Dear US-gliding community, it seems likely that I am going to spend about 2 year in the US (NJ area) starting next spring and I would like to bring my German registered glider along. Given it is for 2 years only, I would like to keep the ship under its German flag and keep any changes to glider...

I'm amazed at the number of seeming experts who are littering this site with passionately uninformed opinions yet don't seem to have the credentials or expertise of an infectious disease MD or actual governmental experience. Lets get back to what this site is about: Sharing information about the...

There are 16 Silent 2 Electros in the FAA Registration Data Base. 3 are for sale and are all low time. Any thoughts? Are they uncomfortable, poor penetration, what?

What is the initial new length of the tow ropes that you use? Assuming that you cut off the worn portion near the ring and gradually shorten the rope, when does the rope get too short to use? How often do you measure the rope? Do you usually discard used ropes because of visible wear, reduced...

http://www.reporterherald.com/lifestyles/neighbors/ci_32061333/loveland-family-soaring-new-heights-study-earths-stratosphere Arne is an SSA member and member of Colorado Soaring Association.

I just found out that due to a short runway at Seminole a decision was made to restrict the weight of each glider to 1150 lb. Supposedly the decision was made after consultation with pilots, not sure with whom. I would love to know who thought that it was a great idea. This leaves gliders with...

I just got notice from SPOT Tracking that they are increasing fees again for my next annual renewal. A few years ago, they added a "network fee" of $9.99 to my bill. That is now going up to $14.99. It looks like for tracking service, yearly fees will go from around $162 to $199.99. So another...

The tail dolly tire is flat again. The last time this happened, it took me bloody forever to get the tire bead off the rim, and back on again, with bicycle tools. (The wheel is one piece and does not come apart.) Somebody else must have figured this out. Short of taking it to a tire store, who has...

Just wondering if L'Hotellier fittings wear? I can't seem to find what the tolerance is for the ball diameter. Just curious. I am aware of the min travel of the locking plate of 2mm. Thanks Casey

The Genesis-2 was designed to incorporate a Ballistic Recovery System. My ship and at least one other US Genesis-2 is flying with a BRS installed. I regularly monitor the NTSB accident reports for glider accidents and this month I see 3 Cirrus Design Group accidents. The Cirrus is a power aircraft,...

The original question stated a glider doing 100kts with/without 100kgs of ballast. Ignoring the stalling speed for the moment, Does anyone out there think the pull-up takes more than 4 or 5 seconds? Does anyone out there think that the sink rate of the unballasted glider at 100kts is more than...

I would like to see how many points the motorglider guys would end up scoring if their motor was rendered unavailable after launch. A friend of mine couldn't get his motor started one day, so he took an aero tow, and his flying was much different that day. It's just not the same when you know...

I am not a glider pilot, although I have been up with friends a few times in the past, but I know the basic instrumentation is pretty limited- and for good reason. However, would an AOA indicator increase the efficency of gliding enough at best L/D, min sink and other specific angles of attack...

I was going to buy a copy of SeeYou from a friend since he uses Strepla for his flight reviews. He contacted SeeYou, and they told him that the license was specific to him only. My understanding of the US Uniform Commercial Code does not allow for single user restraints down to a specific...

My top surface mylar seems to have lost some of it's curvature, because it doesn't quite touch the aileron and flaps when they are in positive positions. Does anyone know a way to put the curve back into the mylar without removing it? It's so well adhered and smoothly installed, I'd like to...

With all this discussion going on now, maybe someone with some knowledge or experience could enlighten us on the consequences of 10 or more sailplanes in a tight gaglge all squawking the same info. Will ATC see them all? Or will interference and/or filtering software at ATC make some or all of...

We successfully fly our sailplanes by keeping our options open, don't we? We keep an extra 300 feet in the pattern, just in case we hit a bunch of sink, don't we? On the ridge we keep our speed up and always have an escape route, don't we? Why then, do we continue to use a finish gate that reduces...

I am interested in getting a sailplane and wondering what are the various ways to launch. I am aware of the traditional methods. Example= Steep downhill runway? Maybe I had too much coffee this morning!! I live on Kauai and there are no Gliders on this Island at present. Alo9ha, Les

Does anyone know where I can purchase a 14 Volt gel cell battery. I know I can wire 2 or more in series to get 14Volt,(12 + 2 or 6 + 8 etc..) but I thought someone might know where you can purchase a single 14V battery. Thanks in advance.

All, I have been looking into having my glider refinished. Casual conversations with other pilots revealed that most think a "normal" refinishing job would cost about $10k. After speaking with Gaines in Georgia, I believe that is wildly optimistic. Gaines charges $60 per hour, and he says the...