Took a vacation day yesterday (Fri) to practice L&L at Ridgely. Thought there might even be a higher performance glider available for me to rent, but a part was missing from the glider my size, so the practicing for an eventual sport2 will have to wait until next time.
I'm working on my judgement in extending the DBF legs in anticipation of a vehicle which actually has a glide quotient (and practicing NEVER to stuff the bar in order to come down!! Bad habit of mine and it doesn't work in anything other than a falcon).
It is do-able in a falcon to extend those DBF legs more along the lines of an Eagle's glide, but it has it's drawbacks (particularly in my baggy wing...) for instance, the most perfect theoretical DBF can be severely curtailed by the smallest amount of windshadow when in a falcon. It falls out of the sky like a rock.
Had 5 good sleds between 11 - 1. Even thermalled halfway decently one time but the lift was bubbly and broken. Sky exceedingly hazy and overcast.
Had to leave to pick up my little ladies, but Dave Proctor showed up with the cummies and a clearing sky; Christian was on tenderhooks as he is about to receive his Millenium stick controlled, supine rigid wing in about a week (Paul is bringing it back with him from Texas), and a guy from New York had just purchased his new rigid from Highland and was having great fun with his new wing.
Weather was ummmm, HOT. Don't know how the Ridgely crew do it, sitting out in the sun on the flight line. If I exercise in the heat, my head turns into a tomoto ripe for bursting. Even sticking my head under the cold shower didn't cool me down to a decent comfort level, and I about konked out from simple exhaustion in the after-effects of the energy draining day while driving home in the well airconditioned car.
If you are flying this weekend in the heat, please be extremely careful. Chances are you might be more sunstroked/heatstroked than you think you are at the time. Be safe. -Linda
Hookey at Ridgely on Friday
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Hookey at Ridgely on Friday
So long as you're on a Falcon it's never a bad habit to stuff the bar on
landing. But yeah, it can bite you while trying to transition. Just
remember: when the glider oscillates in anything BUT a falcon, slow down.
The natural panic response is the opposite. But if you come into a
thermally field slow, the glider will oscillate as well, and it's hard to
tell the difference. If you try to fix this problem by slowing down
you've got no place to go.
Somebody with more experience in slick gliders can correct me if
I'm giving bad advice, but I think it's best to err by coming in too fast
so that you definitely know you can fix the problem by slowing down. I've
come in too slow on a K2 because I was afraid of oscillating while flying
too fast. Survived to tell others not to overcompensate (thanks again for
pointing it out, Dave and Kevin).
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005, breezyk1d wrote:
>
> I'm working on my judgement in extending the DBF legs in anticipation of a vehicle which actually has a glide quotient (and practicing NEVER to stuff the bar in order to come down!! Bad habit of mine and it doesn't work in anything other than a falcon).
>
> It is do-able in a falcon to extend those DBF legs more along the lines of an Eagle's glide, but it has it's drawbacks (particularly in my baggy wing...) for instance, the most perfect theoretical DBF can be severely curtailed by the smallest amount of windshadow when in a falcon. It falls out of the sky like a rock.
>
landing. But yeah, it can bite you while trying to transition. Just
remember: when the glider oscillates in anything BUT a falcon, slow down.
The natural panic response is the opposite. But if you come into a
thermally field slow, the glider will oscillate as well, and it's hard to
tell the difference. If you try to fix this problem by slowing down
you've got no place to go.
Somebody with more experience in slick gliders can correct me if
I'm giving bad advice, but I think it's best to err by coming in too fast
so that you definitely know you can fix the problem by slowing down. I've
come in too slow on a K2 because I was afraid of oscillating while flying
too fast. Survived to tell others not to overcompensate (thanks again for
pointing it out, Dave and Kevin).
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005, breezyk1d wrote:
>
> I'm working on my judgement in extending the DBF legs in anticipation of a vehicle which actually has a glide quotient (and practicing NEVER to stuff the bar in order to come down!! Bad habit of mine and it doesn't work in anything other than a falcon).
>
> It is do-able in a falcon to extend those DBF legs more along the lines of an Eagle's glide, but it has it's drawbacks (particularly in my baggy wing...) for instance, the most perfect theoretical DBF can be severely curtailed by the smallest amount of windshadow when in a falcon. It falls out of the sky like a rock.
>
-
batmanh3
I've been on a topless for a short time compared to many in the group, but I would definately say err on the side of caution before saying always come in hot. I've really had to back myself off of the Talon. I had an issue a couple weeks ago where I was turning a 180 onto final and got hit with a thermal lifting off the LZ. It caused me to turn sharper than planned with basically put me into a slipping turn picking up a lot more speed than intended. The U2/Talon type gliders pick up speed VERY easily but bleed it off VERY slow. Luckily I had plenty of room to mitigate the effects. I should of extended out and bled off more airspeed before continuing onto final. In a tight LZ, I would of been in trouble. Joe Gregor can talk in more detail, but recommends flying an aircraft DBF with just enough speed to maintain controlability and deal with any turbulence/ground effect. It takes some getting used to after being of the mindset to always come in hot, but I'm seeing the potential for problems if you come in to fast with the new gliders and not having the room to get them down to a managable landing speed.