Cheap sailplanes

Bill Daniels wrote:
"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...

Bill Daniels wrote:


There's something about being 300 Km out over uninviting terrain that

puts a

completely different perspective on the art of flying gliders. An
instructor with that experience teaches even the basics better than one
without it. He knows WHY you have to fly perfectly coordinated with perfect
airspeed control.

I'll have to disagree on this one: even though I am an instructor
(though not currently instructing) and a cross-country pilot, I don't
have any idea why perfect coordination or perfect airspeed control is
required.


It's because with that skill you can climb in a weak thermal a sloppy pilot
can't use. Sooner or later, that will make the difference in getting home.

THis kind of thing seems so far from the basics, that I never taught it,
nor would I expect a newly licensed glider pilot to be able to work a
weak thermal better than "adequate" (not perfectly, that's for sure). I
did not tolerate "sloppy" flying, however, nor should any instructor.

In addition, every TE probe I have flown with is sensitive to even slight
yaw angles. If the glider is always yawing, the TE vario data isn't
reliable and centering a thermal will be harder.

You need to find a better probe! The ones I've used don't require
perfection, just "good" flying, thank goodness, or I'd be on the ground
a lot more often. In a weak thermal, I think "steady" flying, not
perfect airspeed or coordination, is required to feel the thermal on the
glider and give the vario it's best chance to detect it. Again, these
opportuities to teach flying in weak lift abound in the training
situation, since this is when training is often done.

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA