Gliders

drunkenbeagle

drunkenbeagle

Gang Member
I tried last year, and was foiled by high winds every day.

But if anyone is interested, there is a winch at the commercial operation at the Jean airport. I have always wanted to try this. There is a club there as well.

If there is any interest, I'll see if they can swing a deal for us. This need not be an all-day thing, and it isn't far from Vegas.
 
I'll consider. Hopefully, I'll have my rating done by then.

Do we need a winch endorsement if we've only done aero-tow? That might be cool to do.
 
You will enjoy it. It's quite a thrill.

Just remember, on the way up, pushing forward on the stick decreases the airspeed and pulling back increases the airspeed (at up to the point where the wings snap). Then when you get over the top, it reverses to the more familiar algorithm.
 
Polar742 said:
I'll consider. Hopefully, I'll have my rating done by then.

Do we need a winch endorsement if we've only done aero-tow? That might be cool to do.
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You do need an endorsement. Kind of a tough thing to get, as there aren't many winches in the US. The only one I know of in Florida is seasonal. I'm not too worried about having the endorsement - if you don't live near a winch, it isn't all that useful...
 
drunkenbeagle said:
You do need an endorsement. Kind of a tough thing to get, as there aren't many winches in the US. The only one I know of in Florida is seasonal. I'm not too worried about having the endorsement - if you don't live near a winch, it isn't all that useful...
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Well, I was approaching it from the point of perhaps getting an endorsement for the winch tow if it's a fairly low-drag process.

But, yeah, some soaring out there would be very cool.
 
Polar742 said:
Well, I was approaching it from the point of perhaps getting an endorsement for the winch tow if it's a fairly low-drag process.

But, yeah, some soaring out there would be very cool.
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I saw a presentation at an FAA safety conference on winch launches. It does look like a lot of fun. $600 seems to be the going rate for the endorsement, which implies about 8-10 launches.

I'd be happy to do one just to say I had tried it. Climbing at a 45 degree pitch angle just seems so cool.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
So Charlie, ya still gonna head down to Tampa and fly some gliders? Let me know when you get a weekend off - hopefully you holding a hard line ain't a temporary thing ;)
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Hopefully not. Alas, holding a line with weekends off- that might take some doing.

Soon enough, surely.
 
Anyone check into this stuff yet?

Can we get a "group" rate or anything?

I look forward to a little soaring.
 
Sandy said:
You will enjoy it. It's quite a thrill.

Just remember, on the way up, pushing forward on the stick decreases the airspeed and pulling back increases the airspeed (at up to the point where the wings snap). Then when you get over the top, it reverses to the more familiar algorithm.
Click to expand...
How does that work?
 
When the glider is being ground launched (by means of a winch or an automobilie) its flight path is describing an arc about a fixed point. By applying back pressure on the stick you are causing an angular acceleration which manifests itself on the glider by increasing airspeed.

The FAA's freely available Glider Flying Handbook has a decent description of the process and its seems that this website also has some good info if you're looking to do a little reading about ground launching a glider.

It's a real thrill and I recommend trying it at least once.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
I tried last year, and was foiled by high winds every day.

But if anyone is interested, there is a winch at the commercial operation at the Jean airport. I have always wanted to try this. There is a club there as well.

If there is any interest, I'll see if they can swing a deal for us. This need not be an all-day thing, and it isn't far from Vegas.
Click to expand...
Is this a company that does glider tours on a daily basis? if so, if you get me a contact name and email address/phone number...i could probably see if i can't get them interested in coming out for the expo as well as drop the "some of our members are interested in..." verbage to try and work something out.
 
Ollie said:
When the glider is being ground launched (by means of a winch or an automobilie) its flight path is describing an arc about a fixed point. By applying back pressure on the stick you are causing an angular acceleration which manifests itself on the glider by increasing airspeed.

The FAA's freely available Glider Flying Handbook has a decent description of the process and its seems that this website also has some good info if you're looking to do a little reading about ground launching a glider.

It's a real thrill and I recommend trying it at least once.
Click to expand...
so in other words, you become a projectile with a parabolic arc which at one point, you can pull out of the parabolic and take your own path right?

isn't a ground launch a bit dangerous or does the winch have a pretty high starting velocity (is it hydraulic?)
 
Pretty much. I've heard of hydraulic winches being used in Europe but the ones I've seen in the states are commonly made using large displacement gasoline engines and truck transaxles.

Ground launching a glider comes with its own unique set of challenges. The most dangerous mode of flight during a ground launch is when you're in the initial climb segment below 200 feet - you've got a high angle of attack, low altitude, and relatively low airspeed. Unless you're alert and assertive in getting the stick forward when the rope breaks there's a significant risk of entering a stall/spin. That being said, I still think it's a very safe method of launching a glider.

I've soloed many students on auto tow simply because the reduced cost of the tow makes learning to fly more accessible to them. At my old gliderport a 1000' aero tow was $32 while an auto tow was $7. When you're doing primary training involving rope breaks and traffic pattern work you can see where the savings really helps.
 
Kristie said:
so in other words, you become a projectile with a parabolic arc which at one point, you can pull out of the parabolic and take your own path right?

isn't a ground launch a bit dangerous or does the winch have a pretty high starting velocity (is it hydraulic?)
Click to expand...

Ground launch is reasonably safe, probably more so than aero tow. It does require a larger ground crew. Don gave a nice safety presentation for the FAA earlier this year here in Florida. http://www.crosscountrysoaring.com/florida.html - take a look at the youtube video at the bottom of the page.

With a Tost CG ring, generally it will automatically release when over the winch.

Kristie, I'll PM the contact info I have to you.
 
so is this excursion happening? if so, do you want it on the schedule and want me to collect the attendee names?

If so, i need to know by Friday so i can get it on there and get it included with the rest of the registration info.

Thanks!
 
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