On Wednesday, September 11, 2013 4:48:25 PM UTC-5, BobW wrote:
On 9/11/2013 10:53 AM, Soartech wrote:





Snip... I can't even imagine unfolding a map in the confines of my

sailplane.



Not to be contentious, but why would anyone seriously consider "unfolding a

map" in the confines of a sailplane? I certainly never did. I simply

pre-folded my sectional to place my launch site more or less in the middle of

a flat rectangle of map, folded wisely (as in, if I flew off the pre-selected

area, the next en-route area was no more than a fold away [sometimes two, if I

wished to keep my map rectangle the same size]), and occasionally hauled it

out as necessary (usually to double-check a town or distance). In less

familiar to me areas, I sometimes used my non-stick thumb to keep my place on

the sectional.



It's not as if glider XC speed-made-good is fast enough to warrant constant

refolding. Point being if refolding really is a problem, something needs to be

rethought...



Kinda-sorta related to the original question, try not and overthink XC issues.



Priority One is always to soar - as in, remain aloft. All the other stuff

merely tags along...navigation, can I get "there," O2 altitude (I know, not

generally a concern in FL), communication, speed made good, etc., etc.



Priority Two is to always be prepared (mentally and physically - as in you can

actually GET to your chosen field) to safely land along the way, because if

you fly XC you ARE going to make off-field landings, regardless of ship type.

To think otherwise is to make a serious mental error.



How you accomplish "priorities 3 through infinity" should reflect how you

think and interact with "all your soaring accoutrements." KISS is good, IMHO.



For example, I've never found it difficult/onerous to perform mental glide

calculations while on course. "X miles per thousand feet" and a decent

awareness of where I am (no cheating; you're AT wherever it is you're directly

above, NOT what you can see at some slight angle!) was/is dirt simple for me.

Where I can get from "there" sorts of "glider calculations" aren't

fundamentally different than is estimating where I plan to gas up the vehicle

when driving through western boonies...merely the view is distinctly more

pleasurable!



Bob - simple is good - W.



P.S. It would be fascinating to know the rates of airspace violations by

glider guiders, pre- and post-GPS. Even a cursory reading of contest reports

and scores on the SSA website quickly reveals a continuing litany of "airspace

violation penalties." GPS = "complete navigational precision?" Not!

The GPS just makes the airspace violation much easier to prove.

I started off without a GPS but that was only because I couldn't afford one.. Now I don't leave home without it. In a 1-26 though, it's not too hard to tell whether or not you can glide to the next field. You don't need an advanced glide computer. If you can't see it you can't make it and if you can see it you might be able to make it. The only exception is if you can't see it because the nose is in the way, in which case you probably can make it. These same rules apply when I fly the Cherokee XC. Have fun!