Over the years ,my PIK20D ,not to mention my self ,has gained some weight. The cg with me aboard is now located forward of the mid range although still within limits. I would like to add about 6 pounds of lead to the tail to shift the cg to the rear half of the allowable range. Anyone know the...

US to pull out of WHO permanently. Abstention is no way to demonstrate leadership. God help us all No doubt this post will be deleted as politically incorrect....

Several years ago, we made templates along the leading edge of a popular standard class sailplane . The particular sailplane was a winner. It was shocking to compare the left and right wing contours with these templated. Close? Not at all. But the sailplane went very well. Then we did the same on...

Hi All, An SSA 'Master' CFIG I know is perpetually hammering it into his students that to initiate a turn in a glider, the FIRST thing you do is feed in rudder. On his 1-5 list of making a turn in a glider, #1 is rudder (as it's own separate input). While this may be aerodynamically acceptable...

At the beginning, Paul wrote: An SSA 'Master' CFIG I know is perpetually hammering it into his students that to initiate a turn in a glider, the FIRST thing you do is feed in rudder. On his 1-5 list of making a turn in a glider, #1 is rudder (as it's own separate input). While this may be...

As a result of some pretty funky vario behavior at the recent Bermuda High regional contest, I decided to leak test my new (to me) V2cx ship. I took as my guideline the excellent 2000 (updated in 2008) article on this subject by Mike Borgelt of Borgelt Instruments...

I did a leak test on my instruments and plumbing because I suspect my ASI to be indicating low. I was surprised to find a rather large leakage through the MNAV. I understand why the MNAV leaks, but would welcome input from others on whether my observations are normal or not before I open the...

I have a lak 12. It has 4 static ports on the fuselage. Left and right ports are mixed. If the tubes connecting the ports have leaks, who can I fix them as I do not know any 8" mechanics. I think I have 3 options replace the tubes I can reach relocate the static ports Cut an access hole in the...

One of the bags on my DG-300 is leaking. I took it out of the wing and confirmed that it's leaking at the seam an inch or so from where the plastic inlet clamps in place (the wing root end). Repair options seem limited -- but I'm tempted to try to fold over the seam of the ballast bag that's...

http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/oceanus/albatross2_132253.jpg -- Roberto Waltman

DARPA has discovered an interesting and easy way to train pilots in half the time! No doubt this applies to other complex learning tasks as well. https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/tdcs-brain-hacking

Hi all, I'm going to be on a road tour of Europe in August (South of France, Switzerland, Germany etc) and was thinking of stopping somewhere for a week to do a gliding course. My first question would be whether or not any training I do in Europe will be valid back in the UK? The second would be...

Hi, I'm looking for a way to learn to soar that is safe, efficient, and as inexpensive as possible because I have to sell this to my wife. Since I live in the Washington, D.C. area, I believe that the best soaring areas are probably in New York and in the western USA (I ignorant so please correct...

I am located in Sydney / Australia and wonder what the pros/cons are to do a glider course in our winter instead of our summer. Weather here is generally sub-tropic and I guess comparable with South Africa or maybe Spain or Southern USA. Looks like a much nicer season to be out and about than the...

I live in the Los Angeles area, have a private pilots license and I want to earn my soaring stamp or whatever it's called. Can anyone recommend a soaring club? I looked at Great Western Soaring in Llana, CA. It's a great place to fly, Fred Robinson is a special person, but I don't think they...

There used to be a wonderful web site which described the experiences of a student learning to soar at Aboyne in the U.K. It had a great diagram of a typical flight, with a couple of dozen links to pages explaining each phase of the learning process. The URL was http://www.miskin.demon.co.uk/ ...

Hello, Some college friends and I have been flying sailplanes with the eventual goal of getting into competition soaring. This would not be for a while, but we were wondering if it is common to find competition sailplanes available for lease during a season? If so, what is a 'typical' cost range?...

Was it in this group were someone asked about Led lights for glider trailers. Met this guy today he does good work. http://www.lazer.com.au/sbcleds.shtml Mal

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Hey all. About three years ago I saw a few snippets of a film without the audio. It was on the Esquire cable channel. Lee Majors. Soaring contest. Lady pilot climbs out of her 1-23 in tight dress and heels?! Cool footage of formation aerobatics. Seemed like a separate plot line involving a young...