Introduction to: RC Slope Soaring
LIKE MOST Sailplane fliers, I was introduced to the sport through thermal flying and spent many years enjoying and learning about this kind of activity. However, on one windy spring day, a friend convinced me that I should go Slope Soaring with him at one of the local sites. We packed our Sailplanes into the car and after a short drive arrived at Coyote Hills Regional Park. The climb to the top of the hill was an experience in itself. Affectionately known as "Cardiac Hill." Coyote gave me definite doubts about the sanity of Slope fliers, and I silently longed for the flatlands and thermals that I had grown to love.
Mariah
STANDING ON THE CREST of the slope, I try to absorb the conditions and the surroundings. As I look down the hill onto the clean white sand of the beach below. I begin to feel the pure essence of the flight to come. The waves gently glide into shore one after another, disturbed only by an occasional sea bird. The rhythm of the crashing waves mingles with the constant breeze blowing through the trees and shrubs to create a sound which is at once enticingly relaxing and, in a way, very exciting.
Radio Control: Slope Soaring
WELCOME TO the exciting world of Slope Soaring. Now at long last there will be a column that deals exclusively with the planes, sites, contests, and ideas of RC Slope Soaring. With your help (in the form of letters, photos, stories, ideas, innovations, etc.) we can make this column a great success and bring Slope Soaring to the forefront of the RC Soaring fraternity. This being the first Slope Soaring column, I have yet to receive any reader input and will simply discuss a few of my favorite areas and aspects of Slope Soaring.
Radio Control: Slope Soaring
SLOPE SITES wanted. That's right, I am looking for the best and most available Slope sites throughout the country. One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, "Where can a Sailplane flier go to do some Slope Soaring?" Here in California most of the sites are well publicized and most people have little trouble finding a good place to fly. I know there must be many other undiscovered sites throughout the country that are probably just as good or better than the popular ones. What I would like to do is compile a list here in this column of sites from around the country and form a "source book" of Slope flying sites. I'm sure that other fliers would greatly appreciate the help in finding a quality site, as having a site is half the battle in Slope flying.
Radio Control: Slope Soaring
NATIONAL SLOPE COMPETITION. With the AMA Nationals recently completed, it seems to me that there was something definitely missing from the competition. Of course I'm talking about Slope Soaring. Sloping continues to grow steadily and, as with most other disciplines in this sport, competition is extremely intense. There are a few events that bring together fliers from across the country, such as the National Scale Slope Fun Fly, the International Slope Race, and some others, but there is no true National competition. What I am proposing would be an event that would bring together fliers from many different aspects of Slope competition (Racing, Scale, PSS, Aerobatics, Combat, etc.) to a single site for a few days of the most exciting and competitive Slope flying yet seen.
