Heavy pilot & lead in tail

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

I've heard of it being done
"Flyhighdave" wrote in message
...
Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.




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In the case of an ASW 24 My friend who weighs 230 lb is well over six feet
has a lead weight of six kilo's or 13.2 lb. installed in the fin.
Each glider has or at least should have provisions to install this type of
weight to make sure the glider flies within the required C of G.
Udo

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

Flyhighdave wrote:
Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

Stay within the aft CG limit ;-)

any weight added to the tail.. by means other than factory supplied ballast
weights.. should be noted in the forms.. and the min/max placarded weight
limits in the cockpit updated to reflect the change..

you have effectively changed the "empty" weight and CG of the glider.

BT

"Flyhighdave" wrote in message
...
Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

It's an accepted and widespread practice to put lead
in the tail to get the C of G where you want it. However,
be aware that although a glider with a heavy pilot
and tail ballast may well have the C of G in the same
place as one with a light pilot and no ballast, its
spinning behaviour may well be quite different due
to the greater rotational inertia. In general a glider
with a heavy pilot and tail ballast will have a greater
tendancy for the spin to flatten, and recovery may
be more difficult or at least slower.

Gliders with tail ballast, particularly if carried
fairly high up in the fin, are also more likely to
suffer damage in ground loops.

At 08:42 03 January 2004, Udo Rumpf wrote:

In the case of an ASW 24 My friend who weighs 230 lb
is well over six feet
has a lead weight of six kilo's or 13.2 lb. installed
in the fin.
Each glider has or at least should have provisions
to install this type of
weight to make sure the glider flies within the required
C of G.
Udo

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders
tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

The other thing to consider, beside the sensible advice
below is:-
Is the glider able to carry any more weight,over and
above that of the pilot.
Many earlier generation glass gliders Cirrus,Asw15.Libelle,Astir,
the max cockpit weight is limited by the max all up
weight, resulting in cockpit max weights of much less
than 110kg,
The addition of lead in the tail to adjust the C/G
would only result in reducing cockpit load even more





At 09:00 03 January 2004, Chris Rollings wrote:
It's an accepted and widespread practice to put lead
in the tail to get the C of G where you want it. However,
be aware that although a glider with a heavy pilot
and tail ballast may well have the C of G in the same
place as one with a light pilot and no ballast, its
spinning behaviour may well be quite different due
to the greater rotational inertia. In general a glider
with a heavy pilot and tail ballast will have a greater
tendancy for the spin to flatten, and recovery may
be more difficult or at least slower.

Gliders with tail ballast, particularly if carried
fairly high up in the fin, are also more likely to
suffer damage in ground loops.

At 08:42 03 January 2004, Udo Rumpf wrote:

In the case of an ASW 24 My friend who weighs 230 lb
is well over six feet
has a lead weight of six kilo's or 13.2 lb. installed
in the fin.
Each glider has or at least should have provisions
to install this type of
weight to make sure the glider flies within the required
C of G.
Udo

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders
tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the
weight
of a large pilot?
David R.

I flew a twin commander (small twin power plane) which was overly
forward C.G. The owner had removed two large 1960's radios from
the mid/tail. Our A&P simply installed weights in the tailcone.

Personally, I would have an A&P do this kind of installation
in a glider as well. I would also find others who have done so.
I know the Sparrowhawk seems to have three different metals
for interchangable tail stabilizer crossmembers. Perhaps
someone could fabricate some replacement tail part from a
heavier metal?

On 03 Jan 2004 01:27:06 GMT, (Flyhighdave) wrote:

Is it acceptable practice to put lead in a gliders tail to counter the weight
of a large pilot?

As all the other replies already said: This is common practice.

But make sure that you stay withing the "maximum weight for non
lift-creating parts" (sorry... I wish I had the English technical term
for that - this is the weight of anything but the wings).


Bye
Andreas