S-turns on final

On Sunday, 19 February 2017 13:33:25 UTC+2, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 02:11:37 -0800, krasw wrote:

The irony of reading this, and then discovering link to something called
"soaringsafety" below.

No irony: there's nothing dangerous about using brakes to scrub off
excess height - its easy-peasy in a Discus 1 or K21: just follow Eric's
excellent directions if you haven't done it before. Just make sure that
you're not trying it for the first time on a short runway. You shouldn't
need the extra length but it makes a nice comfort blanket.

I haven't tried it yet in my Libelle because I haven't needed to:
slipping one brings it down like a sack of anvils what with all the extra
drag from pushing its razor-back tail boom sideways.


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

Sorry, speed control in approach has been ironed to my skull. Sure you can do anything you want, land inverted if you like, but what is the point? We have brakes and slip which both get you you down with safe approach speed.

I look at S-turns on final as a way to increase your time aloft (at
minimum sink speed), perhaps to wait for an obstruction to be cleared
off the runway (like a takeoff or a short landing). To lose altitude on
final, I'll do a slip (almost) every time. And yes, I can fly at
minimum sink and below without stalling...

But what about a gust or gradient or blah, blah... Training and practice.

On 2/19/2017 1:53 PM, krasw wrote:
On Sunday, 19 February 2017 13:33:25 UTC+2, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 02:11:37 -0800, krasw wrote:

The irony of reading this, and then discovering link to something called
"soaringsafety" below.

No irony: there's nothing dangerous about using brakes to scrub off
excess height - its easy-peasy in a Discus 1 or K21: just follow Eric's
excellent directions if you haven't done it before. Just make sure that
you're not trying it for the first time on a short runway. You shouldn't
need the extra length but it makes a nice comfort blanket.

I haven't tried it yet in my Libelle because I haven't needed to:
slipping one brings it down like a sack of anvils what with all the extra
drag from pushing its razor-back tail boom sideways.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |
Sorry, speed control in approach has been ironed to my skull. Sure you can do anything you want, land inverted if you like, but what is the point? We have brakes and slip which both get you you down with safe approach speed.

--
Dan, 5J

krasw wrote on 2/19/2017 12:53 PM:
On Sunday, 19 February 2017 13:33:25 UTC+2, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 02:11:37 -0800, krasw wrote:

The irony of reading this, and then discovering link to something called
"soaringsafety" below.

No irony: there's nothing dangerous about using brakes to scrub off
excess height - its easy-peasy in a Discus 1 or K21: just follow Eric's
excellent directions if you haven't done it before. Just make sure that
you're not trying it for the first time on a short runway. You shouldn't
need the extra length but it makes a nice comfort blanket.

I haven't tried it yet in my Libelle because I haven't needed to:
slipping one brings it down like a sack of anvils what with all the extra
drag from pushing its razor-back tail boom sideways.

Sorry, speed control in approach has been ironed to my skull. Sure you can do anything you want, land inverted if you like, but what is the point? We have brakes and slip which both get you you down with safe approach speed.

I didn't recommend you keep the high speed all the way to ground - just long
enough to get on a good glide path. I have used slips many times, but find the
"dirty dive" is a quick, easy, and safe way to get rid of a lot of altitude. No
turns required, no uncoordinated flight, no airspeed instrument inaccuracies.

I suggest you try it enough times to have some competence and confidence in it
before you make any judgement about it. Or go up with someone that can demonstrate
it for you.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf