Canopy free soaring

On Thursday, November 8, 2018 at 9:18:28 AM UTC-8, Steve Leonard wrote:
One of my favorites.

https://b2streamlines.com/FFADiamant...Diamant_19.pdf

Scroll down to page 3.

Steve Leonard

When Dan flew the Diamant open cockpit, believe he came up with the idea to give turn signals before rolling into a thermal, as you'd do on a bike.
Jim

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 6:39:59 PM UTC-6, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

I fly a restored 1967 Schleicher ASK-13 "Cabriolet" sailplane at Marfa, Texas, that has an additional "open" cockpit canopy fabricated from Schleicher Tech Note drawings. Perhaps you have seen photos of this sailplane at "Burton Compton" on Facebook.

On tow at 65 mph there is much wind and noise especially in the rear cockpit. Leather helmets and secured sunglasses or goggles are mandatory. The disturbed flow over the elevator and rudder make flying the tow a bit clumsy but not dangerous. After release and slowing to 50 mph the rudder and elevator responses are good however the disturbed air on the venturi aft of the open cockpit causes erratic indications in the variometer. Averaging out the indications on the vario and flying by listening and letting the sailplane "talk" to me, climbs in thermals to over 11,000' msl during my "Oktoberfest" Vintage and Classic Sailplane Camp at Marfa were typical. With the normal enclosed canopy the vario works well and wind chill, even in summer, is eliminated.

At the 2016 International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) on Harris Hill near Elmira, NY, I flew my ASK-13 with the open cockpit unit installed for several minutes alongside Tony Condon's Cherokee and matched his 23/1 glide ratio. Therefore I took a beautifully restored ASK-13 and purposely degraded its performance just for the fun of open-cockpit flying. I sense no perceivable difference in stalling and landing.

Hollering "Which way to Ireland" (stuttering like Jimmy Stewart as Lindbergh in the movie "The Spirit Of St. Louis") at folks on the ground is amusing.. Slicing a streamer of toilet paper at altitude is easier as you can reach up and grab a bit of it. (Please remember to set a "hard deck" altitude and avoid target fixation.)

Flights with me including all glider rating checkrides and flight reviews are available in my ASK-13 at Marfa, year-round near the Davis Mountains of southwest Texas. Bring a helmet, scarf, goggles and your sense of humor.

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 4:39:59 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

Why wait until next Summer?
The open cockpit regatta is held every New Year's Day in Tehachapi.
Jim

JS wrote on 11/7/2018 9:31 PM:
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 4:39:59 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

Why wait until next Summer?
The open cockpit regatta is held every New Year's Day in Tehachapi.

I'm told you haven't really flown in an "open cockpit" until you do it from a
winch tow off a frozen lake. The closest I've come to an open cockpit was racing
open wheel Formula Vee cars, and I learned you really want to have that small wind
screen deflector in front of you, otherwise the force of the wind on your head can
make your neck very tired, very quickly.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

On Thu, 08 Nov 2018 15:00:54 -0800, Eric Greenwell wrote:

JS wrote on 11/7/2018 9:31 PM:
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 4:39:59 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber
wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go
soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

Why wait until next Summer?
The open cockpit regatta is held every New Year's Day in Tehachapi.

I'm told you haven't really flown in an "open cockpit" until you do it
from a winch tow off a frozen lake. The closest I've come to an open
cockpit was racing open wheel Formula Vee cars, and I learned you really
want to have that small wind screen deflector in front of you, otherwise
the force of the wind on your head can make your neck very tired, very
quickly.

I don't know about the frozen lake, but I've enjoyed winch launching in
my club's Slingsby T.21 - not only open cockpit but side-by-side seating
as well. Very pleasant flying on a summer day. During the longest day the
T.21 is first to be launched and last to fly because its not bothered by
canopy misting.

The T.21's airbrakes are about as ineffective as those on a 2.33 and its
performance is similar, but its cockpit ergonomics are better and the
instructor's vis and comfort are better because he's sat alongside the
student. But the design is 20 years older and all in wood and canvas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNSfkKK3O8k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingsby_T.21

I've not done the following, but clubmates who have tell me that its slow
enough to fly a circuit without turning at all on a windy day - winch
launch as normal, slow down to min sink so you're blown backward just
past the runway threshold, then put the nose down, speed up and fly
finals as normal.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

My first training flights were in a Slingsby T21B many decades ago. It still seems weird being in an open cockpit with a full panel of gyro instruments!

Mike

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 7:39:59 PM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

What type of glider?
UH

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 4:39:59 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.

EXP airworthiness does not mean you get to change things that influence flight handling or W&B without "recertifying" the machine in the new configuration.

Yanking the lid off will certainly change the aerodynamics, unless it is one of the SGS series that allows pilot choice with various factory equipment.

But that only matters if you want to be able to have your estate collect the hull value from insurance after you become a test pilot.

I'm figuring you just wanted to yank chains, since daylight ends earlier all of a sudden this week.

Cindy

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 4:39:59 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
....
Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.


On Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 2:02:55 AM UTC-5, CindyB wrote:
EXP airworthiness does not mean you get to change things that influence flight handling or W&B without "recertifying" the machine in the new configuration....

For a glider that is certificated in EASA (EXP airworthiness in the USA), a glider that has a canopy designed to jettison with the intentional or unintentional release of two levers, and where there is a history of glider canopies inadvertently jettisoning in flight... I'd expect that 'lose of canopy' would have been anticipated by the designers and regulators, and maybe even tested in flight prior to certification. Maybe not.

Does JAR-22/CS-22 require a glider to fly 'just fine' without a canopy? (Even if it does, I understand that there may be regulations that prohibit flying that without a canopy with prior intent. Any guesses at what regulations might apply?) I've heard stories about passengers jettisoning canopies in flight, pilots that have accidentally jettisoned canopies in flight, and I've been told that a glider will fly 'just fine' with an unlatched canopy that is flapping in the breeze, and that might progress to total 'self-detachment'.

you just wanted to yank chains

I thought it might be fun to discuss the possibilities of flying without a canopy. So far, so good. Let's keep it light and enjoyable.

On 11/7/18 5:39 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:
Dreaming about next summer...

Other than drag, is there any reason to not remove my canopy and go soaring? Experimental airworthiness.


Can be done. Here's a guy who flew a supersonic fighter, with throttles
accidentally locked in afterburner, no jet time, and no canopy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4d7VKvG1z0