On 5/7/2014 2:55 AM, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Wednesday, May 7, 2014 1:20:44 PM UTC+12, Bill D wrote:
I can assure you that the higher a glider's performance, the safer
it is. It's the old, low L/D gliders that can run out of altitude
before getting lined up with the runway.
I agree with you. I'm shaking my head every time I read this thread.

In a modern glass glider (such as the DG1000's I instruct in) with a
40 knot stall speed and being towed at 70 knots you should be able to
execute a safe 180º turn with*zero* loss of height.

The comparison isn't quite as simple as just looking at L/D. Turn
radius also has a lot to do with your chances of making it back to the
field, and turn radius is proportional to the SQUARE of airspeed.

Compare your example (40 knot stall) with a (horrors) 2-33. The highest
stall listed for a 2-33 is around 30 knots. If you do the math, you
will find that your DG1000 has nearly double the turn radius of the
slower glider.

Vaughn