Does anyone have experience of removing flaking paint from the skin of a metal trailer? About 1/3 of the paint is coming off...I want to strip all the paint off and preferably leave the metal skin 'bare'. Is this just 'buy a big can of paint remover and a large brush' or is it more complicated? ...

A couple of very good perspectives HERE...

Hi, I am deeply saddened to have just learned of a fatal accident at the Ionia soaring contest. I don't want to post details because I don't know if the family has been notified. Contact me for details. I am not at the contest but have talked briefly with contest...

I'm attending the Region 10 North contest at Cherry Valley, AR here in a few weeks. I'm planning on making a big video there. I could sure use some ideas from you good folks. I'm not just making the video for me to enjoy, but for everyone and anyone. Myself and a friend now have accumalated a...

Ok, I could probably arrange with the winch driver to experiment, but is there any definitive guidance on getting the greatest height off a winch launch? (eg. Skylaunch). i.e. if I'm "driven" at the higher end of the speed range acceptable to my gliders placarding, will I get higher or lower...

Anybody have a recommendation for a small thin digital camera with decent quality that might be suitable for taping to a winglet for inflight down-the-wing shots, with a connection for an rf remote? Have not been able to find a small camera with remote option. Thanks...

I am located in Sydney / Australia and wonder what the pros/cons are to do a glider course in our winter instead of our summer. Weather here is generally sub-tropic and I guess comparable with South Africa or maybe Spain or Southern USA. Looks like a much nicer season to be out and about than the...

We have cats and just got a new type of litter for them called SoPhresh Gel Lock. This stuff would be great in a zip lock pee bag! Super absorbent and turns into a gel immediately. I have not tried it in flight yet, but once i saw how this stuff worked i knew it would be great to put in some pee...

U¿ytkownik "M B" napisa³ w wiadomo¶ci ... Winds are always FROM Hmmm...so where does an offshore flow come from? Do offshore winds come from the sea to the shore? Really? ;-P -winking and sticking ...

Hi Gang Occasionally one finds a good read on a subject that many of us are interested in, namely soaring. Well the Government funded in the 50s the development of a new spy plane - a motorglider - named the U2. The specifications of this machine included operation up to 80,000 feet at 80% the...

What's the minimum realistic climb rate that should be acceptable for self-launch? I've heard things like 1:4 ratio of thrust to MTOW (where thrust is approximated as 3x motor/engine power), but planes like the Silent 2 Electro and miniLAK FES seem to exceed this somewhat, with the miniLAK FES...

Can anyone out there with experience behind both 2-bladed and 4-bladed Pawnees give me an idea of what the performance losses are? My club has debated this off and on, but I was recently at a field with a 4-bladed Pawnee and was much impressed with the lower noise. Problem is, I've got club...

The Colibri II GNSS Flight Recorder manufactured LX Navigation (www.lxnavigation.si) has gained IGC-approval with effect from 20 November 2011 for "all flights". For IGC-approval levels, see para 1.1.4 of Annex B to the Sporting Code for gliding. This brings the number of IGC-approved Flight...

After some back and forth discussion, it seems pylon-mounted wings could have a lot of potential for sailplanes. WRT aerodynamics, they make a laminar upper wing and much more extensive laminar flow on the fuselage possible. Structurally, notably yaw forces might be problematic (ground-loop), but...

Folks, If you haven't made plans yet - one of the premier international events in soaring is just a few days away, and here in the USA! The International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) is held every five years in the USA, on historic Harris Hill near Elmira, NY. This is the site of our National...

I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did the right thing. ...

Our Club is reworking towing height fees. We are based south of Denver (elevation 7,000' msl). Normal tow heights are to about 9,000-10,000' msl. We have new members who now are asking for tows to 14,000' msl. This is causing up to 45-minute waits for the next tow. Normally, we get about four or...

I have just seen an unscientific poll on a guitar forum that I found fascinating, and not because of what it means for playing guitars. In this poll, almost 41% of those responding were between the ages of 50 and 59. The next largest group, 40-49, is at only 18%. Like most, if not all of us...

This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General News, It is specific to the US, but generally applicable as well. The original post is avaliable...

Today was a struggle to get up to 4000 agl for the start. Thermals were choppie and the lift in the Hobbs area was simply lousy. A MAT for all classes was called with Jal the first turn, but that was changed to Seminole as the first turn for all classes. Sports got a 2.5 hr time, Standard was 3...