Devil

11/07/08

Devil's Dyke is a high slope with the model gliding area facing NNW, located on the South Downs National Park in East Sussex. Devil's Dyke is managed by the National Trust, whom only allow non-powered model flying. Parking at Devil's Dyke cost 2 pounds per car. The car park is fairly large, but is often full, especially during the warm summer months and weekends, thus making an early arrival to Devil's Dyke advisable. One of the bonuses of Devil's Dyke is that it has a pub-restaurant serving typical British cuisine, which is located about 150m west of the model gliding area. This restaurant becomes crowded during weekends and the summer, making a booking advisable during these peak times.There's only one model flying area at Devil's Dyke, which is located about 50m east of the very edge of the car park. The flying area is shielded by a few trees, which most pilots stand behind whilst flying to avoid becoming cold, especially on cold days. When flying at Devil's Dyke, one has to be careful of three main things: (1) pedestrians, (2) turbulence, and (3) para-gliders+full size gliders. (1) Firstly, Devil's Dyke can become very crowded, especially on warm sunny days, meaning that flying your model away from pedestrians is vital (be aware of people who walk through the landing area). (2) Secondly, the landing area can become very turbulent, particularly on days when there's a strong wind which isn't directed directly at the slope. This means when landing your model, it is adamant that no one is near or in the vicinity of the landing zone, as your model can unexpectedly flip over whilst coming into land when getting close to the ground. Additionally, don't fly your model too far behind the flying area when bringing your model into land. This is because of three things; one is that your model can be 'sucked back' by the wind. Two is that there's a significant amount of turbulence behind the flying area. And three, which is most important, is that there are walkers behind the flying area (on the rear facing slope) who can be very easily hit by a model. (3) And thirdly, please be alert of the full size gliders and para-gliders that fly at and over Devil's Dyke. There is a designated area for para-gliders to fly at, which is directly opposite the pub-restaurant. Please don't fly there, even if no para-gliders are present. And if at any time a para-glider stumbles into the model flying area, always give them the space they need. Devil's Dyke is a fairly versatile slope in terms of wind directions you can fly your model's in with just slope lift. These winds range from WNW to NNE, but NNW is the ideal wind direction. These northerly winds tend to be most present during the winter, meaning flying at Devil's Dyke in summer is fairly rare. The ideal wind speed for Devil's Dyke is about 20mph. Wind speeds too great can cause significant turbulence, especially in the landing area as noted earlier. Strong thermals come over Devil's Dyke fairly often, meaning you can get your glider incredibly high, even when there isn't much slope lift to fly in. Devil's Dyke is a wonderful place to fly at, due to it's good views, easy access, pub-restaurant, and great lift!

Flyable winddirections: