DS in Derbyshire and Drinks in Devon

After nibbling on Easter Eggs and seeing the in-laws (I think its that way around) the slopes were calling for both Zim and myself to indulge ourselves. For Zim it’s got to be DSing Dynamics and Rushup Edge was chosen to take on Zim’s thumbs.

Tony Fu met up with Zim to add some contrast with his Vikos. The 3m mouldie was duly thrown around the back whist Zim finished off filling every cavity of his D40 with lead to bring the weight up to 28oz – now comes with a lead hazard warning! In the end it was Tony who attempted to break Rushup with a Ron Broughton foamie - the hill won but it was a close run thing - not sure if it was the model or Tony screaming the loudest.

After a couple of flights to blow out the DS cobwebs the D40 wound up to 134mph but Zim’s view was obscured by his missus’ thumb and he was recalled to base. This left Abbo and Adam in fast improving conditions without any sign of a responsible adult and after some 150mph aeros with their Opus and D80 respectively they settled down to enjoy some 200mph+ speed runs - Adam won the day with 232mph – a new PB! Adam also howled round with The Tank, a Mike Young designed foamie plank – a new airframe record at 191mph – that’s a 54” foamie! Just missing the UK foamie record of 200mph.

Of course Graham Bridge was there with his fantastically smooth DS style – if you want to learn how to carve the smoothest DS circuits imaginable, Graham’s the man you want on your shoulder whilst you’re trying. Also great to see Martin “Wudy” Woods making the trip down from Newcastle for his first DS excursion – turned some laps, and got it done! His lovely missus Nicola came too, bringing with her a delightful waft of perfume – an all too rare pleasure on the DS ridge!

Simon Cocker is not one to be out done around the backside, with his gorgeous Aermacchi using the energy available from DS to deliver some smooth flying. Give Simon a Predator and he’s adding rolls on the top turns at 100mph+. Congrats also to Will Deighton who upped his PB again to 169mph with his D80.

Down south Phil Taylor’s tour of the Devon hills saw both Phil and I screaming Wizards along a 25m sea cliff just 10 minutes from home (just 18 months I’ve missed that one!). The beautifully smooth coastal lift in the compression certainly showed up our poor turns and rewarded the good ones - even when you had to lean over the edge to see the turn point!

With a tight landing zone to ‘hit’ we had both chosen Wiz Compacts for the trip, each with very different set-ups but delivering equally big smiles. I failed in taking my camera so there are no of pics of the flying or the sight of Phil scrambling down the hill to retrieve his Sagitta (OK the inverted pass was my idea) - next time I promise!

Rounded off with a drink next to the beach at the bottom of the cliff and I think I’ve found the summer evening spot!

Here are Zim’s pics from his Rushup excursion – remember to click the full screen option!