From: "Arnold Pieper"
Date: 3/31/2004 1:16 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id: m

Maybe true if "near vertical", however, staying at a near vertical dive is
something that requires a conscient effort.
The glider won't just stay there on its own.
To remain in a 90 degree vertical dive requires a significant amount of
forward stick force and concentration.
As speed increases, the nose will come up (away from vertical) even if you
don't want it to, and even with full forward trim, it would still require an
honest push on the stick to maintain that attitude.

Not true with all gliders. Several modern racing ships will, when trimmed
within CG limits for best climb performance, "tuck" or pitch down with
increasing airspeed, resulting in a large outside loop or exceeding VNE without
pilot input. The crossover speed for this in my own ship is about 115 kts,
above which slight back pressure is needed to maintain speed.

-
Mark Navarre
2/5 black ace
LoCal, USA
-