Thanks Bob,
added now to my re-read these on Saturday notes.

I will point out I cut my teeth on Grob 103 acro II B's and quite
happily in 25 knot winds pulled full airbrake and stood it on its nose
in near vertical approaches over the threshold, so steep approach angles
= no worries. I do also have a 1000 + glider hours but have never sat in
let alone flown a flaps only sailplane so really can't wait. The one
thing I love about this group is if you ask for advice people like
yourself and the other two chaps are good enough to write intelligent
replies.

Phil.




Bob Whelan wrote:
Jack wrote:
Hi Phil,

The PIK has it's own characteristics, though none that need to be
feared. I'll start with takeoff. It's a taildragger and will need to be
lined up carefully before hooking the rope on. For the first 100 feet
or more, it's going where it's initially pointed, especially with the
CG hook. Begin with full -8 cruise flap, and roll the flap handle back
to +8 thermalling position as you have aileron authority. By the time
this is all the way back you're flying. Complete the tow as you
normally would. I like to tow dry at 65 to 75 knots. On your first
flight, I recommend a high tow, to 4000 AGL. Do 3 mock patterns, and
the last one that counts. Make sure to go all the way to +90 degrees on
the flaps and keep the airspeed at 60 kts. You will seem to be standing
on the rudder pedals, but that will become second nature. You are
really NOT pointed straight down. As you turn final for the last time,
you will have a better view of the airport than you ever thought
possible. Don't let the flaps spook you. They're a piece of cake. You
will find flair to be accomplished by easing off forward pressure on
the stick. I keep full flap until I actually touch down, and then wind
them off very quickly all the way to -8. Again pay attention to your
direction because once the tail comes down, it's a bit difficult to
steer with the rudder. Most of all, don't be afraid to add more flap
and forward pressure on the stick on approach. Maintaining airspeed
allows you to adjust your approach and touchdown point very accurately
with practice and a positive attitude.

Congratulations on the new ship.

Jack Womack
PIK-20B N77MA (TE)

USER WARNING!!! The following additional input is offered by someone
whose entire high-performance glider time is in
landing-flaps-only-equipped sailplanes, NONE of which were PIK-20's.
However, one of the ships (Concept 70 - to which I transitioned from a
1-26) had PIK-like actuation, i.e. hand crank, driving flaps through a
rack and pinion.

"What Jack said,"...plus some mild elaboration on his statement, "Most
of all, don't be afraid to add more flap and forward pressure on the
stick on approach." A common - and potentially problematic - issue for
people new to flaps is an unwillingness to use them fully if need be.
Though I may be wrong, I thought I sensed a nod in that direction in the
original post's statement: "I'm guessing 30 to 45 degrees of flap on the
approach is going to be like spoilers." In any event, my general
recommendation is to fly your landing approach using flaps just as if
they ARE spoilers, i.e. add more to increase descent rate (and less to
decrease it), hold the approach speed you want, and don't sweat deck
angle (which necessarily varies with flap angle and WILL be amazingly
steep if all your prior experience has been in spoilered ships).

Two things I definitely recommend NOT doing: 1)don't fly a shallow
approach hoping to avoid use of full flaps; and 2) don't "add speed for
safety."

In angular terms, at worst you should fly a normal approach, though IMHO
a higher-than-normal approach is actually easier/safer to fly in a
PIK-20 (thanks to its powerful flaps). It's also easier for the
beginner to fly an approach that only adds (not takes off) flaps.
Throughout the approach, fly your previously-picked approach speed
regardless of flap angle; your deck angle falls out in the wash.

WRT 1), shallow approaches are bad in any ship for all the obvious
reasons. WRT 2), flaps reward proper speed control, and actively
penalize poor/high final approach speeds once the roundout/flare has
been performed. From the pilot's perspective, they quit working if
you're 'too fast' after flaring. In roughly 3 decades of observing lots
of pilots fly their initial flaps-only glider flights, I've seen none
come in short, and more than I'd like to have seen come in
shallow/fast/worrisomely-long.

You're also less likely to 'worrisomely balloon' when flaring with more
(as opposed to less) flaps. Regardless, if you do balloon, my
recommendation is to simply stop adding aft stick, hold what you've then
got in (stick and flaps), and wait. Try to avoid stick pumping (good
PIO avoidance therapy). Don't worry about 'dropping it in' (your
balloon will NOT be as high as you fear it is, and, by the presence of
the balloon itself, clearly you still have flying speed).

One non-flap-specific 'new ship' bit of advice...as for flare point -
pick something safely conservative (say, 25% of the way along your
available landing area), and don't get tense or stupid if you miss it
'by an embarrassing distance' either way. Landing accuracy comes with
experience, which by definition you don't have on any first flight.

Most of all...HAVE FUN!!! All gliders are fun; flapped gliders are even
more fun than you presently suspect!

Regards,
Bob W.