Very well written article. This is a 'standard' airshow
sailplane approach. I've done it a thousand times.
Gives you exceptional glidepath control, excellent
control authority and makes a stall/spin highly unlikely
(though not impossible). One of my tricks for setting
up a perfect spot landing.

That being said; as with any new technique, don't try
it the first time without the assistance of someone
experienced in the technique. (I was taught a similar
approach by Les Horvath.) Just because it has advantages
doesn't mean there aren't ways to screw up. The higher
speeds may cause the controls to be 'twitchy', possibly
leading to a disastrous PIO situation. The spoilers
(especially Grobs) may behave very badly when deployed
at high speeds. It may be possible to overstress the
glider. Be extra cautious of this technique when switching
from a 2-33 to a higher performance glider. The extra
energy you're carrying may be more than you realize.

There are advantages in learning where the edges of
the performance envelope are, but explore carefully
with the help of an experienced pilot. Knowing the
parameters may give you the advantage you need to get
out of a sticky situation someday. Being comfortable
on a fast, low approach might come in handy when you
discover power lines while setting up an out landing.
I've seen the results of trying to go over without
enough energy...



At 21:48 31 October 2006, wrote:
Here is something you more experienced pilots might
want to comment on.
Being a pilot of much less experience, it just looked
like an
interesting thing to see comments on some of the points
the pilot
makes.. I came across this 2005 article while just
wandering about on
the web. Scroll down to the high speed approach article.

You'll need acrobat reader.

http://www.pugetsoundsoaring.org/new...ow_10_2005.pdf