Re: [Aus-soaring] slip in thermals?
>>5 replies and nobody wants to say what they personally try to do or why. I fly with the string pointing slightly out of the turn. I do this because the glider seems to balance nicely that way and require less control input. I don't think the glider climbs any more slowly because of this. SFAIK, the original theory and article was written by Holighaus K. www.wisoar.org/Documents/Holighaus - Thermalling Efficiency.pdf However, I only would use that as a justification for thermalling with the yaw string not centred :-) In any published photographs, where the yaw string is not central, I'd normally correct so people don't moan. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Who is ultimately responsible...
>>Who is ultimately responsible? >>The answer is in your mirror Absolutely, but is that what the OP was talking about? Surely, as a sport, it's also incumbent on us, the participants, to make sure that gliders are not overweight and pilots don't exceed the permitted limits. Or does that mirror only work one way? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Only in the US of A
Only in the USA? By all accounts, you would have all this and more if you overfly places like Pine Gap. I tried to not even look at it when I flew past. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] details Lake Keepit
http://www.keepitsoaring.com/LKSC/index.php/visiting-lksc/where-is-lake-keepit If you click on the link, you miss out the "it" of keepit. Otherwise the link is valid. Or, http://www.keepitsoaring.com And look under the Visiting Lake Keepit menu. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Cheap memory foam
>>Please allow me to draw your attention to the excellent work done by Dr. Tony >>Segal in the UK. Thanks for including this information, especially the business card! Doubters can now take it up with the source instead of the messengers. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Cheap memory foam
>>Foam is not going to protect you in any way when you impact the earth due to personal incompetence. The BGA article I read from S was by a British spinal doctor (nothing to do with NASA) and the research was on drop tests of a K13 glider fuse using a G meter or something to measure spinal loads. He/they concluded that if a visco elastic cushion was not used, a drop similar to that from a PIO bad landing could cause spinal damage while if the cushion was used, the damage was less or none. >>Though you may be a certified pilot best you not continue unless you learn to fly. You'll no doubt be relieved to know that the above article included instructors in training gliders. No doubt one would not be worried about the students. I know of several competent pilots who have had back injuries from various events such as undercarriage collapses and hitting hidden ruts in a field landing. I have a confor seat pad for insurance just as I carry a parachute. I also have some between my parachute harness and sheepskin lining but that's purely for comfort. There's enough evidence around that the stuff works and even if it does not, it works better than the simple foam used on most seat cushions. Why not us it? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Cheap memory foam
>>I'm not convinced by the confor craze. Craze? It's been going on for well over 30 years. The benefits have been well researched by everyone from Farnborough, Martin Baker, the BGA and bone doctors. They would have grounded K13s if it had not have been for memory foam cushions limiting back injuries. There's a heap of stuff online if you look. Search for "BGA confor dynafoam back injury". It's up to you of course but my guess is that you would use the benefits of an energy absorbent cushion more than you would use a parachute. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Cheap memory foam
>>This is comparable to the foam cushions that we currently have. If anything >>the memory foam is better. A quote I got a month or 2 ago was for nearly twice what the aldi offering is. IMHO, the best value memory foam is the so-called "factory overstock" from Dynamic Systems in the USA. They do a range of densities and sizes and the price is very reasonable compared with say Confor. The initial drop tests done in the UK appear to have been done with Dynafoam. Your mileage may vary as they say over there but the Aldi foam is about the same as the medium soft from Dynamic and fine for an upper layer but I doubt it would actually absorb much in the way of shock… and isn't that what you're using it for? You'd need a medium density foam for that. Dynamic Systems do ship to Australia. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Cheap memory foam
>>No idea if it’s dense enough for glider seats but could be a real bargain. Almost certainly not dense enough unless you have a huge backside and very light weight. Thanks for the heads up though. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Ventus 2cm engine issue
