So many folks seem to be afraid of the rudder.Â* It's just another flight
control and, properly used as Tom says, can make the difference.Â* I use
lots of rudder routinely in the Stemme to get the nose down after a
sharp pull up in a thermal.Â* There's a lot of momentum in the Stemme due
to its weight at speed and it takes a steep pull to center a thermal
quickly.Â* Hard left rudder (since I'm on that side of the aircraft) gets
the nose slicing down towards the horizon.Â* Remove most of the rudder
and apply back stick to recover at or slightly below the horizon.

And BTW, I'll argue that there's no such thing as "stall speed", it's
always about angle of attack.Â* Unloading the aircraft reduces AoA,
keeping it below the critical angle.

On 7/22/2020 10:45 PM, 5Z wrote:
On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 9:09:19 PM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
6PK wrote on 7/22/2020 3:29 PM:
"Hammering the rudder" is absurd and is asking for an inadvertent
spin which BTW I'm sure the cause many of lives lost near terrain.

My understanding is the advice applied to a glider that is flying
- not stalled - but not fast enough to generate roll greater than
the excess lift under one wing.
Full rudder would help the other wing develop more lift.
Not just rudder, but push forward on the stick as well. Stall speed decreases as G load decreases. When attempting to thermal and maneuver near the rocks, I always make sure that I can dive out of trouble - NEVER PULL! So if the glider starts getting squirrely or tossed around, I push, bank, and rudder to get away from the rocks. If full aileron and staying coordinated isn't enough, then slamming the rudder to help the roll works nicely. The glider shouldn't stall as I approach zero G, but if it does, the incipient spin and recovery is still helping me get away from the rocks.

Just as with aerobatics and other advanced maneuvers, don't do this without proper training and/or practice in a safe environment. And if you plan to use a tool such as this, make sure you've been practicing, so it's second nature. Diving at the ground and obstacles is something that has to be learned and counterintuitive for the novice.

In the flatlands east of the Colorado Front Range, I've experienced a downburst several times, and generally at 1000-1500' AGL near the airport. The glider starts to feel like it's falling and airspeed is dropping. I push the nose forward and even when in what seems like a 45 degree dive, I'm still barely above stall speed. The ground is coming up fast, but I don't dare to pull back. Eventually, airspeed builds, and I end up levelling off at less than 100' and 90-110 KIAS or more. Luckily this has only happened either directly over the runway, or on downwind, and I had enough energy to make a safe landing. But I was prepared to make a controlled crash in the direction I was headed. A similar technique applies when working a thermal below the ridge crest.

5Z

--
Dan, 5J