A good video on contest safety https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwWncyUfng Taken on a blue day when everybody sits in a gaggle until it's too late to get home. Some of the fixes seem a bit complex and strategic -- points for being the leader. Some seem pretty easy -- assigned start times. And...

There had been yet another fatality recently as a result of misinterpreting the open spoilers signal. True we all passed the written test and know that wiggeling the rudder means check spoilers and rocking the wings means release, yet so many students and experienced pilots alike continiue to...

Interesting subject needs new thread. It strikes me that a glider designed to soar in weak thermals is well off its design point when running fast in a wave XC or, for that matter, in strong thermal conditions. Ballast helps, of course, but the basic airframe aerodynamics are wrong for extreme...

Hi, This is amazing. http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2013/130110secret-no-fly-zone.html?WT.mc_id=130111epilot&WT.mc_sect=gan Paul Remde

I am about to make my first foray into the world of soaring software. I will, most likely, be using a Naviter Oudie Lite hooked up to a Cambridge 302. My focus will be cross country flight (versus contest flying) for the foreseeable future. I have read reviews and comments about both XCSoar and...

Odd circumstance: http://www.lagrangenews.com/news/home_top-news/3729615/Updated:-3-killed-in-plane-crash-at-LaGrange-Callaway-Airport JP

I know this is a silly question, but I was reading an article by Dick Johnson that talked about holding a slight slip while thermally. This article was written before winglets and I was wondering if the same idea applied to gliders with winglets. Also, as for slipping to lose altitude for landing...

What aircraft did you do your silver distance qualifying 50k flight in?

Hi Everyone! I'm looking for an A-14 regulator, or something similar, to prepare for higher altitude wave flights in the Sierra. Curious if anyone has an one laying around they might be willing to part with or lend for a season. Thanks! Keith

Okay guys, here's your new thread. Please... Del asks "how well will pilots react if they unexpectedly get into a spin or a spiral dive? Normally you gird your loins up first before doing a deliberate spin!" Answer: this depends on the pilot, of course. By the time you are gaggle flying,...

I have a datalogger, I have an IPAQ, and I have all the cabling etc. I have spent considerable time at Cumulus Soaring, reading the comparisons of glider software. What I lack is the experience to know what is important. I've played with the features of SeeYou Mobile, and frankly, most of the...

Hi, ever heared of winch launches up to 5200 ft (1590m)? in the forum of www.segelflug.de I read the following. It might be of interest for you (short form translation): During a glider acrobatic meeting in Fuerstenfeldbruck (Germany/Bavaria), pilots from Bavaria and Austria had the possibility...

Hi everyone, Perhaps some of you already know the soaring simulator Condor. With around 1000 members Condor is becoming a really nice community. Every evening many people fly against eachother in several different servers with challenging tasks from 100 to sometimes 300km. These tasks are not only...

Hi All, As I understand the racing rules for 2006, the SSA has decided to mandate ELT installation for all competitors. The ELT must be permanently mounted inside the glider. Personal ELTs will not suffice. This is all complicated by the FAA's decision to obsolete some existing ELT frequencies...

Dear All, I hear from my Italian friends at the Junior's WGCs that the famous soaring photographer Neil Lawson has died yesterday. He was standing on the roof of his car, to get better pictures of the finishing gliders. One of those gliders caught him. The pilot involved is a British team mate,...

For soaring, this is it. New racing class? Why fly fast when you can fly slower. What's a rush anyway? Race slower, cover less ground, easier retrieve. Stalls at 31.4 km/h http://www.revilo-france.fr/avgauchesthil2.jpg http://www.revilo-france.fr/3vues.jpg

Hi, I have noticed that most if not all modern gliders are built with a T-Tail (not sure about the term, I am talking about the elevator being located at the top of the tailfin). While most power-aircraft I know right up to the airliners have it at the bottom. What are the aerodynamic or...

This is an interesting piece of news from the helicopter industry: STRATFORD, Conn.,- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced an agreement to acquire Schweizer Aircraft Corp., a privately owned U.S. company specializing in the...

Check out the SSA website for the complete info on this petition, and consider commenting to the FAA (comments due by March 1, via web site, mail, fax, "eRulemaking portal"): SSA Transponder Petition Published By Dennis Wright Posted Thursday, February 19, 2004 The SSA petition asks that SSA...

Isn't there an FAR that says aviators will not fly below 500 feet, if over people, places or things, unless they are in the act of landing? This question was asked by a pilots wife/crew at a nationals. Her motorhome was located on a permanently closed runway about 500 feet from the active runway....