>>I am thinking vapour lock. >>Any one with advise or experience, solutions? Under these conditions, a vapour lock is quite possible. Normally if the circulation in the fuel lines is OK, then it's not so much of a problem but perhaps the Ventus does not have a return line? This is what DG say: Approx. 1⁄4 hour after retraction of the hot engine vapour bubbles may start forming in the carburettor which makes engine start difficult. In most cases the engine will start but refuse to accept throttle and may stop again. To avoid the engine stopping press the starter button again, if necessary several times. Each time you press the starter button the primer valve opens and injects some additional fuel to keep the engine running. Does the Ventus Solo have a fuel injector? The normal way to check for things like this is to remove a spark plug, rest it on the side of the engine and crank it over, watching for a spark. You can't hand turn the prop because there's normally not enough revs for a spark so you have to use the starter motor. Don't do this on a glider though! It is really dangerous for a few reasons. The motor may start but also the fuel vapour may ignite and start a good fire. I've got away with this with car engines but a friend torched his mates Alpha Spider and it burned to a write off. The newsgroups are really your best bet where you can get a range of views… a lot of them barking mad but that's what you sign on for isn't it? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Parachute
>>>then relax and enjoy the ride" as a great part of the risk is over. Ah! The late great Angelo Crapanzono, inventor of the pulled apex canopy was asked about when to deploy. His reply was… (in Italian English) "When the sh*t is up to here" … points to forehead. "Then maybe the sh*t will be up to here…" points to bridge of nose… "or here…" points just below nose. I think there must be a moment or two of relief that your chute has opened, followed by some time of alarm as you try and learn to steer the canopy and remember the drill for landing into wind, away from trees, buildings, water, animals, traffic etc. etc. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Parachute
>>Very nicely put. I have never before seen so many elements of the topic >>covered in so few words. One thing G Dale said is that using a parachute should be considered to be a normal part of gliding. As normal as doing an outlanding. This is his opinion after having deployed his. G's suggestion is that if you decided to bail out, if possible you bunt the glider over… push the stick forwards so you fall out. I guess if the tailplane is missing, all you have to do is coordinate undoing your seat belt. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Parachute
>>Do you mind if i forward your comments to Mr Nigel Brennan who re packed and >>inspected the chute?? Forward away. There's nothing much new or controversial in the comments. The last paragraphs are quotes from others. This is not meant as a personal comment about the parachute you are selling, it's a general comment about our attitude to parachutes. While repacking some hang glider parachutes with a friend, a professor in fact, I was unable to throw his chute. His comment was 'it doesn't matter, I have absolutely no intention of throwing my chute.' Under those circumstances, it doesn't matter what parachute you carry or even, if like some hang glider pilots, you have a brick wrapped up in a towel in your parachute bag to pass an inspection. But if you want the parachute to open when you need it, then take every care. Paraglider people frequently throw a reserve parachute for practice. They also use them a lot. Hang glider people also practice throwing chutes, though not normally while flying. Both are told to rehearse their deployment routine on every flight, as soon as the glider is airborne and stable. What do we do in gliding? I think none of the above. I went to a parachute clinic some time ago. I thought it was to teach repacking. It began at 2 and finished after midnight and there were plenty of topics still to discuss. The repacking part took only 30 minutes or so. That was the easy part. If a rigger says that a chute is fine to use, fine but being a sceptic, I would take a broad range of opinions and if I wanted to use a canopy in anger, make sure it was not 25 years old! D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Parachute
>>Hi guys, do not bother sold in 6 minutes!! Lets hope the buyer does not have to use it! Hang glider parachutes have a slightly harder time than glider parachutes, partially because the pack is less dense and lets in more UV, though many parachute manufacturers wrap the parachute inside a foil folder to help protect it. The fabric is also degraded by sweat and other factors. Some fabric and some colours degrade much faster than others too. What colour is your chute? Is it nice and bright so it can be spotted easily in the air or on the ground or have you ever looked? I don't think most of us take parachutes particularly seriously enough. For example, your parachute size should be related to several factors, including your age and weight. Most parachute sizes are for young people weighing an ISO standard 75 kgs who can jump off a 4 metre wall and not suffer any injury. And you? The older you are and the heavier you are, the larger the area of your canopy needs to be. Of course, there's a trade off in that larger canopies open more slowly, so the older you are, the higher you need to be to safely deploy your canopy. I guess it is like Harley riders. They wear poor quality open face helmets to protect poor quality brains. "I'm a licensed rigger. In my experience, the life will be limited primarily by how much direct sunlight, dust, and grit the parachute sees. If you take good care of the canopy and container, and keep the system out of the direct sunlight, it'll last quite a while. Other responders have suggested a practical life span of 15-20 years, and that's not too bad a range, IMHO. However, if the system has been abused, it could be unusable after just a few years. Pay attention to the harness too, as it tends to suffer from abrasion and from the pilot's sweat. It's not that unusual to see harnesses and containers that become unusable before the canopy." "In the UK the parachute manufacturers and riggers are not allowed to re-pack parachutes over 25 years old. ie once over 25 years, you have to throw it away.. in any event most parachutes that age that I have seen are big, heavy, and very uncomfortable to wear. " ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Unofficial World Record for Perlan 2
