If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Avoiding gliders
Frode Berg wrote:
What are good ways to avoid the gliders? Do they have some sort of good/excellent lookout techniques, or are they just flying around having a good time? Of course we are having a good time flying around, after all, that's the whole point of soaring! More to the point: Second, no, glider pilots don't have a special lookout technique, other than being paranoid and knowing how poorly visible we are. I'm pretty sure the glider you passed has seen you long before. (Of course you shouldn't bet your life at it. Besides, gliders have the right of way.) The only thechnique that works is look, look, look. Glider pilot students learn very early to forget about cockpit instruments, to fly by horizon and butt and to permanently look out, look out, look out. That's the whole trick. But first and most important: Try to avoid regions where dense glider traffic is to be expected. Flying through southeastern Germany at FL55 when there is some thermal activity is a very bad idea. This is one of the most densly populated areas, gliderwise, and FL55 is more or less the most active altitude band. Your best bet is to climb into airspace C, but you don't always want to do so. Try to think like a glider pilot. Try to know the most popular glider areas and avoid them. Try to recognize thermals. Be aware that if you see a glider, the probability is high that there are others in the vicinity you don't see, one glider seldom flies alone. If you see a glider gaggle, make a big tour around it. There are always more gliders in the air than you will see. Stefan |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
A question - Can glider pilots hear powered aircraft in the area, or
does the slipstream mask the sound? -- Gene Seibel Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html Because I fly, I envy no one. "Stefan" "stefan"@mus. INVALID .ch wrote in message ... Frode Berg wrote: What are good ways to avoid the gliders? Do they have some sort of good/excellent lookout techniques, or are they just flying around having a good time? Of course we are having a good time flying around, after all, that's the whole point of soaring! More to the point: Second, no, glider pilots don't have a special lookout technique, other than being paranoid and knowing how poorly visible we are. I'm pretty sure the glider you passed has seen you long before. (Of course you shouldn't bet your life at it. Besides, gliders have the right of way.) The only thechnique that works is look, look, look. Glider pilot students learn very early to forget about cockpit instruments, to fly by horizon and butt and to permanently look out, look out, look out. That's the whole trick. But first and most important: Try to avoid regions where dense glider traffic is to be expected. Flying through southeastern Germany at FL55 when there is some thermal activity is a very bad idea. This is one of the most densly populated areas, gliderwise, and FL55 is more or less the most active altitude band. Your best bet is to climb into airspace C, but you don't always want to do so. Try to think like a glider pilot. Try to know the most popular glider areas and avoid them. Try to recognize thermals. Be aware that if you see a glider, the probability is high that there are others in the vicinity you don't see, one glider seldom flies alone. If you see a glider gaggle, make a big tour around it. There are always more gliders in the air than you will see. Stefan |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Gene Seibel" wrote:
A question - Can glider pilots hear powered aircraft in the area, or does the slipstream mask the sound? Yes, you can hear powered aircraft, but only when it's pretty close. Nothing gets my heart thumping faster than hearing a prop getting louder and louder and being unable to spot the aircraft. If you turn, you are more visible, and may be able to see the approaching aircraft, but turning also presents a much larger impact cross section and may turn you directly into the path of the oncoming aircraft. .. Todd Pattist (Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.) ___ Make a commitment to learn something from every flight. Share what you learn. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
if you can hear it... it has already passed.. or so close that avoidance can
not happen, to late to hear, look, react BT "Gene Seibel" wrote in message arthlink.net... A question - Can glider pilots hear powered aircraft in the area, or does the slipstream mask the sound? -- Gene Seibel Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html Because I fly, I envy no one. "Stefan" "stefan"@mus. INVALID .ch wrote in message ... Frode Berg wrote: What are good ways to avoid the gliders? Do they have some sort of good/excellent lookout techniques, or are they just flying around having a good time? Of course we are having a good time flying around, after all, that's the whole point of soaring! More to the point: Second, no, glider pilots don't have a special lookout technique, other than being paranoid and knowing how poorly visible we are. I'm pretty sure the glider you passed has seen you long before. (Of course you shouldn't bet your life at it. Besides, gliders have the right of way.) The only thechnique that works is look, look, look. Glider pilot students learn very early to forget about cockpit instruments, to fly by horizon and butt and to permanently look out, look out, look out. That's the whole trick. But first and most important: Try to avoid regions where dense glider traffic is to be expected. Flying through southeastern Germany at FL55 when there is some thermal activity is a very bad idea. This is one of the most densly populated areas, gliderwise, and FL55 is more or less the most active altitude band. Your best bet is to climb into airspace C, but you don't always want to do so. Try to think like a glider pilot. Try to know the most popular glider areas and avoid them. Try to recognize thermals. Be aware that if you see a glider, the probability is high that there are others in the vicinity you don't see, one glider seldom flies alone. If you see a glider gaggle, make a big tour around it. There are always more gliders in the air than you will see. Stefan |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
I went up for an instrument practice session at my home base of Cambridge
(UK) today. The weather made for two closely related problems: it was bumpy as hell, and there were gliders everywhere. At one point the Cambridge controller warned of 17 gliders in sight from the tower. My safety pilot earned his seat. So the solution? Wear foggles -- it relieves the stress. :-) Julian Scarfe |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
The best way is probably to get your glider rating. Then you will know
where gliders are likely to be. Mike MU-2 "Frode Berg" wrote in message ... Hi! I recently did a trip from Oslo to Prague in a 180 Arrow, and on the way back home through southeastern Germany, I noticed a dense amount of gliders all over the place. When they are banking, theyre quite easy to see, but flying straight at you, or away almost impossible, at least when in front of white ckouds. ATC didn't seem to know about them either. I noticed though that after asking ATC about the max altitude for the gliders, after saying that i saw auite a lot of them in the area, he started giving pilots info of "there seems to be glider activity". What are good ways to avoid the gliders? Do they have some sort of good/excellent lookout techniques, or are they just flying around having a good time? I saw one to my left at approx same altitude as me (FL055) at one point, and he was climbing, and banking and I was using quite some time looking out for him as I passed him, so I was missing out a bit in front. Not sure if he'd seen me. Anyway, just looking for some "see and avoid" tips for these unpowered planes. Frode |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
dhb wrote:
Where? In the US cloud flying would be highly unlikely. The original poster asked about southestern Germany. Cloud flying is allowed in many European countries, Germany included. Besides, it's fun. Stefan |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Stefan wrote: dhb wrote: Where? In the US cloud flying would be highly unlikely. The original poster asked about southestern Germany. Cloud flying is allowed in many European countries, Germany included. Besides, it's fun. You have to file a flightplan in Germany if you want to fly in clouds. Or did that change? |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Dieter Kleinschmidt wrote:
You have to file a flightplan in Germany if you want to fly in clouds. Theoretically, yes. Practically, everybody knows that this is not feasible. Just ask ATCfor a clearance, and your request will be understood as an airborne flight plan. Whether you get a clearance to enter cloud or not depends on the actual traffic situation and the mood of the controller. (Controllers that are glider pilots themselves tend to be more cooperativ than others.) For those who don't know German airspace: Roughly spoken, between 2500 ft AGL and FL 100 airspace is E, above it's C. So the controller can easily keep a portion of it free of motorised IFR traffic. Stefan |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
New anti collision system for aircrafts, helicopters and gliders | Thierry | Owning | 10 | February 14th 04 08:36 AM |
Avoiding Shock Cooling in Quick Descent | O. Sami Saydjari | Owning | 32 | January 21st 04 04:32 AM |
Gliders at Oshkosh 2003 | Apis Gliders | Home Built | 0 | August 11th 03 12:28 PM |