US to pull out of WHO permanently. Abstention is no way to demonstrate leadership. God help us all No doubt this post will be deleted as politically incorrect....

I have been following the arguments about Flarm as well as US task setting with interest. I do not wish to confuse the picture further but I do want to point out that Handicap Distance Tasks solve many of the complaints about standard assigned tasks (including leeching). With HDTs we recognise the...

Reading the thread on dolphin technique brings to mind some work I did on MacCready. If you do the sums in an 'ideal' flight with one climb and one glide in flat air you find two things: 1) You can be well of the ideal MacCready speed (10%) before it makes much difference in XC speed, and 2)...

Anyone know what has happened with the ruc sounding plots that used to be available from NOAA? All I get is access forbidden now. http://rucsoundings.noaa.gov/

When can we expect California to cede the union?

Time to change the subject line? I have been thinking about the hard deck idea. Possibly fine in flat land soaring but I am not sure it adds much when ridge flying. I perceive another problem: Turbos are even more dangerous near the ground than pure gliders. I may be happy in my 27 at 500ft but...

I have bailed out of the hard deck thread as I think that all opinions have been aired once or maybe twice! The hard deck discussion started out following the dreadful accident in Chile and was an attempt to discuss making all competition safer. However, when I think around the subject, isn't the...

I watch with despair as Trump tears up the Iran Nuclear Agreement. However I wonder whether this is the same as trying to hold back technology in gliding competition: no flight computer, no GPS, no moving map, no Flarm display, no online weather, no nuclear bombs? It is probably inevitable...

At 06:25 31 August 2018, Andy Blackburn wrote: On Thursday, August 30, 2018 at 10:44:06 PM UTC-7, wrote: Watch this.....and consider your life. https://youtu.be/oYpG0HDcFsA Wow! That's pretty cool. Amazing how inherently simple turbojets are. Andy Blackburn

On a whim I said to my long suffering wife that I would like to tour the USA with my glider, see the sights and enjoy the soaring. Surprisingly she said that she would come with me! I have a time budget of 2-3 years but modest financial resources. So gents...where and what time of year? If I...

Ladies and Gents Handicap Distance Tasks are a new format for handicapped glider racing. Many of the problems associated with setting racing tasks for a wide range of handicaps are overcome by setting tasks with variable sized barrels that allow each glider, flown equally well, to complete the...

In the UK a small team has been developing a new task type for club and competition use. We call it a Handicap Distance Task and its purpose is to overcome the problems associated with setting tasks suitable for a wide range of handicaps whereby high handicap gliders finish early and low...

Hi Helpers! I have my HP314 and have got XCSoar working on it. Can anyone tell me how to stop the backlight turning off after 30 secs? Many tx Jim

Hi Folks I have XC-Soar running on my new HP314 and it is good. I have increased the font size on the info boxes to 60pt and they are very readable. Screen is bright and easy to see in all conditions except when the unit is aligned so that the sun reflects directly off it into your eyes. In fact I...

Does anyone here have any experience improving a grass runway. In particular levelling it without actually removing the grass, leveliing the soil, and resowing / returfing. I wonder if a routine of rigorous slicing aerating followed by sand / grit dressing, and rolling would do the job? Jim

My 3970 that runs Winpilot has died and I need to replace it. I have a 3900 cradle fitted to the cockpit. What can you guys recommend that will run Winpilot? I believe the 5500 series IPAQ will fit in the same cradle. Can anyone confirm this? What about other models? The IPAQ 214 is more powerful...

A weekend at Parowan, UT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbFUcn0wxZM&feature=youtube_gdata

Just a heads up about something I'm now too familiar with. If you are considering a partnership in a glider, it is probably wise to limit the number of people involved to a maximum of 3. I now know that with 4 people, the insurance becomes highly restrictive, unless you pay significantly more and...

The Spring 2012 LVVSA Auto - Tow weekend was, as always, tons of fun! Auto and Aero tows from Roach Dry Lakebed, between Jean and Primm NV, in actual soaring conditions! We had the usual great food, bonfire, and camaraderie. Keith W. made an exceptional batch of dark chocolate, mint chip ice...

A year or two ago, there was a Phoebus that sold for under $7k on Wings and Wheels. Now there's another (without a trailer) for $7k. How does the value of a 17 meter, 42:1 glider NOT exceed that of a 1-26? I already have a glider I love, but I still like to look at OTHER gliders (don't tell...