>>They did have ground crew, you know. ;-) Of course! Thanks for pointing this out. I'm so used to thinking (or not) of Trump tweeting from the dunny in the middle of the night. I was hoping that 53,000' was a twat free zone. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] RE: water bags and tanks
> It appears that you have indeed looked in the wrong places. > By looking at “Advanced Soaring Made Easy” you would have found the > following: > > Pilots new to water ballast should realise that partly ballasted gliders > tend to create problems on take off due to sloshing of water. I've had a reasonably long look in my copy of your book and can't find that sentence in the section on water ballast. There's not an index as such so I am not sure if the above is taken from somewhere else, out of the ballast section. The information in my copy is a reasonable technical discussion on the "why" of water ballast but there's little on the practical side, the "how". Am I looking in the wrong place? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] American Soaring Symposia
>>I combined the the 1969 -1970 symposia into a single documents (pictures not >>included) and published on The Geelong GC website Nicely done! Thanks for your efforts. ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] RE: water bags and tanks
Hello Bernard, Is that everything? All I need to know? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] RE: water bags and tanks
>>Without doubt the use of water ballast introduced a whole new dimension to >>gliding, as, just co-incidentally Mike B mentioned in a concurrent post. >>However it use is something that should never be treated lightly [groan]. It's interesting that there's nothing in basic gliding knowledge about this then. Yes, ballast is perhaps not basic but I've seen people with a handful of hours over a C cert. putting ballast in gliders almost as soon as they were endorsed for the type. There's little or nothing in any book or manual I have read on gliding. Maybe I looked in the wrong place. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Air brake handles
>>It is just good engineering to use what is available that will do the job. >>I'm guessing you've never actually done any engineering or manufactured >>anything. You guess wrong. That's exactly what I do. I guess you don't work in any engineering where someone looks at your product and says do they really look like that? If so, we'll buy two sets…(These were NASA contract engineers with more PHDs than I have had hot dinners.) There's no reason why a machine should not look as good as it works other than the lack of imagination or laziness of the designer. There are plenty of cars and boats made in numbers as small as sailplanes, where great care is taken over every aspect of the design, not just the aerodynamic engineering. Take a look at most of the Jonkers products. Oh, and there are a few gliders which don't just use wheelbarrow handles on control columns. I guess you don't see enough modern gliders. >>Besides, you are a cowardly anonymous troll. And you? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Air brake handles
>>You'd like the $250,000 glider to cost $300,000 or more? Most cars costing more than say $30,000 have a steering wheel that is not just a cheap plastic moulding. It does not cost $50,000 extra to do that. A wheelbarrow handle is designed to be held like 'this'… and an aircraft control column is designed to be held like 'that'… different ergonomics. One is designed to be gripped hard and the other should not be. If you don't get the difference, have a look at the grip shape on any low-cost computer joystick. It does not look anything like a wheelbarrow or bicycle handle. As Macca points out, you can use the handle from a ski stock or a Norwegian walking stick or whatever they are called. At least they're designed to be held like 'that'. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Flarm Firmware Update
>>quite possible that power output could be lower than spec. it does not take >>much aberration to significantly reduce range. If I can't see other gliders, isn't it their FLARMs which need sending in? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Flarm Firmware Update
>>Antenna position is critical. Agreed but I think remember that McPhee did some test head to head and found that the reception in that position was worse than at others. I just find it concerning that you can pick up one glider 5kms away and another 500 metres away. And can't pick up more than 5% of GA aircraft. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Flarm Firmware Update
My experience of FLARM has generally been OK with the exception of gliders approaching head-to-head. FLARM does not seem to pick these other gliders up anywhere near as well as for a glider which is more abeam or astern. Anecdotally, this got worse at some point with updates. Last week, I had two incidents of gliders approaching from head-on with perhaps 10 seconds of warning. Do other people have this problem? Is the head-on range better with Powerflarm? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] To PowerFlarm or not?
