Tick Point slope day

[thenated0g]

I asked the guys that live down in the Bay Area "what spot would you go to if you out of all the spots you talk about in the forums?". It was pretty unanimous that tick point was the spot. Plus this is where Flitetest did one of there sloping videos.

Winds were almost perfecting coming at the mountain at 25mph avg gusting up to 30mph. Perfect day.

I met Wayne, the owner of Aloft Hobbies, and he gave me a lot of great tips.

Spot location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d37.8668047!4d-122.5878868

 

[DamoRC]

I've never sloped but now I know that there's a great spot just an hour away! Thanks @thenated0g !

DamoRC

 

[thenated0g]

There are more consistant and closer sites than tick for you guys in the south bay. One spot i really want to go to is called Mussell rock, its right here:
https://goo.gl/maps/rMRJmKbosx92

The mussell rock area is considered a world class slope spot for those manned parachute things which the name is escaping me at the moment. But you have like a couple miles of cliff/park area to slope planes from.

If you check this guys youtube page he not only has amazing scratch builds, but pretty much all his videos are at this location:

I have been researching these places for the past year or 2. I will start a new post in the correct place here in the forums and do a brain dump on all my links and bookmarks. Ill link it here. There are so many good spots in the bay area.

 

[thenated0g]

It was really hard launching a plane in 30mph winds. Instantly, if your nose is not straight into the wind, the plane is either ripped violently out of your hands (catches the bottom of the plane) or it is thrown into the ground (top of plane into wind). And you really think that you need to toss the plane in the air, but its already going 30mph. You just place it up in the air and let go. Everytime i would give my plane a push or throw it would get ejected hard. Wayne told me that from his viewpoint, everytime i did that i was either pushing the nose up or down which gave the wind something to really push against as that top or bottom was shown to it.

 

[thenated0g]

meh ill just post them here

Some good places to check for Bay Area sites:

http://soaringbythebay.byethost22.com/brkmarin.html?i=1​

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https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/sho...ncisco-Soaring-and-the-Mussel-Rock-Confluence​

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https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2644974-SFO-Bay-Area-slope-location​

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google maps style site for spots to slope
https://www.slople.com/usa/california/san-jose/sierra-road-san-jose/S13274/​

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101 pages of posts about south flying spots​

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2025395​

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For wind i have had a lot of success using this site. Just click on the red markers to see hourly forecast. In my experience the wind is going to usually be higher at the top of the hills than what it says.
https://www.windfinder.com/#11/37.4353/-122.0396

 

[thenated0g]

For your first time i would suggest you find a spot that has winds going at least 15-20mph straight into the hill your flying or pretty close to perpendicular. when at the hill look down the hill at the grass and bushes and see how far down the hill the wind is hitting it. The more of the hill getting hit the more its going to push up. If its really windy at the top but no grass is moving down the hill than it may not be a good spot as the wind is probably coming right at you and not getting pushed up the hill.

 

[mminute]

Hey @thenated0g , thanks for the great info! Do you have any suggestions for place for powered flight in San Francisco. I'm just starting out with R/C and my research is showing that flying is not permitted in any of the parks in the city with the exception of Fort Funston which I found to be a bit windy for learning with the FT Explorer (and is only usable when hang gliders are not present). I'm thinking of building a Tiny Trainer or Mini Scout to fly in a more confined space if I can find something around here where it is permitted.

 

[thenated0g]

I dont have a lot of info on the San Francisco city area but i know a lot of guys fly in southbay at a park and if you want to cross the bridges there is an awesome group just east of you.

PM user DamoRC he flies all the time down, i think, at the baylands park are here: https://goo.gl/maps/poZaf7VACF82

And heres a great bunch of guys over in Moraga
https://www.youtube.com/user/RCdeparture
https://moragaheavenlyflyers.org/
https://goo.gl/maps/PFjJeMNw2FL2

Personally i really like using airmap.com to check if its legal to fly in an area, find the phone number of the local airport, and check on TFR's.

If you are interested in slope soaring you have a ton of awesome spots close by, like the entire west beach side of from fort funston to mussel rock.

 

[DamoRC]

I dont have a lot of info on the San Francisco city area but i know a lot of guys fly in southbay at a park and if you want to cross the bridges there is an awesome group just east of you.

PM user DamoRC he flies all the time down, i think, at the baylands park are here: https://goo.gl/maps/poZaf7VACF82

And heres a great bunch of guys over in Moraga
https://www.youtube.com/user/RCdeparture
https://moragaheavenlyflyers.org/
https://goo.gl/maps/PFjJeMNw2FL2

Personally i really like using airmap.com to check if its legal to fly in an area, find the phone number of the local airport, and check on TFR's.

If you are interested in slope soaring you have a ton of awesome spots close by, like the entire west beach side of from fort funston to mussel rock.

@mminute - unfortunately it's getting harder and harder to fly on the peninsula and in SF, I am only aware of Fort Funston as an option for sloping. Might be worth checking with local schools to see what they might allow but in the City, the space is going to be limited to small and light.

I have heard of folks flying at Oyster Point in SSF some years back but I have never flown there myself. As @thenated0g said, I fly at Baylands in Sunnyvale. it's a great spot primarily because RC flight is explicitly allowed there. There is a $6 entrance fee (if the booth is manned) but an annual pass is only $25.

DamoRC

 

[cranialrectosis]

When I sim, I fly a big slope soarer with a V tail.

I learned on a Wanderer in the '80s in Thousand Oaks and watching that Tick Point video sure gives me nostalgia for those golden hills.

Thanks for the video and the memories there @thenated0g.

 

[thenated0g]

When I sim, I fly a big slope soarer with a V tail.

I learned on a Wanderer in the '80s in Thousand Oaks and watching that Tick Point video sure gives me nostalgia for those golden hills.

Thanks for the video and the memories there @thenated0g.

No problem. It was my first time sloping some big air and flying a slope with anybody other than myself. Totally hooked now. I dont even think about fpv flying anymore. I have a v-tail sloper on my list to build this winter. A blejzyk kit from alofthobbies.com. Really pretty plywood sheeting foam wings.

 

[mminute]

@mminute - unfortunately it's getting harder and harder to fly on the peninsula and in SF, I am only aware of Fort Funston as an option for sloping. Might be worth checking with local schools to see what they might allow but in the City, the space is going to be limited to small and light.

I have heard of folks flying at Oyster Point in SSF some years back but I have never flown there myself. As @thenated0g said, I fly at Baylands in Sunnyvale. it's a great spot primarily because RC flight is explicitly allowed there. There is a $6 entrance fee (if the booth is manned) but an annual pass is only $25.

DamoRC

Thanks @DamoRC ! That is very helpful. I'm might build something small and light and find a nearby school or somewhere to fly until I'm a bit more capable. It'll remove the friction of having travel that might deter me from practicing. Then Baylands sounds like a great option!