Polar with spoilers extended?

On Oct 22, 2:57 pm, wrote:
On Oct 21, 11:13 am, Tim Taylor wrote:



On Oct 21, 10:50 am, " wrote:

Tim,
I have flown with you, why do you want to know this information? You
take off, fly far and fast and land when your glider touches the
ground. I don't ever remember you "using" spoilers...

Tom,

LOL, thanks. It is purely an academic exercise from a safety
discussion we had about what are the best steps to follow if you are
high on final. I am trying to look at the difference between several
suggested techniques if full spoilers are not enough.

My list of preferences is:
1. Full spoilers
2. add forward slip
3. add "S" turns

I have used the technique of slowing down to minimize forward speed,
increase sink and decrease glide angle. Others have suggested
increasing speed to increase drag. I am not a big fan of this
technique because I feel it minimizes options for the pilot and is
susceptible to pilot error that can end up in over shooting the LZ.
Last years article in soaring I believe confirms my feeling that this
is a technique that should not be held up as one of the primary
techniques that should be used. I am working on developing models to
asses each in terms of effectiveness, time required, safety and
options left to the pilot.

Tim

If you are THAT much too high, wouldn't it also be prudent to consider
a large 360? It may not be pretty, but let's face it, if you have
turned final and just THEN realized you're way too high, you've
already lost all your style points.

I only did a 360 once (my first solo landing in a high-performance
glass ship). I lost sight of the runway turning and ended up in a
worse position than if I had just continued.

These days, if I find myself a bit high, I apply full spoilers and
increase speed. If that's not enough, I add slip. Drag goes up at
least as the square of speed. I've never had a problem slowing down.

Mike