>>3. Even when a considerable amount of VFR aircraft are converted to mode-S, >>most of them still won’t be broadcasting ADS-B. >>I’m now so visible that I feel like I’m naked when I’m flying I was thinking of installing a Power FLARM or the TRX-1090 which appears to do the same job if you already have a FLARM and display but the fact that 90% of GA and RA-Aus aircraft would still be invisible made it not seem worthwhile at this stage. There's a CASA graph around somewhere and it shows that while IFR aircraft are mostly fitted with this type of instrumentation, hardly anyone else is. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Training booking system and process
>>Are there any gliding clubs using a booking system of some sort to organise >>training activities? Have a look at MRBS. Meeting Room Booking System. Free and open source but overall fairly useful for a wide range of things. " It is in production use at many large organisations around the world for uses as diverse as it's originally intended meeting rooms to restaurant tables and aeroplanes at a flying school!" http://mrbs.sourceforge.net I am not sure if they mean this but: http://www.keepitsoaring.com/mrbs/day.php?year=2017=2=17=1 Where it is used apparently for accomodation, aircraft, students etc. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Avia, Vertica 2
>>I now just use my regular android phone as my flight computer. I don't see >>the need for a second android device just for my glider. Sunlight visibility, barring transflective displays (all but dead now) is mostly about the nits/candelas per sqm. I have Ozrunways on an iPhone and it does not compare in brightness with an LX8000. More to the point, when flying beyond the normal gliding areas, you want your phone working as a phone with a fully charged battery, even it it is only to run the InReach. The other drawback is heat. In the recent heat, nothing worked very well other than the LX since it was so hot that the screens blacked out. So yes, the Kobo might be slow and mono but it's cheap enough for a backup. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Avia, Vertica 2
Has anyone got any experience with the Bluefly-Kobo-XCSoar or LK800 options? My experience with the Vertica was such that I sold it after a few weeks to someone who sold it soon afterwards… mainly due to screen readability in sunlight and the somewhat low-res appearance. Because the Kobo is mono or E ink based, readability in sunlight looks excellent and the Bluefly looks good too. http://gethighstayhigh.co.uk/products/ D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Randolph thinners
>>MEK is about 1000 times the toxicity of acetone which isn't terrific itself. I saw a safety note about MEK some years ago. The note said that if you get a splash of MEK in your eye, you have about 15 seconds to wash it out. If you don't do this, the MEK will eat away at the cornea and at some time in the future, possibly 15-25 years, you'll start to lose the sight in that eye. I have not seen this warning since, but I avoid MEK if at all possible, and if not, use serious eye protection like a full face mask rather than goggles with ventilation holes. We used some MEK based ink in an industrial inkjet printer some years ago and abandoned it because it gave everyone in the room a headache. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] MEMBERSHIP AND A WORLD REVIEW
>>as it is seen by what must be a representative cross section of the >>Australian gliding movement. It's not a representative cross section of anything but disenfranchised grumblers. It would be interesting if posters noted their (unsuccessful) clubs so we don't visit. >>(Not just the 2% competition pilots that absorbs their total being). I'm no comp pilot but I believe if you deducted all the non-current or inactive flyers, this figure of 2% would climb to something which represented a fairly significant number of active pilots… say at least as significant as Trump's supporter numbers. I have been involved in gliding for only a decade but I'm not aware of the IGC doing anything to stop or dissuade me from gliding. If you want to see something positive, have a look at the situation in the UK where the junior numbers are impressive. Do what they are doing and the future of gliding will be reasonably assured… as long as the poor buggers don't come into contact with too many miserable, grumpy old men. I have to say, I'd love those who are not involved actively in gliding to remove themselves from discussions related to soaring in Australia. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Junior Life extension to 12,000 hrs
>>My sympathies... been there, done that ! Without documentation, that means nothing :-) D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Production techniques
>>Now to the assertion that a manual typewriter was seen while visiting >>Schleicher six years ago. Fact is that Schleicher made the switch to modern communication systems well over 25 years ago. I saw the typewriter at Poppenhausen with my own eyes! Maybe they were writing stuff up in old TNs or manuals but whatever, it was a manual typewriter. I don't think it was even a golf ball! Boat builders around the world, mast makers and all sorts of other even smaller fabricators have moved beyond wet layup to high temp pre-preg resins. I'm not sure what process was used to build the PIK 20 but it was certainly not a low temp resin because they painted it. Sparrowhawks are not low temp resins. While the composites world has moved on, German glider manufacturers have not. This is not misinformation, it's a fact. A local composites company refused to do repair work on gliders because, according to them, the build technology was rubbish. I can forward the name of the company if you want and you can get them to tell you how modern composite products are fabricated. In 1995, Britain had the biggest motorcycle industry in the world. By 1975, it was over. An