411 bat

2007/8 update in progress -  If you have any immediate queries - just ask.

Bats- Bramhall Area Thermal and Slope - plus electric...

This BMFA affiliated soaring club was founded in 1978 and flies flat field from the Bramhall Recreation Centre south of Stockport in Cheshire.  Slopes abound in North Derbyshire and the North East of Cheshire and our interests cover just about anything with wings and in 2003, we celebrated our twenty-fifth birthday  with some special events and barbecues.  

The flat field fun starts with regular Wednesday evening and weekend thermalling and club contest flying.  Bungee and hand tow, two metre, 100" and open class through to electric assist gliders and traditional free flight.  Aerotow features on our list - but we do not fly power from the Bramhall fields of course.  

New for Bats members in 2002 was a splendid site for the flying of open electric powered models. The new facility reflects the growth of interest in this branch of the sport and we trust that this will help promote the growth of the Bats club...  It is strictly Bats members only.  

Some of our members incidentally are involved in full size aviation both civil and military - just thought I'd mention that.

Slope soaring covers just about anything that you can name from lightweights, aerobatic, pylon racing, slope cross country, fun comps through to quarter scale - although the accent is on enjoyment.  Our experience includes organising and running national and international contests too - we introduced F3f pylon racing from Denmark and it is now a very healthy BMFA event.  

Must mention that the flying of electric or powered models is not permitted at any time from any of our slope sites.  Remove the battery and prop and it becomes a glider, but do not think to fly under power.

Our winter calendar - first THURSDAY of every month - includes talks, slide shows, Bring and Buy, video and bring a model nights, quiz and most other things that you can think of.  The social side is not neglected and we tend to spread ourselves around numerous events nationwide during the summer.  For holidays overseas, we probably have the contacts that you will need and camping and caravanning takes us to the Isle of Man, all over the UK, to the Continent and elsewhere.  Derbyshire incidentally has a lot to offer for holidays and we will be pleased to help you with accommodation and a local guide.

We enjoy indoor events during the winter; lots of fun and instructional too. Interested?

There is a tremendous amount of experience and expertise here at Bats and the club operates a tuition and achievement scheme.  Subscriptions for 2008 are a modest £15 plus the BMFA membership and insurance element of £27.  The BMFA subs only have to be paid to one club so members of other BMFA affiliated clubs can join as associates. Our modest fees cover the flying facilities, monthly meetings and the excellent 'Bat Chat' monthly newsletter.  Plus of course everything that goes with being a member of an active group.

Incidentally, for those with net facilities, 'Bat Chat' is available as a PDF (downloadable) file and is out around the 15th of the month. Almost always a bumper issue with up to twenty pages and colour pics too. Of course we would like your input as well...

E-mail the membership secretary, Bill Loxley for application form and further details -or- 

Click here for printable form as MS Word.  

Click here for printable membership form in PDF.

Membership cards are provided which must be available for inspection on demand at the flying sites that we have secured and pay for.  

You will get Bill at bill(dot)loxley(at)ntlworld(dot)com and we look forward to seeing you up here in due course. 

E-mail me at chasg(at)rdiner(dot).net if you want to discuss general matters relating to our activities.

BTW, in case you found this page via a search engine, the full 'From up here' web site URL is; http://homepages.enterprise.net/chasg/index.htm

Best wishes,

Chas Gardiner.

Bats Winter Meetings.

Generally, the first THURSDAY of the month at; the Ladybridge Sports and Social Club, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire,  7:30 start.  Check if it's your first time.

 

October 4th - Bring and buy, noggin and natter.

 

November 8th - AGM, prizegiving, motions re club events, training sport and other matters.

 

December 6th - Chas Gardiner - Annual Quizfest - loads of fun, and prizes too.

 

January 10th -Steve Mettam on the 'Brushless power package'. Steve will bring a 200W/Kg glider and an aerobatic Electric as illustrations.


February 7th - John Taylor with 2’ span Tri-plane chuck glider for C of G check. Len Whalley, Roger Brooks and Uwe Kenyon 4’ span electric Tri-Plane. Video of Roe Triplane build progress so far and structural tests. Wind-up talk on an over view of the Roe Tri-Plane project by Mike Taylor.

