CV wrote in message ...
Andreas Maurer wrote:
......it's going to
take a runway of *at least* 6.000 ft and a sideslip to *very* low
altitude to be able to land without using the airbrakes.


While it seems a excessive for a private rating, most pilots can train
to safely and repeatedly conduct this maneuver in considerably less
airport than 6000 ft.! I have done it a lot and some of my friends
could do it consistently. Success requires a very high degree of
speed discipline - even in extremely "slipped" attiudes, a very good
understanding of slips and adverse yaw, and a different mindset
regarding pattern altitudes and shapes. One also must slip to very,
very low altitudes - e.g., through the flair. Sounds bad but it is
not really that bad.

Remember that AS-W12 pilots routinely (1000's of flights) slipped a
50:1 glider to a landing in considerably less than this in extreme
conditions including Appalachian ridge days(Schuemann), wild thermal
days in TX (Scott, Greene) and monster wave days in NV (Herold).

I have landed 100's of flights in glass in Tehachapi, CA without drag
devices. These landings were typically over a 30 ft obstacle at
density altitudes 5000 ft, and ALL stopped in less than 2500 feet.
More than 50 if those were in an AS-W12. Other gliders involved:
AS-K21, AS-W20, AS-W17, G-103, G-102, LS-4, and Caproni (not
recommended!).