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Flying Update / Decision Point

Posted 04-29-2008 at 09:38 PM by Crumb

I've flown three times since my first flight. (Four total) I figured it was time for an update.

I practiced my turning a lot, did a little bit of following the tow plane while it was pretty straight, I half landed the last time (I didn't control the dive brake).

Out of all of that the towing was the most difficult. The glider slipped and slid around so much trying to keep it lined up and in the right position was very difficult.

I am learning a lot and am really enjoying flying.

I am approaching a decision point though. So far I have been flying in the intro package which was for five flights and is allowed without being a club member. After my fifth flight I will have to decide if I want to be a member. It will cost $500 to join. :eek:

I don't know if I really want to put that much money in to this. I am debating it in my mind. If I do go for it I will have to go all the way for all the money that it will cost. :yup:

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The trick to the towing is not to over correct.

Keep the glider wings parallel to the wings of the tug (so if the tug is level, keep your wings level, and if it banked say ten degrees, then keep the glider banked ten degrees also). If you do this, then even if the glider is out to the one side, the tension in the rope will tend to pull you back in line.

You still have to worry about keeping at the right height relative to the tug - the trick here is to only change height slowly - especially if you have to move down relative to the tug - if you lose height too quickly, then the tow rope goes slack, and that is not a good situation. :nope:

Only you can decide whether it's worth the cost of continuing. For most people, learning is the best bit. Once you have gone solo and done your first few soaring flights, then it can become a bit :meh:

for some.

I never regretted the money I spent on gliding.

If you decide not to continue you can get back to model flying :yup:

- this is harder than flying full size, though of course the consequences of getting things wrong are much less.

Posted 04-30-2008 at 07:58 PM by ceptimus ceptimus is offline

	Thanks, cep! I'm leaning toward going forward with gliding, and I have thought about the RC angle. It would be much less expensive to do RC and I would have more opportunity to actually do it (and less planning ahead). But it isn't nearly as thrilling. I'm still of two minds about it, as you can tell.
	Posted 04-30-2008 at 11:17 PM by Crumb

	I don't care how thrilling it is, purposely flying in a plane without an engine is a suicide waiting to happen. Be careful Crumb
	Posted 05-21-2008 at 04:37 AM by Legs

Actually, the statistics show that glider flying is much safer than flying light (powered) aircraft. :yup:

Gliders are designed to fly without engines and pilots are trained to operate them safely. They normally only fly in good weather. Gliders have a very flat glide angle so from any given height the pilot has lots of choice to select a safe landing area. Even when things go wrong and an accident occurs, the pilot often survives as gliders only fly relatively slowly.

In contrast, when a light aircraft accident occurs through failure of the engine, pilot error or other mishap, the pilot has a much smaller margin for choosing the crash site, and the crash will be at a higher speed. The occupant(s) is/are surrounded by dangerous hot machinery and toxic highly inflamable fuel. :onfire:

The fact that many light aircraft accidents (and subsequent fatalities) are due to engine failure shows why gliders are so safe: if there isn't an engine, then it can't go wrong!

Posted 05-23-2008 at 11:58 AM by ceptimus ceptimus is offline