 

March 6th - Martin Francis and full size Colditz Cock up- date.  Andy Ellison waves his plastic and lead sleds. 

 

Last one is; April 3rd     'Bring a model' night.  Let's see what you have been working on during the winter - or anything else of interest - ancient or modern.  Chas Gardiner Pilatus plus. The club monitor will also be available so bring your transmitter and the crystals that you will be using;  have them checked and recorded for the preferred frequency register.

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Every Saturday and Sunday - glider and electric glider flying at Seal Road – weather permitting.

Electric on our rural site - e-mail for information.

Day light hours seven days a week, join the regulars out on the slopes. Nothing like it…  Handbook, events, weather forecast and slope for the day available to members of the slope group.  e-mail for information.

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New Year's Day.  10:30'ish.  Annual wake-up at Seal Road.  Fun comp, sport flying and refreshments...  Don't miss it.    Weather back-up date in February - date to be announced as and when.

 

2008 outdoor events and comps.

A full program of gliding and electric events is scheduled and details will follow below.  Watch out also for extra weekend events such as our funfly and BBQ gatherings.  Be there.

Club and open slope soaring events will also be listed together with the regular excursions and we have a wide selection of excellent slopes for any wind direction.  

Our weekly excursions are to be posted on a coded web page which will give wind strength and direction plus forecast and recommended slope.  The url is available to Bats members along with the site list with full instructions and conditions such as lambing and ground nesting dates etc.

Incidentally, almost all of our slopes are on private land and only available to full members.  It will not cost much to rectify that of course...

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BATS THERMAL AND SLOPE COMPETITION CALENDAR 2008.

If you are interested in the Bats contest classes, be aware that we hold numerous events for glider, electric and slope. These will not always appear here so join the club and you will be kept fully informed...

BATS THERMAL COMPETITION RULES

and Calendar for 2008. @ 26.2.2008

GENERAL.

Thermal competitions will take place at Seal Road, Bramhall on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer falling back to Thursday evening in the event of bad weather. Start time 6.30pm, finish time 9.00pm or at the Competition director’s discretion depending on weather and available light.

The calendar will start on 16th April 2007 and run every Wednesday until 27th August 2007. This will give 20 competition evenings, 10 for Glider and 10 for Electric Glider. The scores from the competitors best 4 evenings competitions will count towards the overall end of year winner. There will be NO re-arranged competitions apart from the fall back to Thursday evening. Three competitors flying at least 1 round are required for a competition to count.

The model MUST land in the playing field for the flight to score. Landing Out scores zero for that flight and must be entered on the score sheet as such. The car park, the tar macadam area next to the car park, the tennis courts and the all weather hockey pitches are NOT part of the flying field.

Flying over the houses along Seal Road is expressly forbidden. Any blatant infringement of this instruction observed by the Safety Officer or any other member will result in a zero score for that flight and must be entered on the score sheet as such.

The Pits / Launch / Flying and Landing areas will be monitored by the Safety Officer to ensure the safety of contestants/ helpers and spectators. The decision of the Safety Officer in matters of the positioning of Pitts, Launching, Flying and Landing areas is final and MUST be adhered to

2 M GLIDER.

Three flights, all to count. Six minute maximum. Landing points 25 all or part in the circle. No over fly penalty. Bungee launch tensioned to a max 17 lbs. Self timing permitted. No restriction on model type or construction but with Rudder / Elevator control or V-Tail control only. No wing controls i.e. Ailerons, Flaps, spoilers etc. permitted.

OPEN GLIDER. Tony Roland Memorial, "Mid Week Cup".

Three flights, all to count. Eight minute maximum. Landing points 50 all in, 25 part in the circle. No over-fly penalty. Launch by 150m towline or Bungee launch tensioned to a max 20 lbs or club turnaround system. No winch launch permitted. Self timing permitted. Timing starts when the tow line has released from the model. No restriction on model type, size, construction or control.

ATTEMPTS – Glider.

Only 2 attempts at each official glider flight permitted. There is an official attempt when the competitor has declared the flight is a competition flight and the model has left the hands of the competitor or his helper under the pull of the launching apparatus.

DISCARD – Glider.

