Dan G wrote:
SNIP
However I still have a question: do you dive and then return to normal
approach speed before rounding out, or round out at the much faster
speed? If the latter, does not the extra float in ground effect negate
the losses from extra drag in the dive, especially with a slippery
glass ship versus a draggy wood and fabric glider (such as one a pilot
might train in)?
SNIP


I had this demonstrated to me by a very experienced instructor in a K13.
He had me fly a deliberately high and close in circuit until it was
clear that we'd be a long way up the field, even with full airbrake.
Then he took over and performed the 'energy dumping' manoeuvre, which
involved opening full brake and pointing the nose at the ground.

It all happened rather fast and was not unalarming, so my recollections
are not exact. However, I'm fairly sure the speed never exceeded 80kts.
Certainly the ground approached very rapidly. One moment we were in a
gross overshoot situation and the next moment I was concerned that we
might impact the ground before reaching the boundary wall. We came out
of the dive, popped over wall and settled on to the ground for one of
the shortest landings I've seen. I remember being surprised at how
quickly we lost the excess speed. Pulling out of a near-vertical dive
(at least that's what it felt like) with full airbrakes seems to scrub a
lot of energy very quickly.

I asked the instructor whether this would work in something more
slippery. He answered that it would, but of course it wouldn't be so
effective as in the K13. He even told that he had successfully
demonstrated it in a Duo, though I don't have any quantitative or
qualitative information to say how effective it was.

I was also taught this technique on a basic instructors course (in a
G103). But I'm always left thinking that it requires a high level of
skill to judge the roundout correctly. Leaving it just a second too
late would result in a rather rapid meeting with the ground. I think
I'd rather take my chances with a side slip.

Alastair