I wrote an article for Soaring, that will appear in the July issue. Title: "Gizmo Future." A somewhat unusual view of the "what's in the future for Soaring" kind of article. It's on my webpage if you just can't wait for...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-crash/norways-first-electric-plane-crash-lands-on-lake-idUSKCN1V423N?il=0

Hi I have read many articles published by Dick Johnson on performance of various gliders, but I cannot find any information on the methodology he used. The closest I have come to is this from Wikipedia "Flight Test Evaluation series starting in 1976, which measured the performance of sailplanes...

All the recent threads on the danger of inadvertent VMC into IMC flight without proper instrumentation has highlighted what I think is a needed bit of kit for the modern glider (i.e. one that has some sort of PDA/PNA/nav display in it's cockpit: An inexpensive stand-alone AHRS module that would...

So, if you were ordering a new Cobra trailer, would you order a fiberglass top or an aluminum top? For sake of discussion, lets exclude obvious price difference. I've never seen an aluminum top with insulation. What type of insulation is used and is it worth the 1000 plus euros? For those having...

What can you say?? An awesome pilot flying a finely tuned unique machine on his home turf. Incredible!!

I'm interested in finding out what some of the largest private collections of "classic" (roughly 1965-1975) are (Steve I already know you have about a gazillion...). I currently have an Elfe S-3, Libelle 301, Diamant 17.2 and ASW-12. What do you own? 2C

Delorme InReach For sale! Exceptional units, exceptional service with 1 minute tracking, altitude, heading and speed vs. SPOT's horrible 10 minute tracking with no telemetry at all!!!!!! Asking $200. New units are $300. this unit does everything the new unit does better via Bluetooth linkage to...

I'm getting new sun glasses, should I get Polarized or not, what works best for flying gliders??? The ones I'm looking at are also anti-glare lenses. Thanks Glen

Can anyone share some wisdom on using water at high elevations for long durations? How do you know your fin or wing tanks will not freeze? If I am at 18K for 6 hrs in the Sierras, I really don't want my vertical stab splitting open in flight. Has this ever happened? Any guidance would be...

A given glider is at level flight, IAS= 100 knots.After a pull-up, will it achieve more height gain with 100 liters (100 kgs) of ballast than with empty ballast???? Réjean

Each year I like to test my batteries and replace those that do not have enough capacity for a typical flight of 3-4-ish hours with all the electronics running. I run two batteries so that removes a worry about loosing power during a record flight. But how do you perform a good real world...

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...

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...

You should take a look at this: http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/holm-dg300-e.html Marc

Dramatic cockpit video of a midair collision with a tow rope getting caught in the prop of another plane. The pilot was able to deploy his ballistic parachute and safely descend. No mention of what happened to the towplane. Video is from CNN on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTemKnL8X30

Greetings, Off season (northern hemisphere) is coming. What are the top 2-3 soaring simulators or is there a clear winner? Thanks, Gary

http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20060906X01297&key=2 For you amateur FAR lawyers to chew on: "The glider was equipped with a panel mounted communication radio, global positioning system (GPS) unit, and a transponder; however, the pilot did not turn on the GPS and transponder. The...

I'd like to replace my current digital camera with one better suited to pictures from my glider, but I'm having difficulty finding one with the features I want. Perhaps someone has solved my problem already, or at least has a way of finding a suitable camera without days of downloading brochures...

The value of the US dollar compared to the Euro has dropped 24% during the past year. Therefore the price of sailplanes manufactured in Europe has risen a corresponding 24%. In fact, a similar impact is being felt in all countries outside Europe. Will this end the purchase of new sailplanes by...