Is this an alternative? http://www.sandia.aero/?q=STX165

Hi, Tasman has released a new version of the firmware that runs in the V1000 variometer. The new version has a different sink tone than previous versions. The sink tone now gets lower in pitch with lower sink rates. The climb tone remains the same as it has always been with increasing pitch...

This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General News, It is specific to the US, but generally applicable as well. The original post is avaliable...

Could any owner of a german registered glider shed a light on this subject: As a private owner, and sole operator of a self launcher (DG-808), I'm a bit confused as to what should be done concerning the: Application, Declaration and Approval of a Standardized Maintenance Programme (SIHP) in...

Trailering my DG-300 home after a Saturday flight, I was on the highway within a few miles of home when someone pulled up beside me, gesturing back towards my trailer (never a good sign). I immediately pulled over and was stunned to find the tongue of my 25 year old Comet trailer snapped almost in...

I have recently started gliding again after a long absense. I no longer have funds to support my power plane habit and am soaring as less expensive means of getting airborne. I am surprised to see that winch tows in the USA are still almost non existant. Why not. Surely a winch is much cheaper...

Hi Gang Occasionally one finds a good read on a subject that many of us are interested in, namely soaring. Well the Government funded in the 50s the development of a new spy plane - a motorglider - named the U2. The specifications of this machine included operation up to 80,000 feet at 80% the...

Does anyone have experience of removing flaking paint from the skin of a metal trailer? About 1/3 of the paint is coming off...I want to strip all the paint off and preferably leave the metal skin 'bare'. Is this just 'buy a big can of paint remover and a large brush' or is it more complicated? ...

Details and Photos at http://www.williamssoaring.com/ForSale.html Rex Mayes Williams Soaring Center

So, if you were ordering a new Cobra trailer, would you order a fiberglass top or an aluminum top? For sake of discussion, lets exclude obvious price difference. I've never seen an aluminum top with insulation. What type of insulation is used and is it worth the 1000 plus euros? For those having...

I would like to know the approximate position of the front seat airbrake handle with wheel brake applied. If you are familiar with a G103 front cockpit please give me an estimate of the position such as "just past vertical" "45 deg past vertical" etc. Reason for the post is that my wife finds it...

http://www.spr.aero/wcc-main-news/e-concept-rules-for-electric- gliders.aspx

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...

Hi, Does anyone know the difference between an LNav and and SNav? I know historically the LNav was positioned as a 'budget' SNav, but looking at the manuals for the current versions there doesn't seem to be any appreciable difference between the two. If anyone could outline the 'family tree' for...

Well, now I've done it. I've changed the tail number of my glider, and I'm in the process of getting a new experimental airworthiness certificate. My glider currently is certified as: "Experimental: Exhibition and Air Racing." The DAR (FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative) says that I am...

This article, originally in Soaring (Feb 2002) was updated recently to include information on the Trig TT21 transponder. You can download it from http://tinyurl.com/yg76qo9 It will also be available on the Soaring Safety Foundation website later this month: http://soaringsafety.org/

I am a firm supporter of the OLC; L wrote an article for my club newsletter and gave a presentation at our monthly meeting using a modification of Reiner's 2005 SSA OLC one. However, I'm having a dickens of a time uploading my flight traces to the OLC. Use a Cambridge GPS Model 20 and...

How do these compare? Not performance wise (no ambition to fly comps and still a beginner at ca 100 hours) though specs seem close for ls8 in 15m config but in all other aspects. Price difference makes me wonder which way to go... Has anyone flown, owned both? S

I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did the right thing. ...

It seems that a payout winch similar to those used for hang gliders might be useful as a more efficient alternative to auto tows. You can make better use of the runway length and have perhaps a safer launch with proper calibration. Is anyone using such systems? Are they practical? Are they in fact...