More Beans Needed – PSS Comp October 2024

by Dave Goodenough

The last Sunday in October dawned ominously, a rheumy eye cast out of the window and o’er the forecast showed a distinct lack of the essential ingredient that gives us slopies the will to fettle models and foregather for PSS action – wind.  Muttering darkly, I prepped vittles, loaded the car and ascended Middle Mills Road to Merryton Low.  The Pool slope was the chosen altar-of-the-day; what was I to find there, who was lurking among the tussocks and where had the breeze gone?

Timorous Trudging

A couple of ‘the usual suspects’ chatted near the access track barrier and an anemometer was flourished – a desultory waft of the rotor proved what the breeze on the cheek suggested, barely 2mph registered.  What to do?  With loins girded and the promise of more wind later, several souls squelched along the track to the slope side and began assembling their charges; no super scale confections yet, just workmanlike ‘light air’ models of the Gentle Lady variety and foam clones.  Jeff Mortimer and Paul Carr nursed the nascent air currents and showed us why the ancient US ‘build it yourself’ design still has a place in the model arsenal.

Other models, with their owners loosely attached, began to grace the squidgy sward and the ‘pits’ began to look as though intent was overcoming despondency, there were even proper PSS models arriving.  Bob Jennings and Ant Jervis strained the original competition outline by waving their scale gliders about; Bob’s being the mighty Slingsby Swallow (West Wings?) of some 30 quivering inches wingspan, brightly wrapped in its Air Cadet colours and complete with invasion stripes.  Ant’s well-known and ghostly Cliff Charlesworth ASK 18 had been invigorated with a fan on the front, wise in the conditions.  At times young Jennings bobbed up and down with his super Sukhoi scalie, but wisely decided that without the necessary puff it was just an ornament on the day.

Adventuresome

With the breeze gradually rising other models graced the air tentatively, not all rose to the occasion.  Jeff Mortimer’s Canberra and Harry Twist’s RAF roundeled Mustang found that gravity trumped lift and arrived downhill; the increasing breeze later gave them the support they needed and allowed some decent flying.  Andy Gough put up his ‘old but still able’ Tin Triangle – the Vulcan, or was it the prototype Avro 698?  Enemy action was suspected when Bob strode forth with Andy’s cold war battler; with a hefty heave he performed a near-perfect ground loop (with half-twist and pike), using his sporting skill to defend against sedge grass attack as he hit the deck.  Both man and model survived.

Julian Bayley threw caution and models into the rising breeze, his little Alien showing reluctance, but the Sprite and Thermic XL simply got on with the business of flying fast and furiously; the screech of cleft air and speedy passes attested to the conditions improving.  Foamies of various design, type and quality entertained us, but once again, Andy’s renovated Funray got away from him.  As described, the arrow-like arrival and subsequent partial dismantling ‘with extreme prejudice’ was spectacular – another repair job is on the cards.  Despite Jennings’ lurid launch attempt, the ‘Aluminium Overcast’ was put up again and at one point was nearly sub-orbital – Andy has better eyes than mine.

Cooling Off

With soup supped and sandwich snaffled, plus ingestion of a Jervis-supplied mini-roll (thanks Ant!), one’s attempt at flight with the truncated Lidl glider was a disaster – too little breeze before, too much later – and with the control deflections still to be finalised the little tyke disappeared downwind, thankfully missing the huge puddle in the track behind the landing hillock.  Stumbling back to the pits I reflected on the lack of finger exercise and air time – I’ll try again another day.

And so another ‘competition’ day drew to a close, with no result other than a fun playtime for those that ventured forth.  Proper PSS competing will have to wait for another, hopefully breezier day.  I left the arena to those committed to nurse the conditions a little longer and followed Julian’s example, I decided that the workshop needed me; that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!  See you at the AGM?

To view other images from the day, please follow this link

Dave Goodenough.