On Sep 16, 8:46*am, Nick S wrote:
Ok, so this has sparked a curiosity for me. Who has a list of WAGs
(Mental math calculations) that can be used in the cockpit for glide
distances with wind and such? Is there a resource right now listing
them? Obviously I know it depends on glider performance, but what are
some starting points?

-Nick S

I like to keep a simplified whiz wheel in my cockpit in case of gadget
failure (I have flown cross country with them). You can construct one
with great ease by getting your favorite computer graphing program
(such as Excel) to print a chart with logarithmic scales. Make one
with suitable distance numbers (e.g. 2-60 for miles or 3-120 for km)
and another with corresponding alititudes (e.g. 200-6000 feet or
100-4000m).
The trick is to get the scales the same length and to get the ratio
between
the low and high numbers the same. Cut them out and paste them to
some lightweight cardboard (a manila folder works great) and hold them
together with a paper clip. Scribble some notes as to what your
best speed and resulting glide ratios at various MC settings on the
contraption and you're all set. If you want to get fancy you can
paste
the distance ruler from your chart onto the thing and use it as a
chart
ruler.

-- Matt