I guess a 12v automotive light bulb would be a readily available load? Perhaps one of the electronic wizards here could suggest an appropriate wattage for a meaningful, safe, fast test? Also, is it valid to do a 'fast' test when a glider load is hopefully closer to 10 to 20 hrs? Can we presume...

Greetings! Summer has begun down under, and my first flight with an iPaq reminded me just how bad the reflections are in bright light . . . sooo hard to read, especially when wearing sunglasses. Were there any solutions that worked well for you Northerners this season?? I have noted a film from...

Greetings! Anyone found a cradle for an iPaq that suits use in a glider and doesn't require amputation of a limb to pay for it?? We are considering standardising the mounting facilities in our club fleet and the costs of multiple cradles seem prohibitive at this time. The main hurdle to overcome...

Greetings! It's the beginning of our soaring season here in Australia - and thought I'd start a checklist for setting a Pocket-PC before (and after) use with navigation. During the week my Pocket-PC is an invaluable work tool - but some of it's 'features' are nuisances in flight! Anyone out there...

Greetings! I have been plagued by airsickness. Struggled with it during training but the flights were short and it did go away to some extent, especially when I made a point of eating fresh ginger daily. Now that I am attempting longer flights it is bugging me again. It seriously spoils the fun...

I think this is mesmerizing: www.windyty.com

I have seen some wonderful videos made with GoPros stuck on the outside of gliders. Does the FAA have anything to say about the legality of such externally mounted cameras on aircraft certificated as other than experimental?

I have been trying to understand just how a TE probe functions. Is a TE probe plumbed as the only static source for a variometer or is it plumbed together with the static ports that are usually placed on the sides of a glider? Thank you.

Does wing loading have any affect on thermalling ability of a glider (pilot's ability is another topic)? I am ignoring here the smaller turn radius, and so greater ability of a lighter wing-loaded glider to work narrow-diameter thermals. In a given thermal with a diameter that can be worked with...

Anyone have a rough idea of the amount to budget to earn a glider certificate? The glider training closest to me appears to be at this club: http://www.kpflight.com/coburg.htm

Simple question (for everyone but me!): Is the CFI endorsement to take a private pilot test for a specific category (e.g. airplane, rotorcraft, glider) or a category and class (e.g. airplane, single engine land) or some other classsification (e.g. fixed-wing), or not category or class...

Just saw this posted to the PoA forum (second link): http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/27405056/detail.html http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41133

Spotted this unintentional(?) plug for gliding on the main RV homebuilt site: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=45291 The poster is the Lead Flight Director, Space Shuttle Operations. Doubt that many RV builders will suddenly be tearing the engines out of their RVs (such...

I've wondered why we have to get to altitude to catch thermals to climb. Why not just locate the thermals when they are the ground or right over the airfield - wouldn't that save a whole lot of effort? Just pull the glider to the base of the thermal (with a bit of a running start) and go! Yes...

"About midnight last night, the FAA Notam system crashed," AOPA's Chris Dancy told AVweb early on Friday morning. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAA_NOTAMSystemOffLine_197954-1.html

The Tost tow release system talks about 10,000 operations (Tost terminology) or actuations (FAA) vs 2,000 starts (Tost) or launches (FAA). What constitutes an operation or actuation? Why are there five times as many (typically) as...

I'm looking at a parachute for a glider. Would like to use it for other flying, as well, if it is suitable. INo clue of the advantages/ disadvantages of any of them. Suggestions?

I'm bying an experimental registered sailplane. Are there any specific organizations that cater to those interests? I looked at Experimental Sailplane Association's website, but it seems 3-4 months out of date and makes me wonder if it is truly active. TIA for any suggestions.

Looking for opinions on a portable, handheld aviation radio for ground support operations. No special features needed beyond the basic transciever functions, as far as I know. If there is a handheld that would be suitable for use in the glider using an established external antenna, please comment...

I flew my LP-49 out of Muscatine, IA KMUT Saturday for the first time in several years. Had some maintenance to do and finally got it all in shaped. I'm low time with it and still learning how it flies, but it seems very sweet so far. There was no lift so I took three sled rides. The first was a...