"Todd Pattist" wrote in message
...
ISoar wrote:

I guess I should have made it clear that my need to know how to do
this was for the simulated case where the airbrakes are frozen shut.

I knew that - it's the reason most instructors in the U.S.
give for this exercise. Those outside the U.S. may not be
familiar with the Schweizer dive brakes that lie flat
against the wing surface, are hinged along one edge and tilt
away from the wing into the airflow when actuated. The
brakes sit in a small flat pocket on the wing surface that
can collect moisture, which then freezes while aloft. The
large plate-to-plate surface area between the brakes and the
cavity they sit in allows the frozen water to get a good
grip and prevent them from opening.
Todd Pattist - "WH" Ventus C
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)

On a metal glider, there is no reason that the spoilers can't be painted
black so the sun will heat them enough to unstick the ice. Anybody got a
story where a pilot was forced to land sans spoilers due to ice?

Bill Daniels