Tim's Blog!

Many people have very weird and wonderful ways to relax. I am no exception to this statement when I’m on my breaks from Hi-5 I have a rather unique way of chilling out.

For a few years now I have flown Radio Controlled Airplanes. I started several years ago, when I was touring Australia and New Zealand with the national production of “Fiddler on the Roof”. I would fly my plane during the day and perform at night. An awesome lifestyle!

It is quite a testing little hobby to have, as you are basically controlling a heap of intricately glued match sticks that are altogether covered with something similar to cling wrap and flying at speeds faster than most people drive their cars. So when things go wrong, and they often do, it always means many hours of rebuilding and perfecting to follow. Because of that, this hobby has taught me A LOT about the skill of patience.

So now after many crashes, planes being stuck up trees for days and mid-air dog fights with the local birds, I love the hobby enough still to view it as my main form of relaxation. I have seven planes, all very different, from F16 fighter jets to Red Bull Air-Race planes.

My passion at the moment however, is Slope Soaring. To ‘Slope Soar’, you have to stand on the top of a raised area, for example a cliff. If the wind is blowing directly at the cliff, the air rushes up from the bottom of the cliff and the wind that this phenomenon produces means your plane can then fly in that wind for as long as it wants.

The first time I attempted ‘Slope Soaring’ I had already mastered the basics of RC flying. I had watched this different way of RC plane flying on You Tube videos (and we all know that everything is not always what it seems on You tube!). So I decided to buy and build a plane specifically designed for this sport and test whether this “Slope Soaring” is possible. After finishing the build of the plane, I then took it to a very high cliff (so I could guarantee it would have the best chance of not smashing at the bottom of the cliff). When I parked in the carpark near the cliff, I was sceptical.

A random dude at the cliff saw me get my plane out of my car and with what I think was morbid curiosity, watched closely as I threw my $250 love off a cliff, with no real idea that it would ever come back. Random Dude and I stood at the edge of the cliff.  I felt there was more than enough wind, but the longer I stood there, the less confident I was about flying it successfully. Could this actually work or would I end up being the worlds’ most theatrical litterer?

Random Dude finally proved that he was there to see me cry when he called out

“Biff it man, even if it crashes it will be good to watch.”

Random Dude had offended me. He didn’t care how I felt; he just wanted to see some action and preferably that of the destructive kind. Then suddenly, without any thought, I threw that plane out into the massive drop off.

WHOOOSH!

The plane lifted up in the air higher and higher. Within a second or two I realized I had it under control and I had started to ‘Slope Soar’. All that was below the plane was the rough swashing swishing sea smashing against plane-destroying rocks. It was so amazing.

After about 15 minutes I realized that my knuckles had turned white from gripping the controller too hard and just for the sake of my bank account if nothing else, I decided to land it. I flew it around behind me, hovered it over the lookout car park and my first ever ‘Slope Soaring’ flight was a success.I was hooked.

I now have two flying wings, and I have been officially clocked at flying them up to 68mph. Whenever there is a sea breeze and I’m not Hi-5 -ing ,you will see me flying my Radio Controlled Planes off the beautiful coastal cliffs of Australia.

Now I love this sport, but I am definitely not encouraging anyone to go standing on the edge of cliffs and throw things off. If you are interested in this sport, please get in contact with your local Slope Soaring Club and listen to their advice as to where and how to do this.

For more photos check the photo gallery.

It is now a real passion of mine and I have a heap of stories to tell about it. But I will leave that for another day.

Tim