"Chris OCallaghan" wrote in message
om...
I'd always assumed there were two factors in choosing a pattern speed.
First, safety, thus the +5 for turbulence. The other was to place the
glider at best speed to fly. That way if you have to put the spoilers
away, you are guaranteed to cover the maximum distance. If I recall,
the simple formula for best speed was best l/d speed plus 1/2 the
headwind. Don't recall the second ever being explained though. Just
seemed to fit.

up to plus 15 knots is currently being taught around here

gust fronts and micro bursts make 30-50knot gusts relatively common during
summer afternoons here if there's over-development

two years ago we had a member landout in 70+mph cold front winds roaring in
from the north. in some places along the front the winds exceeded 90mph.
the pilot got about 8 miles in 7000ft to a landing about 4 miles south of
the gliderport. he stayed in the glider, flying it on the ground until
someone walked out and phoned for help.

at the time I was playing father/son softball with my boy scout troop about
30 miles southeast of the landout location. large chunks of trees started
flying by almost immediately as the winds hit

we knew the front was coming, but no clue of the strong conditions. we
usually expect some dust, but this was very different

frank whiteley
colorado