industry which rests on its laurels, maintaining it's the best in the world, is the one most at risk for a change which could be terminal. >>when 8 (eight) different models are produced concurrently it is almost >>impossible to further automate the process. Of course it's not impossible! One of the reasons that Bavaria yachts has done so well is that it has highly automated a previously manual production process (on an old BMW production line) to the point that it can produce reasonable quality boats at a remarkably low price. And there are dozens of models. >>Well, we should all be wary of making statements only designed to make us appear experts in the field when we are clearly missing the necessary in-depth knowledge and expertise. Yeah, yeah, yeah but…… I remember reading an advertorial you wrote last year where you side stepped the past problems of print-through and visible spars. Don't glider buyers deserve better than this? I am not an owner of a JS glider but they have amply demonstrated that there is an alternative. Beware! D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] JS3/production techniques
>>I do believe though that for the wings at least most have gone to CNC >>aluminium moulds. The German ones I saw were resin and about 7 years ago. However, two years in Dubai, I saw keels being machined out of solid steel billets inside machines which were large enough to fit a truck and other even larger CNC machines being used to machine one piece moulds for one-off 60' boats. There were also autoclaves as large as factories for cooking the parts. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] JS3
>>Does anyone care to guess at why some more modern designs (Ventus 3, JS-3) >>have several stages of wing kink while some older designs (ASG29, Diana 2) >>don't? I believe that a semi-elliptical planform is the best for a wing with probably a hyperbolic "dihedral" or elevation. With the level of manufacturing/mould-making ability extant in most sailplane work, the cheapest option is to go for several unaesthetic and reportedly speed robbing kinks in the leading edge. If there was more money involved, I don't think these kinks would exist and the leading edge would be a smooth transition from root to winglet. It might be easier to finish profile a segmented wing versus a continually variable wing.. until someone invests in a robotic finisher capable of doing an accurate profile over the full span. Oddly, in surfboard manufacturing, they have had to go to a technology like this to keep the labour costs reasonable but now so many people have the machines that the cost of shaping per board is almost not enough to pay for the machines. The machines are not that expensive either, especially when you consider it takes 250 hours to finish profile a sailplane wing. That is in a factory which actually finish profiles wings as opposed to sending them out for the customer to do after the warranty period is over. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] JS3
>>This makes the whole rigging and de-rigging issue almost irrelevant. Yes, but makes the handling of the glider on a remote airstrip very much more important because you don't have your mates around you to help rotate the glider, push back beyond the cones, run a wing etc. Gliders like the 25 are great if you always land back where you took off from but if you are going away from home, you need to bring some friends along. My guess is that if the Germans went for pre-preg they'd save a heap of weight in the wings. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Eagle attacks
>>Pilot very lucky to get out of that with only minor injuries and a broken canopy. Considering the silly hat he was wearing, very lucky indeed. I hope the eagle did not suffer from being a taste or fashion arbiter… I thought that was what CFIs were for. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] electric self launch
>>All competing electrically powered gliders carry the batteries in the wings. Well I can think of one only which has the batteries in the wings. The others appear to have them in the fuselage and have done for almost a decade before the ASG 32 El. Having experience of exploding batteries, I always assumed that this was so the burning battery pack could melt its way through the fuselage floor as a safety measure. The pilot may not be so lucky with the ECU if that gets torched. >> it also requires wing modifications if ever a new battery generation comes along. Exactly. And while 2 strokes have a lifespan of perhaps 40 - 100 years (between the Rotax 505 and the Silk version of the Solo) electric motors and batteries have a technology turnover of what? 4-10 years? We currently use Swiss/German electric motors in a part which was designed 20 years ago. During the last 10-12 years we have used the 3 phase induction version, an in-runner. While the motor is moderately reliable, the control circuits are not and the manufacturer has changed these at least once every 2 years with each being a different form factor and requiring a different housing. It may be that the Swiss know bugger all about electronics… I am certainly beginning to think so. The alternative would be to buy a simple old-fashioned Mabuchi motor similar to those used in almost all battery drills such as Makita. In quantity, probably under $2. That compares well with the $450 for the Swiss version. Sailplane manufacturers are in a similar position to us. They don't have the volume to be able to control the manufacturing of non-airframe parts. The question is whether they have the will to continue to offer upgrades to legacy gliders and what it will cost. In many cases, when you add the R and certification and EASA, you'll be looking at well north of 300% above market price. History suggests that some manufacturers do not if the will to keep supporting old technology if the Ventus story is correct. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] electric self launch
