Wingtip to Runway light protector Concepts

Our club has taken out a few lights (vertical lights on short post) with the trainer 2-33, I always thought a longer wing wheel rod/bracket would have kept the wing above the lights, but not a solution for high performance.

Generally it is much easier to keep the fuselage from hitting light than the wings, so setting the wing tip above the lights would work.

OK, I'll Bite, WTF is a self leveling glider?

After our Grob's encounter with a runway light, we no longer condone attempting to roll off the runway in a club ship. Stop it on the runway, get out, and push it off. Not a 100% guarantee, but the collision speed will be much lower.

SF

Originally Posted by SF

OK, I'll Bite, WTF is a self leveling glider?

After our Grob's encounter with a runway light, we no longer condone attempting to roll off the runway in a club ship. Stop it on the runway, get out, and push it off. Not a 100% guarantee, but the collision speed will be much lower.

SF

The Stemme S10, although on uneven ground the wings rock up and down quite a bit

On Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 1:47:02 PM UTC-5, SF wrote:
OK, I'll Bite, WTF is a self leveling glider?

After our Grob's encounter with a runway light, we no longer condone attempting to roll off the runway in a club ship. Stop it on the runway, get out, and push it off. Not a 100% guarantee, but the collision speed will be much lower.

SF

Stemme has a 2 wheel(though narrow) landing gear.
Humor goes no where.
UH

I think the original poster of that description was referring to my
Stemme S10-VT
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vyx7bkqzjqfiipt/IMG_20160327_100018984.jpg?dl=0
which has conventional landing gear, i.e., two main gear and the tail
wheel. Sitting on three wheels, it's pretty level though the 75 foot
wings can rock up and down quite a bit in winds.

On 1/5/2017 11:47 AM, SF wrote:
OK, I'll Bite, WTF is a self leveling glider?

After our Grob's encounter with a runway light, we no longer condone attempting to roll off the runway in a club ship. Stop it on the runway, get out, and push it off. Not a 100% guarantee, but the collision speed will be much lower.

SF

--
Dan, 5J

Stemme gliders run in the $250,000 range, color me jealous.

Good Lift,
Scott

On Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 5:55:27 PM UTC-8, Scott Williams wrote:
Stemme gliders run in the $250,000 range, color me jealous.

Good Lift,
Scott

Scott,

Maybe 15 years ago . . . a new Stemme will be about $400,000 base price now, so add about 40K more for average equipped. Your jealous color will be well hidden beneath that mound of cash.

bumper
MKIV high tech yaw string and QV

Got it, I have one flight in a Stemme, Now that I think of it, it was sorta self leveling. Wouldn't be the first description of it that would come to mind though.

While we are at it Don't forget the Caproni's two side by side main wheels. I have one flight in that one. I remember thinking that the Caproni may be the only glider I know of that an experienced pilot couldn't land safely without several instructional flights first. And, the only glider I know that the vario is the only indicator you have for detecting 5 Kt. thermals. The Caproni didn't see to offer any clues via the seat of the pants at all when we ran through one.

Neither of those flights left me with a burning desire to go out and buy either one. I prefer smaller and lighter.

SF

After about 600 hours in a Caproni 21S, I don't know what you are talking about...

Seriously, retractable pogo sticks are not such a bad idea...

After a few contest crashes in the early 2000s involving full water, cross-downwind, high heat, high altitude takeoffs, and ineffective wing-runs it occurred to a number of pilots that the concept "run the wingtip" started in KA6s, and sooner or later there is a limit. There was a lot of discussion about ATVs, roller blades, launch devices, but perhaps that was over beers on rest days. In any case it didn't go anywhere.

Retractable pogo sticks or wing wheels would pretty much eliminate wing drop on takeoff crashes, ground loops, etc. And on landing too.

John Cochrane