Fear of flying cross country

Jack wrote:
Marc Ramsey wrote:

At our club we had a requirement to
land over a barrier, then get stopped within 500' prior to taking the
1-26 XC.

A reasonable test, if properly organized, but not something to do on a
day to day basis.


Why not?

Because I've seen what happens when a newbie misjudges the distance it
will take to stop, and touches down a bit too late. This may be all
well and good if one has a large grass field, but not so nice if you're
operating on a runway with a staging area at the end, and other gliders
waiting to takeoff and land.

At Williams Soaring Center there are lines painted on the runway about
20 feet apart, far enough down the runway that an ASK-21 will just about
run out of momentum without braking by the time when it reaches the
staging area. A lot of us aim at a touchdown on a selected line every
flight, it's great practice, and there's plenty of margin for error.
Once you've executed a proper touchdown, how quickly you stop is a
mostly a function of how much damage you're willing to do to the glider...

Marc