A competitor may DISCARD his first ATTEMPT should the model not achieve a proper launch, such as that caused by a "Ping Off." at low level. The Discard should NOT be used to gain an unfair advantage by declaring as a Discard, a flight started by a poor launch such as might be achieved by flying through a down draft. The competitor should call "Discard" when appropriate, where upon any timing must cease and the model landed at leisure.

BEE 400 DD Handicap.

Three Flights all to count. Six minute maximum. 45 second power run all at start of the flight. Additional power runs above 45 seconds to be allowed depending on handicap. Landing points 25 all or part in the circle. No over-fly penalty. Self timing permitted at the discretion of the C.D. No limit to number of battery packs used or recharges. No restriction on model type or construction but only a Direct Drive power system may be used.

Maximum and Minimum Motor Runs.

The absolute maximum motor run will be capped at 65 seconds. A new competitor will normally start the season on 65 seconds but this will be reduced at the discretion of the CD as appropriate to the competitor’s ability.

The absolute minimum motor run will be capped at 40 seconds. Any competitor achieving an evenings 1st, 2nd or 3rd place will have his/her starting handicap reduced by 3, 2, or 1 second respectively down to a minimum of 40 seconds.

BEE400DD STARTING Handicaps for 2008

BEE 400 Open.

Three flights all to count. Eight minute maximum. 45 second power run all at the start of the flight. Landing 25 points all or part in the circle. No over-fly penalty. Self timing permited at the discretion of the CD. No limit to the number of battery packs used or recharges. No restriction on model type or construction. Geared or Direct Drive power systems allowed, the 45 second power run applies to BOTH.

BATTERIES.

Note:- for both BEE 400 DD and BEE 400 Open only 400 size 6 volt ferrite magnet brushed motors are allowed i.e. no 4.8 volt, non ferrite or brushless allowed. Timing of the motors is permitted. Batteries are limited to 7 cell i.e. 8.4 volt either NiCad or NiMh. Lithium cells permitted but must not exceed the 8.4 volt and are therefore restricted to 2 cell (2S1P) 7.2 or 7.4 volt packs

ATTEMPTS – BEE 400.

There is an official attempt when the competitor has declared the flight is a competition flight and the model has left the hands of the competitor.

SCORING.

The top scorer on the evening will receive 1000 points towards the overall championship. Other competitors will receive points equal to their own score divided by the winners score multiplied by 1000. A Printed form will be provided for the evenings results. It is the competitors’ responsibility to fill this in accurately and legibly with frequency, competitors name, model name time and landing bonus. Any difficulty in interpreting the results will make that flight/flights null & void.

FLY – OFFs.

In the event of more than one competitor scoring three maximum flights (i.e. three ‘maximum flight’ points and 3 maximum ‘landing points’) each competitor shall receive 1000 points. No evening Fly Off proposed. Overall end of year winner will be best 4 evening results. In the event of more than one competitor having an equal aggregate score a single end of year fly off on a date to be announced will decide the winner and all competitors shall fly simultaneously on the same day/evening.

CONTEST DIRECTOR.

The decision of the CD for the evening is final. At his/her discretion the number of flights to count may be reduced to allow for changes in the weather or the early onset of darkness

BATS THERMAL COMPETITION CALENDER 2008.

Each event will take place on a Wednesday Evening falling back to Thursday Evening in the case of cancellation due to bad weather etc..

 

Date

Event

Sunset Times

16th April

2m & Open Glider

20:12

23rd April

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open.

20:25

30th April

2m & Open Glider

20:38

7th May

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open

20:50

14th May

2m & Open Glider

21:02

21st May

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open

21:13

28th May

2m & Open Glider

21:23

4th June

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open.

21:31

11th June

2m & Open Glider

21:38

18th June

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open

21:41

25th June

2m & Open Glider

21:42

2nd July

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open

21:40

9th July

2m & Open Glider

21:36

16th July

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open.

21:29

23rd July

2m & Open Glider

21:19

30th July

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open.

21:08

6th August

2m & Open Glider

20:55

13th August

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open

20:41

20th August

2m & Open Glider

20:26

27th August

Bee400DD Handicap & BEE 400 Open.

20:10

 

 

Feedback; Contact Chas when you have eyeballed this page. Thanks

 

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