On Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 11:12:20 AM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:

I understand that Zero Macready is totally wimpy, not flying XC, but it gives me a good chance of not landing out, and that is my priority. Having lots of fun though.

Nothing to do with being wimpy, it's just not efficient - and flying gliders is all about being efficient!

There are a few situations where MC 0 (or basically L/D max speed) is appropriate; and they usually occur just prior to a landout: trying to stretch a glide late in the day when all the lift has stopped, or down low scratching around for a thermal (with your landout field already picked) - but if you have any altitude to play with you should be flying the MC for the lift you expect to find.

Of course, the MC you use needs to be adjusted with your expectation and altitude - up high, MC 3 or 4 is common, down low, MC 2 or even 1 (if really desperate on a weak day). Again, the classic soaring texts explain all this in detail.

Even flying locally you should be using the correct XC techniques if you expect to master the art.

Cheers,

Kirk
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