimpy breakfasts, friendships, discussions,
evening braai’s, lie-dice, and side splitting laughter.

…and finally there is the family side. Many a good women takes the trip to Hermanus in support of her hubby and the hobby.
And this year Altus van Niekerk got his first taste of Hermanus as Dad, Tinus, and mom, Annelise
allowed him to spend the weekend with us. What a blast to have him around the braai in the evening
and I’m sure he thought we were a weird bunch, pulling all those faces and stuff.
But I am sure he will be back next year, just a bit older and a bit wiser.

That’s why the Hermanus Slope Event, is more than just that.
It’s a sum of it’s parts, and they are pretty darn fine parts!

The raising of the flag. Event go!

The PERF guys get a mexican wave on the go. Somewhat static, but impressive none the less.

Tinus launches his BEE into the light easterly lift

Steve brings in the POD for a perfect maiden landing

Damians freshly prepared Mustang awaits the wind. But no go the whole weekend! The warbirds lost out big time this year.

Anton Benning and the stunning Impala. Yes it is a slopie.

And add bit of camo to add to the fleet…ooooh gotta have one

A view of the pits area- lots of toys!

Altus Van Niekerk gets his first twiddle on the sticks. We start them young, here at TOSS.