On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 1:00:51 AM UTC+3, Tango Eight wrote:
On Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 4:29:42 PM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sat, 25 Feb 2017 13:03:59 -0800, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:

Do you crab or forward slip landing in x-winds and why? When I was
taught how to fly an airplane the crab method was used when I
transitioned to gliders my instructor emphasized forward slip over crab.
Years later I have established my procedures, but I thought this might
be a useful discussion for newer pilots.

Standard UK training, at least when I learnt and I haven't heard any
different from our instructors since, is to crab with wings level on
approach and kick the glider straight just before touchdown. Another
point is that we are taught to do fully held-off landings regardless of
the size and surface of the club field on the grounds that its the only
sensible way to land out, so we should be able to do it well. I think the
two are related because this keeps the wings level while speed bleeds off
and its fairly easy to kick the glider straight as it settles. If you
also manage a neat two-pointer you can award yourself brownie points as
well as knowing that this will help to keep the glider running straight
despite any cross-wind.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

What two seater is being used to teach fully held off landings?

I doubt people are doing *fully* held off landings i.e. with the glider actually stalling on. More likely it's "held off until the glider is in the same attitude it will have on the ground .. or a tiny bit more" and then allowed to settle in that attitude. As it slows, lift at that AoA becomes insufficient to support the glider, but there is never aerodynamic stall. Maximum AoA / CL is not reached. Once you touch the ground AoA can not be increased, so lift can't be, so you can't start flying again (absent a massive headwind gust) and the *objectives* of a "fully held off" landing are acheived..

Even nose-draggers like the ASK21 have a tail wheel and are landed main-and-tail or slightly tail first.

The only exception I know is the PW5. I've never seen anyone land a PW5 tail first. We had an informal challenge to do it when we first got ours. No one managed it.