On 6/9/2013 4:02 PM, Don Johnstone wrote:
At 21:13 09 June 2013, Tony wrote:
Pulling the release before things get out of hand is pretty cheap, like I
did on day 2. Brakes are like Goldilocks if you want to stay out of the
repair shop. Too weak and here comes the fence at the end of that field. Too
strong and there's a hole in your nose after the wheels lock up.

Yep simple rule of thumb. If your glider has a nosewheel then fit a brake
as strong as you like. If you do not have a nosewheel, as in most single
seaters fitting a strong brake is really a waste of time and money because
you cannot use it. Even the "weak" brakes fitted to gliders such as the
discus can only be used with care.

Having once owned a tail-dragging glider with "world's best brake" I can vouch
that having an "overly powerful" *and* easily modulatable brake is a wonderful
combination. (It was a hydraulically-actuated drum brake on a homebuilt HP-14.)

It was powerful enough to put the plane on its nose, while simultaneously
sufficiently modulatable as to (easily) permit braking heavy enough to lift
the tail without pitching onto the nose. Combined with world's most powerful
landing flaps, the plane was a joy to land, despite its Vee tail-feathers and
veering into crosswind tendencies (in which case I generally angled into the
wind as much as practicable, touched down with minimal safe energy and fell
more in love with large deflection flaps and the superb wheel brake)...

Bob W.