Hi... and some questions from a beginner

On Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 1:34:18 AM UTC-4, Johnny T wrote:

I am a little uneasy about the transition from the K-21 back to the 2-33. I mean, I do hold some sentimental value with the 2-33, but I kinda want to move on.

Some insurance underwriters quantify in dollars the risk of transitioning from a low performance to high performance glider and vice-versa (from a high performance to low performance). Gliders are classified high/low by the glide ratio (above/below 35 or so).

If for example, you have all of your flights in a low performance club glider, and then you want to buy and insure a high performance glider, you will pay an increased premium until you have logged a certain number of hours in high performance gliders.

But the curious thing is that transitioning from high to low, you may pay an extra premium until you log enough hours in the low performance glider.

While the premium differential was symmetrical (for dollar of insured value_ when I got my insurance quote, some of the risks are different. For example, when transitioning from low to high, you might land long. Whereas transitioning from high to low, you might land short.

Neither one of these transitions is especially difficult as long as you obtain a CFI briefing on the plane and take the time to adapt.

On Friday, May 22, 2015 at 1:50:15 AM UTC+3, son_of_flubber wrote:
While the premium differential was symmetrical (for dollar of insured value_ when I got my insurance quote, some of the risks are different. For example, when transitioning from low to high, you might land long. Whereas transitioning from high to low, you might land short.

That really shouldn't happen! Not make it back to the field at all, perhaps, but land short on finals? How?

We don't teach or think about the actual angle when flying ("that looks about right") but I'd guess that most zero wind approaches in a glider would be around an 8:1 - 10:1 glide angle. I don't know of any training glider with a worse performance than that with airbrakes closed, and every high performance glider ever certified can come down steeper than that with full airbrakes.

On Sunday, May 24, 2015 at 7:02:23 AM UTC-4, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Friday, May 22, 2015 at 1:50:15 AM UTC+3, son_of_flubber wrote:
Whereas transitioning from high to low, you might land short.

That really shouldn't happen! Not make it back to the field at all, perhaps, but land short on finals? How?

Last year a friend, an extremely experienced pilot (in both high and low performance gliders) who flies a Ventus or the tow plane most of the time, went up in a 2-33 with a friend in the front seat. Strong headwind on landing.. Landed short in a brush cut 'safety zone'. The SGS 2-33 is infamous for poor penetration.

I agree that fundamental piloting errors should not happen. Many of the people that make them are not idiots and their experience does not inoculate them.