At 16:59 28 March 2018, Jim wrote:
On Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at 12:00:05 AM UTC-7, Richard McLean wrote:
I think "flare" and "round out" are exactly the same thing .. a change
in=
=20
attitude to enable a low-energy landing. Powered or glider makes no=20
difference. That's how it works here downunder anyway!
=20
At 23:49 27 March 2018, Nick Kennedy wrote:
I think the OP has got the terms wrong. I don't think you Flare a
glider
in=3D
to a landing. I think you roundout and then just hold it off until it
land=3D
s itself.
I think Flaring is something you do in a C-172. Or most power
airplane.
If
=3D
you try and flare a glider your likely to hit the tailboom hard and /
or
po=3D
und in. Tailboom first landings are the way the euro's try and land,
but
Fl=3D
aring? I don't think so.
Am I wrong?
I think any pilot going XC should be able to spot land his glider with
full=3D
Spoilers out and flaps too if you have them.
I don't know of any glider that can't be landed with everything
hanging
out=3D
to the max but I'm sure someone here will correct me on that point.
My
ASW=3D
20 was and my LS3a is, easy to land with everything out to the max.
It
is
=3D
good to practice this a couple of times a year in good conditions
thou.



This is mostly a matter of terminology I guess. For me, "flair" is
somethi=
ng I do in tricycle gear power aircraft to raise the aircraft's nose a
bit
=
to avoid having the nose wheel contact the ground on touch down. This is
n=
ot what I do in landing a glider. I "round-out" ( progressively
transition=
from final approach to the "hold-off" and let the glider land itself.
Whe=
n I have goofed this up (frequently) and raised the glider's nose too
high
=
("flair" in my lingo) the glider touched down tail wheel first. Hardly a
p=
roblem if the touchdown is gentle but I can't think of a reason to do it
-
=
if the approach airspeed is not too high.


"Flair" is either a natural aptitude for something or a synonym for
panache.

Flare is rounding out the end of something, think flared trousers or flared
tubing. In our case it refers to the transition from a (relatively) steep
approach path to a brief period of flight parallel to the landing surface.
Whether you land on the mainwheel or both wheels together is irrelevant, &
purely a matter of choice.

One reason for landing on both wheels is that it's virtually impossible to
bounce back into the air again.