james dutschke wrote:
60 degrees when low and slow??
in a 60 degree AOB turn your pulling 2g, and as a result your stall
speed goes up by 41%.... No argument required.
The initial actions after a cable break are attain safe speed near
ground, before pulling airbrakes, initiating turns etc etc.
given that safe speed near ground is 1.5Vs, that gives you a 9%
margain for error, and that is in dead smooth air. Lets chuck in some
wind sheer (i seem to recall this happeneing in the extreme low levels
of the atmosphere) not to mention thermals etc etc.
Some good points made here James. This thread has developed some
worrying aspects in the last couple of days. Perhaps all the more
because some are talking about aerotow failures - some about winch
launching breaks. The scenarios and options for the pilots are usually
somewhat different.
It's perhaps a good time to read again (or for the first time) an
article written by the late Mike Valentine on the perils of
"turnbackitis" written for the AUF, but which has frequent and useful
references both to and for gliding - especially for winch launching.
As always, Mike made some very good points and raised some aspects of
this whole matter which may be news to many. It certainly was for me.
http://www.auf.asn.au/magazine/turnback.html
What has really worried me at times as I look on in wonder (and
occasionally sheer horror), are the limited options available for some
self launching gliders as they slowly utilize the curvature of the earth
to make the most of a very marginal "performance". "He wouldn't want
the music to stop now ...." or similar sentiments are usually the only
interruptions to a thoughtful spectator gallery's silence when one of
these captivating events is played out in less than ideal circumstances.
Regards,
Terry
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