Multiple varios

On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 12:29:04 AM UTC+3, Ross wrote:
Pretty sure Ray Lynskey had a 30kt vario in his glider. Not to know how fast he was going up, but how fast he was coming down in the wave

I'm trying to think what you could do with this information that would be useful to you.

It's not like a reading between -10 and -30 will make you fly faster than simply knowing it's pegged at -10. You'll already be flying as fast as you dare!

You're also probably not going to think to yourself "Oh good, I got out of that region of -25 and it's only -15 here ... I'll just circle here for a bit..."

I guess you may be able to see a trend which could be useful

On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 2:46:48 PM UTC+3, Rhubarb wrote:
I guess you may be able to see a trend which could be useful

At those rates I reckon you can see the speed of the altimeter spinning easily enough :-) :-)

Still, if you find it useful it's not a big investment to get a GA VSI. I found a site with +/- 2000 fpm VSIs for $195, +/- 3000 fpm for $225. Those are less than half the price gliding 10 knot Winters seem to go for. 6000 fpm VSIs are a bit more expensive ... I can only assume because they have limited demand (especially for climb), because they should be easier to make!

https://www.pacificcoastavionics.com...dicators..aspx

And most likely the first thing I found isn't the cheapest.

GA VSI's generally lag @ 8 seconds
On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 8:20:27 AM UTC-5, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 2:46:48 PM UTC+3, Rhubarb wrote:
I guess you may be able to see a trend which could be useful

At those rates I reckon you can see the speed of the altimeter spinning easily enough :-) :-)

Still, if you find it useful it's not a big investment to get a GA VSI. I found a site with +/- 2000 fpm VSIs for $195, +/- 3000 fpm for $225. Those are less than half the price gliding 10 knot Winters seem to go for. 6000 fpm VSIs are a bit more expensive ... I can only assume because they have limited demand (especially for climb), because they should be easier to make!

https://www.pacificcoastavionics.com...ndicators.aspx

And most likely the first thing I found isn't the cheapest.

In severe conditions, making a field 3 miles away may make the difference depending on sink rate.
No, I have not been in that position.
Yes, I know others that have.......where the standard 1000FPM is maxed, still relevant info.

For me, I hedge my bets. Never had the electrics fail, but have had SEL electrics fail on the ground.
Also, sometimes, nice to compare 2 different varios while flying.

On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 8:34:13 PM UTC+3, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
In severe conditions, making a field 3 miles away may make the difference depending on sink rate.

But how is a vario with a larger range going to help the situation?

If you want to know if you're currently going to make it or not, look out the window and see if your proposed field is rising or sinking in the canopy.

On 12/18/2017 10:46 AM, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Monday, December 18, 2017 at 8:34:13 PM UTC+3, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
In severe conditions, making a field 3 miles away may make the difference depending on sink rate.
But how is a vario with a larger range going to help the situation?

If you want to know if you're currently going to make it or not, look out the window and see if your proposed field is rising or sinking in the canopy.
GASP!Â* Actual pilotage?Â* Say it ain't so...
--
Dan, 5J

I guess there are no noteworthy advantages in 'normal' conditions. The 10 or 30 m/s varios were probably meant for extreme conditions which may happen during a rotor/wave or storm front flight. Otherwise you prefer the low range for visibility and accuracy.

On Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 6:25:29 PM UTC-6, Mike C wrote:
On Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 12:21:37 PM UTC-7, Tom BravoMike wrote:
On Thursday, December 14, 2017 at 4:00:23 PM UTC-6, John Foster wrote:
Why do so many gliders seem to have multiple varios? Is it that critical to have a back-up for this instrument? Do they often fail and leave you in "
the lurch"?

Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like nobody in this thread has mentioned the advantage - once you have more than one vario - of different scale ranges. I can remember most of our club gliders had two varios: one up to 5m/s and the other one up to 10 or 30 m/s.

I had set a different range and response time on my Westerboer 1020 than the scale on the Sage but did not find any real advantage and changed the range back.

Mike

On Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 4:06:25 AM UTC+3, Tom BravoMike wrote:
I guess there are no noteworthy advantages in 'normal' conditions. The 10 or 30 m/s varios were probably meant for extreme conditions which may happen during a rotor/wave or storm front flight. Otherwise you prefer the low range for visibility and accuracy.

On Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 6:25:29 PM UTC-6, Mike C wrote:
On Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 12:21:37 PM UTC-7, Tom BravoMike wrote:
On Thursday, December 14, 2017 at 4:00:23 PM UTC-6, John Foster wrote:
Why do so many gliders seem to have multiple varios? Is it that critical to have a back-up for this instrument? Do they often fail and leave you in "
the lurch"?

Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like nobody in this thread has mentioned the advantage - once you have more than one vario - of different scale ranges. I can remember most of our club gliders had two varios: one up to 5m/s and the other one up to 10 or 30 m/s.

I had set a different range and response time on my Westerboer 1020 than the scale on the Sage but did not find any real advantage and changed the range back.

Yes, I've flown in such wave. I just don't know what I'd do differently if I had a vario that said I was going down at 20 knots rather than knowing simply that the vario was pegged at -10 and the big hand on my altimeter was unwinding at 100 feet every three seconds.

It's actually quite easy to see the difference between 1000 fpm (100 ft in six seconds) and 3000 fpm (100 ft in two seconds) from the altimeter alone. I know.

Actually, I find the second vario quite useful. In straight flight I have my V-7 set on netto, but when there's a mild surge it's always a question, is this an actual thermal or just a change in air movement? The Winter tells me right away, and I can make a quick decision: turn or keep going.