Didn't I read in Bernard Eckey's recent ad in Soaring Australia that electric SLGs did not work and that Schleicher's had decided to just make an electric sustainer. Maybe electric only works for gliders like the Silent which are around 150 kg in basic glider form and 210 kg in advanced (electric) form. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] DIana 2
HA, There's an interesting article in the current S about a casual comp done in Italy, flown with the Silent Electro. Was this the world's first electric SLG? I know it proceeded things like the Antares by almost a decade. Anyway, the innovation with the comp was that they were allowed to use the motor during the comp and motor runs were counted in the overall score. From memory, the Silent could do about 8000' of climbing with a full charge (on new batteries no doubt). So this would mean one launch and two or three retrieves which is pretty much all you need for most comp or safari flying. With an ultralight glider, you could probably do all the recharging overnight with Aldi solar panels. As far as noise levels go, the first electrics failed EASA noise level checks because they did not appear on the scale. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] "Sully"
>>In Apollo 13 the astronauts were just unfortunate victims. On their own >>they'd have died. The heroes were the back room guys like "Mad Don" Arabian >>and his mates who figured out how to power down the spacecraft so the >>batteries would last. The Apollo cosmonauts also made mistakes and failed to follow instructions from the ground. That's what made the story into a drama. The film was just silly. >>Well you may point out to your son the fact that Sully achieved the only >>successful ditching of a commercial airliner in the history of aviation where >>not one person was killed and only 5 were injured. Yes, but as he said, isn't that what they are paid for? But by the above accounts, that's not what the film is about. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] "Sully"
>>Saw the film "Sully" where he landed a A320 on the Hudson River in New York. I was quite interested in seeing this film but my son said "Why make a film about someone who just followed standard operational procedures…" Is this a valid point? It's not exactly Apollo 13. The real story, not the film version. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] Airpath compass
>>the importance of a good compass A good compass, properly compensated, with a pilot who understands variation and deviation…… flying over areas in the country without significant magnetic anomalies. I may be not 100% confident with GPS but I am a lot less confident in any glider compass I have seen and my and other's ability to to use them! D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] [gfaforum] Airpath compass
>>If the GPS system goes down, getting lost is the least of your problems. I have been in two or three GPS failure events. Two of which was the US invading some hot country and the other appeared to be caused by a lightening storm. This was actually while sailing offshore at night. The rain was torrential and visibility about the length of the boat. This would have been OK if there was nothing in the way, but there was a reef about 2 hours ahead. The GPS did come back on, but not for 6 hours or more. I don't know if this was a localised problem within the boat or more widespread. Based on these events, I am not 100% confident in GPS! Carrington Events, I thought a Carrington was something similar to the scene in the film Carrington in which an event took place below decks on a boat between two consenting adults. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Gliding Simulators?
>>Could anyone from that club comment on how useful their simulator has been >>for training etc? During the simulator seminar, two comments (at least were made…) There had been no difference in time to solo with students who used the sim and… A US instructor who used sim training remotely (i.e. he was often in a different state to the student) had got students solo within 7 flights. glidercfi.com Justin Crouch showed a French initiative where they had a national program to build and operate simulators which was very well thought out. However, these appear to be only just coming on line and they may not yet have results. All that being said, the feeling that came out of the seminar fairly strongly (at least to my ears) was that simulators were coming for a host of different reasons and we had to learn to learn with them. The questions appeared to be, who was doing the learning… instructors, students or AFIs and what type of sim would it be, VR or screen or both. And finally, Keepit and some other clubs are in a different position to less fortunate clubs from the south and north. Conditions allow flying almost all year round so the need for a sim may not be so great. That being said, it was noted at the seminar that having a sim near major population centres would allow it to be used in the evenings and at times when people did not want the drive to a club, however close. There were many persuasive arguments and considering that the cost of buying the French model is not far off the cost of a Blanik or two, it's difficult to say no, at least until some experience is had. See Justin for the facts on the French version. Simulator training appears to be to some extent mandatory in French courses… 4 weeks package "objectif solo" The 4 Weeks Package objective is to fully train the student for soloing his glider by the end of the 4 weeks. The 4 Weeks Package includes : club membership, basic FFVV license/insurance, glider handbook, flight logbook, up to 40 winch launches, 20 hours of glider flight instruction, 5 hours of glider ground simulator training, and 3 hours of dual control motor-glider flight, to totaling up to 21 hours accompanied by an instructor. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] GFA AGM
