Matt,
I was there!
A mate took me up for an aerobatic flight in a K21 off the winch once. And only
once!
You know you can just roll a 21 onto it's back and pull through without going
through vne. I didn't now that. Brown trouser flight. I had the camcorder
onboard....I should post it on Utube.
Jim
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:25:17
+1000Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Low level releases, ridge flying and
instructing.Nah,
He either saw it done or heard it in the evening after it happened (all except
the launch failure - it was done following a low speed beat up) - I know Jim
was either on the field or would have been by evening - I did watch the stunt,
waiting for for the inevitable carbon matchsticks to appear. Somehow, he got
away with it.
On 13/09/2008, at 19:12 , Gary Stevenson wrote:
Hi Jim.
There is no doubt that your talents are totally wasted in radiology. You should
be writing scripts for Hollywood, or maybe Bollywood!
See you soon.
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: james crowhurst
To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 9:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Low level releases, ridge flying and instructing.
On the other hand, the check ride scenario could go like
this.................The rope breaks...........immediately pull the nose up,
stall, kick full rudder, allow the glider to turn 180 deg. in a spin, opposite
rudder, stick forward to recover and the glider should now be pointing
vertically down toward the ground. Build up speed, pull through and level out
on the runway centre line at 2 feet above the ground, now going in the opposite
direction to launch. Now give the CFI the finger as you go past the pie cart
for telling the level 2 (who is now silent and shaking in the back) to bung you
off at 500ft, wasting a perfectly good launch on a good soaring day. Then pull
up at the end of the runway, chandel turn at the top, open the brakes and land.
Perfectly acceptble.My 2 cents JIm
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:15:48
+0000Subject: [Aus-soaring] Low level releases, ridge flying and instructing.HI
all,This thread has made me think of my aerotow rope break training. I was a
releatively inexperienced pilot at the time, just solo if I recall.But I hadn't
done a real low level cable break. I asked the instructor of the day and he
gave me a through briefing.Luckily the day had only a gentle breeze.. We
started at 400' for the first one, and the L2 demonstrated, then I did one
myslef.The method was very simple. As soon as the rope broke, the instructor
said 60 kt, nose down he kept repeating that every 10 seconds till we landed.
After a brief assesment the glider was banked to about 55 degrees, the runway
ahead surveyed for obstacles when the turn was completed.Of course from 400ft
a heap of airbrake was needed. Next came 300ft, then 200ft some airbrake was
still required. Of course at the end of the ground run aileron response went
quite early due to the 5-10kt breeze. I actually enjoyed the experience.Doesn't
everyone do that at some stage? Later, a highly modified circuit became an
option from 400ft.(After flying at a winch club (-:)Frankly it seems to me
people need to have some intestinal fortitude and do this exercise properly, My
son Ray trained at the same time as young Dion who has posted on his training
recentlythey both did multiple low level 180 degree turns after simulated rope
breaks. not once did the resulting landing appear dangerous. I remember one day
when Ray was near solo the instructor wandered over just before takeoff and
said "Dont push any gliders onto the flight line after we take off' being an
opporunist I shot out the back of the pie cart and said to the CFI, who hadnt
heard the comment "Bet ya $10 instructor X will pull the bung on him. He looked
at me and grinned and said "No way, he's (X) a bastard, he probably will" And
he did. Damn, thought I was onto an easy $10!!!!Another advantage of having
some winch training came not so long ago when a tug pilot forgot to turn the
fuel on. Just as the glider was about to leave the ground, the aceeleration
vanished, tug "coughed and spluttered" and the rope went slack. To my later
amazement I pulled the release very quickly, and watched the tug complete a
circuit. It was drummed into me during the winch training thet any loss of
power/acceration at this point meant it was wise to release. I dont think I
would have performed as well in that situation had I not had that training.I
really believe that we do not spend enough time training pilots close to the
ground and obstacles. This is where ridge flying would really improve one's
flying.We so rarely get the normal cues to the speed we are travelling, vsual
ones whislt in the air. There is only the noise, ASI and the very slowly moving
landscape below.At Waikerie we have regular visits form power trainess from the
College of knowledge, in Tobagos. I have noticed they do a LOT of touch and
goes and thisgives more experience with the visual ground rush. In the current
training scheme, n aerotow only operation, one would be lucky to have spent
half an hour below flying 200t by the time you got to 20 hours. Trainees at
winch clubs generally get to see a fair bit of it though.I had my first real
ridge flight in the Flinders at the AUGC ridge camp in June. I have to admit
flying right at a cliff was an "experience". (-:After 20 minutes or so I
started to get more used to rocks whirling by. Perhaps we need to train people
in all aspects of gliding, both flat land and ridge/mountain conditions.Funnily
enough this mail was typed before Micheal Texler made his comments about ridge
flying, I could not agree more.A last point, as for the different instructor
nearly every time, with instructors discussing pilots with each other , this
leads I suspect to uneccesary speculation and over analysis of minor faults,
it is in my own personal gliding experiece and belief that this is one of
thebiggest reasons people drop out of our sport. I tried both methods, firstly
at a large semi commercial club where the many instructors method was used.
Progress was very slow. Inconsistency (Instructor one, "you're too low on tow",
after changing the target position, next day instructor 2 "you're too high on
tow" etc) was endemic to the point I quit in frustration after about a year. Of
course, passengers had priority to so I seemed to end up flying 1-2 times
later in the day when I was already tired from working around the launch point
all day. I was amzed to find, whenan old friend trained there recently that
this place still operates in exactly the same way now, 27 years later. <sigh>10
years later I bit the bullet and went to a fully commercial 7 day per week
operation. Whilst the expense was high, I flew under the same instructor ( The
incomparalbe Hayden Dunn,whose only downside was the smelly size 11s next to
my head after the first few fights(-: ) 5 days in a row. Only after this did I
fly with the weekend instructors. At that point, the change was valuable, they
had no preconceived ideas, and so judged me on my flying an not someone elses
opinion. Please instructors, try and judge pilots on the day by thier skills
and not by someone else's opinion.Jusy my 2 cents worth.regards allDave
Enter today! Win a Hotmail Go-Kart to race at Bathurst.
Try Facebook in Windows Live Messenger! Try it Now!
_______________________________________________Aus-soaring mailing [EMAIL
PROTECTED] check or change subscription details,
visit:http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.169 / Virus Database: 270.6.21/1667 - Release Date: 9/11/2008 6:55
PM_______________________________________________Aus-soaring mailing [EMAIL
PROTECTED] check or change subscription details,
visit:http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
_________________________________________________________________
Discover Bird's Eye View now with Multimap from Live Search
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/111354026/direct/01/
_______________________________________________
Aus-soaring mailing list
Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net
To check or change subscription details, visit:
http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring