Some Soaring Questions!

On Monday, December 31, 2012 8:43:15 AM UTC-8, Tony V wrote:
On 12/31/2012 11:09 AM, Richard wrote: 3. Glide ratio is a concern in all area of soaring. Yes, but not necessarily *best* glide ratio - which is almost meaningless. A Pegasus 101A has a best glide of 41:1 and can be had for about US$25000. An LS6-b has a best glide of 40:1 and can be had for about US$40000. So, why pay another $15000 for a glider with the same best glide? One reason is what happens when you go fast (and, in general, nobody flies XC at best glide speed). At 80 knots (about 150 km/h). The Pegasus glide ratio is down to 22:1 while the LS6-b does 29:1 at that speed. I've owned both of these gliders, the Peg in a partnership. :-) Tony V. LS6-b "6N"

Really now. Why or how can you compare the same gliders?

Compare the speed at which best Ld occurs. Also compare the Ld curve.
Some drop off faster than others. A steeper curve vs a flat curve.
A flat curve would maintain a higher Ld at faster speeds.

I fly an LS-4 cross country, best Ld is about 41, but at XC speeds of about 70kias, Ld is in lower 30s.

XC skills and ability to stay up in weak conditions improve with experience.
Practice, Practice, Practice.

I know pilots that go XC in SGS 1-26s, (23-1), Libelle (36-1), Grob 104 (41-1) and Janus C (2 seat 42-1)

T

On Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:43:48 -0800, T wrote:

XC skills and ability to stay up in weak conditions improve with
experience.
Practice, Practice, Practice.

Exactly so.

I know pilots that go XC in SGS 1-26s, (23-1), Libelle (36-1), Grob 104
(41-1) and Janus C (2 seat 42-1)

I do it in an H.201 Libelle: admittedly mine has full-span lower surface
turbulation (adds a point to best glide), but XC at 36:1 is easy enough,
if a little slower, once you've learnt to stay above the weeds. The next,
and more difficult, lesson is to go faster while staying high. I'm still
working on that.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On 12/31/2012 5:43 PM, T wrote:
XC skills and ability to stay up in weak conditions improve with experience.
Practice, Practice, Practice.

Call it practice if you like, I just call it having fun!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)