Agreed. The simulator part was very interesting. Here's some questions so you can continue the conversation with your experience! From being quite a sceptic, I am now converted to something else……… The VR goggles were amazingly good and with a small amount of additional sensory information could give you a very real feeling of being in a glider… noise from the airframe, a bit of wind, the smell of nappies, sweat and old men etc. However this opens a whole new can of worms. On the one hand, you have the ability to create a first class simulator for under $1500 which for realism, blows full cockpit and screen type simulators into history. On the other hand, there does not appear to be much software which can be used with VR does there? I had another look at both Silent Wings and Condor and neither had much in the way of updates since perhaps 2008. There was a lot of traffic on their fora about lack of updates and the need for VR support with no concrete evidence that any new software would be forthcoming. So does any other flight sim software work? If you are only training things like circuits, spins and so on, does the software need to be glider specific with accurate weather modelling, or can it be just basic flight simulator software? And what are you training? Ab initio? Emergencies? Instructor training? From a software developer's perspective, putting money into gliding software is difficult at a return of under $100 a head and if the software is used in a club simulator, then the overall returns are just not there unless you can charge a lot more per copy, charge an annual rental or have some federal or international body pay for it. Might the availability of software limit all types of gliding simulators in the future? On the hardware side, having been involved with commercial systems which require projectors to run with software, you're chasing your tail because the manufacturers update everything every 5 minutes so lenses, mounts, bulbs etc. are made obsolete every 18 months or so. Difficult for a commercial product where you have to tell your customer that their gear is obsolete in 3-4 years and poison in a club scenario where members want a bit more bang for their buck. Add to that the fact that the realism of a standard resolution projector based sim is nowhere near adequate for some purposes like landing and possibly take off and that the cost of building, housing and maintaining the hardware of the simulator and you wonder if projector and screen based systems have any future at all except for showing people where to put their hands on knobs. For my money, the VR approach is really interesting, provided you can get software and that may be the limiting factor, based on the competing needs of of sim users. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Loss of control accidents
It's OK and normal for gliders to not fly a square circuit pattern here in Australia. Quotes… "The BGA circuit comprises a diagonal leg between downwind and base that allows the pilot to constantly monitor the aiming point. Previous GFA Operations Panel decisions affirmed that the diagonal leg is “an allowed variation on the standard GFA circuit” and that clubs may train and adopt this variation. Some clubs have noted that this practice may reduce undershoot risks. It has been adopted by Canada and suggestion is that GFA should also consider this, with the diagonal leg preferred, and the square circuit an allowed variation. "From recent contact with the GFA, the diagonal base is the go and will be written into MOSP or whatever gives it gravity. A great concept unless you luck out and turn at the correct? spot and need to fly "normal" to the final flight path. Don't know how we have survived all these years.” "Eventually, I will get to the bottom of the story of "diagonal base leg" in GFA. I am sure that, when I was chairman of the panel, an edict did come down from on high that the "diagonal base leg" was approved, if not mandatory. "I was going to say that I only fly one "square" circuit per year, and that is for my AFR; but in hindsight, there is usually some smarty-pants in the back seat pulling the bung at about 300 feet, and the resulting circuit is anything but square!” ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Loss of control accidents
>>The BGA some years ago now modified their standard glider circuit to cut off >>the base turn which keeps the glider closer to the landing zone. This was a >>result of looking at real flight records as to what experienced pilots were >>doing in out landings. I think you will find that the GFA has this as an optional approach pattern and it's noted in Basic Gliding Knowledge. Because of the nature of gliding approaches (sink rate, airbrakes etc), I am not sure that a continually changing path would work as well as doing a pattern with a definite diagonal leg with well banked turns. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] spinning
>>Compulsory spinning every year is a lot of risk exposure for dubious to zero >>benefit on the accidental spin in stats. It will no doubt cause some people >>to simply give up gliding. Personally, I don't have a problem with spinning or getting into incipient spins where it's initiated by me, accidental or otherwise in either my aircraft or one which I know. I do not like at all the idea of spinning with anyone else in the glider, or in a glider which I either don't know or don't trust. This is not a comment about instructors per se but about individual responsibility and human fallibility. I can remember turning up as a visitor at a club and within a few minutes, the instructor wants to see how I can spin the aircraft. I don't know him, the aircraft or the site. Why take the risk? Why not concentrate on not spinning? When so many countries and aviation authorities have come to the same conclusion, why do we in Australia have to be out of step? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Tablet recommendations?
