blue bell evening

 the nine to five is done; it's time to live the dream!

 the hallowed turf has never seen so much moulded activity

 set your controls for the heart of the sun

lying in wait for a slope babe

ahhhhh firle!

Dave arrives with his gorgoeus ASG 29, the air was as

good as the sky suggests

the visitors get ready

bullet proof fail safe in Simon's Fox

taking a picture of Peter taking a picture

 pilot is focused on another task

he has wood

so does one of the passengers

extended tips for marginal conditions (15mph is marginal for this 18kg beastie)

Pete's 4m ASW diminutive by comparison

the pilot has some reading material for the journey

 the very issue that contains a review of his glider!

 and in case he gets lost, a map showing the way back to the mighty Thurnham

 ahh! a flying shot!

holly takes the pss

Lots of west at Holly so conditions are tricky. David from Rainham (we'll call him Dave to protect his identity) has produced another fine example of a PSS beastie. We persuade him to give it an airing so we can ooggle at its curvaceous lines.

minder says look but no touch

this hinge won't let go.......ever

questionable lift so we all run around making aeroplane noises

 until we finally persuade the other David to chuck off

spectators are poised in readiness for the out landing

 the walk of shame

Firle's phonics

flutter by

slope babes

Looks like Simon is going to win the 'Slope Babe' photo contest hands down this year. After a bit of gentle persuasion he had this delightful passer by with her hands full, but she needed a bit of guidance to keep a firm grip on the root during a particularly good blow.

Castor

Paul splashes out on a new model in readiness for Sunday's XC comp at the Ashdown Forest. It's the first kit build he's attempted since the early nineties (ignoring one foamie and several mouldies).

Deryck captures the event for prosperity, Ray contributes 25 minutes of moaning with the occasional interjection of irrelevant set up advice.

topping up the lipo with 300 mah worth of cussing and swearing

strut

 no drama!

 balloon joins in....by the way has anyone lost a hat?

Mission ready for the Forest. We'll ignore the fact that by the end of
only a modest climb, the motor is hotter than a leather lingerie clad Amy Pond

Friday

On Pete's midday report of terrific lift, we steam up the hill piqued with expectation of a superb summery evening. Problem is things rapidly go south...literally!

special man seeks special woman to look after his special needs

 Simon ponders on filling the 3 metre gap in his Fox fleet

 Peter takes to his burrow once the lift has deserted us

Duke gets the trusty floater away; handles the tricky conditions without an issue

many happy returns John!

meanwhile Peter tries to decapitate Simon with

his light sabre; batteries die at the crucial moment

we settle on the steepest part of the hill and admire the view

I spy a grass hopper, an airliner and a bogey

Ray wonders why Peter is wearing his MASSIVE trapper hat in this weather!

Local pikeys have nicked all the phone cables so we're

stuck for several hours while BT put in the replacement

ready for them to nick again over the weekend.

Neighbourhood watch inform us that a Pike Brio and Pike Superior
are helping the police with their enquiries.

hot holly

Summer almost lasted the entire week this year, so Sunday saw us beat a path to Holly to enjoy some potential model busters in the thermal department. No crashes, some quality moulded action and a throng of spectators just about sums up the day.

Charlie preps his ex-Fisher Alex

off she goes!

if you're familiar with John's penchant for the smaller soarer, you'll

realise he's cruising along just above his antenna tip

mingling with the MILFs

Alex slips around the sky, blending into its surroundings in a sinisterly stealthy fashion 

Mick arrives late for his pole dancing class

 Ray employs his third eye

Alpina at the ready

launching from Bernard's bump

4 metre fail

It was a short lived, but intense relationship. He lusted after her curvaceous front end and elegantly slim extremities. All she wanted was the care, love and guidance of a gentleman. 

Soon they reached dizzying heights. Elated and carefree, things moved quicker than they both expected. In the end it was all too much and she just had to let go.

4 inches of wing joiner set in foam may have been a weak point in the design

2 metres of semi span along with re-kitted tailplane last seen fluttering towards Sittingbourne