On Saturday, May 10, 2014 8:25:35 PM UTC-7, Bruce Hoult wrote:
With the correction of multiplying the sink rate by "speed needed"/"min sink speed" my spreadsheet gets the above numbers (and same turn times and height loss) for a glider with a min sink of 122 fpm at 42 knots.
New summary chart with correction:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw1...it?usp=sharing
The new minimum altitude loss bank angle is...drum roll...45 degrees.
If for some reason you are worried about dragging the wingtip the bank angle that keeps the wingtip the highest is 36 degrees, though obviously this only matters as you sink lower and/or encounter obstacles.
The discussion about offset from the runway is unchanged going from 45 to 60 degrees of bank will reduce the runway offset by 80 feet or so - I don't think it's worth the risk to crank it over that far in most situations. The simple observation is that between 30 and 55 degrees the amount of altitude lost doesn't vary much, so do whatever allows you to control the airplane and get to a laudable spot in go shape to land.
9B