How gliders fly

On Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 4:17:56 AM UTC+13, Frank Whiteley wrote:
Some may find this useful.

http://www.boldmethod.com/blog/artic...glider-flying/

Well it's not *horrible*.

For any non-glider pilots who happen to come across this:

- in fact single seaters are more common than two seaters

- airbrakes are nearly universal, flaps on relatively few gliders (20%?)

- ridge lift commonly goes to 2-3 times the height of the ridge, often several thousand feet.

- big span makes slow roll rate, yes, but more an issue for aerobatics (rolls) than for rapid entry or exit from turns, which gliders do more of than most aircraft. Most gliders can do 45 deg turn one way to 45 deg turn the other way in 4 - 6 seconds at normal thermalling speeds (45 - 55 knots), or quite a bit less when flying even 10 knots faster, as you do for safety if you're close to solid ground.

- with modern glider Vne in the 260 - 300 km/h range (140 - 160 knots), gliders are not slower than typical single engine piston planes.