Slopers Guide to Lift Conditions
Posted by Chris Erickson on May 29, 2003, 23:04
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0: Dead lift
Pilots are either shooting their own breezes, or spending time in the slope shop repairing or cleaning up planes. Only pilots actually piloting anything are handlaunch guys or someone who thought ahead and threw an electric in the truck. Newbies who have it bad are chucking their planes and fetching them.
1: Teasing lift
First whiff of air movement. Handlaunch guys extend their flight times, but still wind up back on the deck. Surveyors tape on tent pole used as wind indicator budges and starts hanging to one side.
2: Light lift
Handlaunch guys can stay up, people start sporadically chucking Zagi's and such with low wing loadings off the hill for a circle and landing. It's better than nothing, right? For a while, anyway. Wind indicator flag budges occasionally to 20 degrees or so from vertical.
3: OK lift
Actual lift for normal folks begins. Lightly loaded flying wings of standard size will now stay up if a couple clicks of up trim are dialed in and the plane is dogged around in ponderous mushy turns. Warbird guys throw and retreive, telling everyone how it's great in light lift, but still doing more walking than flying. Handlaunch folks now screaming around, Weasels, Red Herrings also enjoying good conditions. Newbies who are past the initial enthusiasm needed to chuck planes into dead air are now giving their hardware a toss, and sometimes staying up for a turn or two. Wind indicator near 45 degrees.
4: Good lift
Combat wing fliers can dial out the up trim and begin actually doing some real flying. Handlauch guys beginning to complain about too much lift. Weasels and Herrings fully aerobatic and screaming around as befits their nature. Most warbirds now flyable. Baseball hats mostly stay on head even when pilot is standing at slope lip. Careful newbies staying up. Wind indicator flag now past 45 degrees to ground.
5: Sweet lift
Handlauch guys mostly down. Weasel/Herring crowd either adding ballast or moving to heavier planes. Combat wings now in their element. Warbird folks finally in the zone too. Slope wind indicator flag constantly between 45 to 90 degrees. Hats without tight fit may be blown off head. Newbies finally staying up, mostly.
6: Big lift
Wind indicator steadily points up past 90 degrees. Most folks are adding ballast or at least dialing in a click of downtrim. Loose tape and light tools blown off of repair tables. Newbies getting blown into hill or over the backside, or begging lead (which will inevitably contribute to their demise). Empty soda cans are blown along ground. Lawn chairs are now moved back from the edge a bit. Higgins Rodents and other such insanities with high wing loadings make their appearance.
7: Great lift
Everyone has ballast or downtrim, or a combination of both. Baseball hats don't stay on no matter how tight they are if you're on the edge. Even foamies making impressive wails in high speed dives. Half full soda cans blown over. Newbies constantly blown over hill if they're not destroying their planes in downwind turns made too close to the hill or the trees. Chairs have all been moved back from the edge, either by hand or blown backwards.
8: Crazy lift
Everyone still flying has both ballast and downtrim. People now standing behind trucks or other obstructions where they can still see the plane. Building tables being blown over. Vehicle hoods are blown off the hood prop and then slammed onto charging planes and transmitters sitting in engine compartment. Eyes are watering even behind glasses. All newbies down and furiously nursing broken planes on building tables now posted in the lee of trucks, or dejectedly staring at a shapeless mass of foam, tape, and balsa. Hats ripped off no matter where you are. Full cans blown over. Anyone concerned with actually softly landing their planes is down already. Rodent pilots in hog heaven.
9: Insane lift
Eyes water too much to fly unless wearing goggles. Only the planes with massive ballast are still in the air and planes prone to control surface flutter at high speed have all crashed. Soft landings extremely difficult if not impossible, mostly barely controlled crashes. Only the die hards are still up, everyone else is behind, or in, their vehicles.
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