>> for use as nav device in a motor-glider? As a nav device, that is where you don't want a glide computer, you can't go far wrong with a large phone like an iPhone 6 and Ozrunways on a Ram mount.. The modern phones are adequately bright and the large-screen versions such as the iPhone 6S have a really good battery life. A few of us have found that even a small tablet such as the iPad mini can be too large for a sailplane. You'd have more room in a motor glider cockpit. If you are going to mount it somehow using something like a Ram mount, the size of the lump is considerable. The weight of the tablet and what happens in turbulence needs to be thought about too. So the slightly smaller phone is less of a problem. It's also worth considering whether you are using other nav apps as well and things like Inreach Earthmate apps for SAR etc before jumping into a particular platform which may support things like XCSoar well but not the others. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Comparing accident rates
>> Can I gently suggest we might have whipped this topic hard enough at this >> point What was the topic? Something like "Is gliding dangerous"? If the answer is "gliding is dangerous", then how might we go about making it safer? Are there any specific areas or activities which are either obviously more dangerous or probably more dangerous where we might start? (Not including banning winch launching.) The accident reports from GA quoted some days ago showed many times more landing accidents than anything else. Admittedly many of these were just plain old German undercarriage collapses (how long does it take to get a design right?) but others were due landing practices which could be improved on. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Update from Flarm on Unsolicited Email Circulation
>>Standards are ROUTINELY open Except if they are national or international standards. If we want to make something to conform to many standards including ISO and CE, we must pay for the standards document in the first place to learn the standard. IGES and GIF are both standards, but one has to pay to use them. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Potential dangers in the sport of gliding
>>"More people die in comps than during non-competition flying" >>I do not think you can defend this statement with numbers. OK, perhaps a bit of clarification is needed. It's probable that the statistics overall are not enough to prove anything one way or another. However… There have been a significant number of accidents and fatalities in the last few years during comps which were related a style of flying which is unique to comps… low finishes. This type of accident is rare or non-existent outside comp flying. Mid-air collisions were common in gliding a decade and more ago. FLARM and better rules appear to have lowered this risk to acceptable standards (except perhaps in GP style racing.) It's possible, by changing the finish rules, to reduce the accidents relating to low finishes. Why not do it? There are a significant number of non-comp pilots who would fly comps if the perceived risks were lower. A number of these people are not comps averse… they regularly do things like sailing comps. And I don't think you could compare gliding with motorcycle riding (racing maybe). In terms of deaths per hundred thousand rider or comp pilot hours, you'd find a difference of several orders of magnitude. We have what… 2500 pilots active in Australia? And how many die each year? 1-2? D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Aero Glass BVLOS
>>Small aircraft really haven't made much progress over the 1946 Beech Bonanza, >>70 years ago. David Thurston wrote in Design for Flying, "… it may be safely noted that private aircraft performance has not experienced any great leap forward over the past 40 years. Our speeds are where they were in the 30s. During that period of grass airfields, a four seat, streamlined fixed gear Percival Vega Gull cruised at…" Presumably with a Gypsy major engine. If you have not already done so, have a look at Neville Shute (Norway)'s book Slide Rule where he talks about starting Airspeed Aircraft for a few thousand pounds and running it for the first decade or so until they were employing hundreds of workers and still not making a profit. It's hard to make progress when half the industry is still working in inches, poundals and slugs. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Autonomous soaring
Interesting yes, alarming maybe. I had always hoped that gliding had no useful purpose and that it was something like surfing. that one did just for the sake of it. Not something that you could use for killing people. To find that the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division of the US Navy has come close to solving problems which the rest of us do for fun is a little disorientating. I can see a point in time where the air is filled so with drones of all sorts that recreational "pilots" sit at home wearing VR glass goggles and claim to be flying. D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
Re: [Aus-soaring] Artists required
Does the availability of colours now mean that the resin being used is a different higher temperature resin? Schleicher are not using pre-preg and autoclaves on glider wings are they? It's interesting that gliders like the PIK 20 and Windward Performance gliders were using techniques that allowed colour some time ago. Decades in the case of the pic where us buyers of German gliders have to worry that the ship that brings them over shares equal time on port and starboard tacks. >>>The person submitting the most attractive design will be rewarded with a free flight of at least three hours in the demonstrator. Could we take the money instead? :-)) D ___ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
