Making a Glider Easier to See in the Air

I live in a fairly busy area, airplane wise. Just last weekend I
spotted a single engine plane coming more or less straight at me at my
altitude. I quickly banked to 1) get out of the way and 2) be more
visible to the approaching airplane. I didn't notice any reaction so I
don't know if he saw me or not.

Face it, airplanes are difficult to see in the best of times and a
glider is generally white which makes it more problematic. I have
been told that is why European gliders have red wing tips.

This brings up a possible idea. No, not anti-collision lights. How
about reflective tape. Radio Control glider pilots use a hologram like
tape called Sky Sheen to help them spot their ships from the ground. I
was at a RC glider field last summer and saw it in action. I found a
source (but no picture) at;

http://www.newcreations-rc.com/Produ...lection=search

The question is, might this work for us? Is there a worry about
damaging the wing surface? Spoiling the aerodynamics? Others?

This is a question we debated at great length when I was flying with
the Skyline Soaring Club in Front Royal, VA. It was clear to all of us
that having a reflective panel to bounce the sun back at other planes
would make us stand out further away. My addition to the conversation
was that I can remember seeing dugout canoes miles away when I lived on
an African river, and the first thing I would see (they sat very low in
the river) was the sun glinting off their wet wooden paddles. (The
wetness was the reflective part.)

As far as seeing red wing tips, I now fly tow planes or gliders about
29 days a month, and I've never noticed another glider because of it's
wing tip paint -- red, orange or whatever. Usually the first thing I
see is the top of a wing of a circling gider, and for reasons of
avoidance you probably don't want to be showing the top of your wing to
another A/C coming your way in a hurry -- you want to be showing them
your tail! (Joke -- but you certainly want to be getting out of their
way, though).

Since we fly in day VFR conditions, reflective tape seems like
something we should look further into. At Skyline we came up with a
reflective material that is used to make fishing lures, but I don't
think anyone ever stuck it to a wing for fear it would damage the
finish. This reflective tape sounds better than the fishing lure
material, but the same question about damaging gel coat still applies.

Please let us know if you try this, and if so, what you think about it.
This is an important issue and I look forward to more traffic on it.
Fred

I fly gliders and R/C gliders. I have used this hologram tape on
several models and I can tell you that a 10" wing chord almost
disappears at 2000 feet altitude. With the tape, I can see the model to
locate it much easier, but no better to control it. In flying the real
sailplanes, location is what we need. It's paramount that others see
us, as we are in close proximity with each other in haze and froghair
at cloudbase. It's even more important at the closing speeds we can
achieve if flying head-on at high speeds. I would not install this on
my leading edges as I do on my models, but a 2" strip centered from the
nose to the canopy would probably be visible for at least 1/2 mile.
I'll be checking this out a bit better when I receive mine. I'll report
back when I know if it's effective. One caveat, I fly in West Texas
where we can see a pretty good distance, anyway.

Jack Womack

"At Skyline we came up with a reflective material that is used to make
fishing lures, but I don't
think anyone ever stuck it to a wing for fear it would damage the
finish. "

What about making a reflective finish?



"Fred" wrote in message
oups.com...
This is a question we debated at great length when I was flying with
the Skyline Soaring Club in Front Royal, VA. It was clear to all of us
that having a reflective panel to bounce the sun back at other planes
would make us stand out further away. My addition to the conversation
was that I can remember seeing dugout canoes miles away when I lived on
an African river, and the first thing I would see (they sat very low in
the river) was the sun glinting off their wet wooden paddles. (The
wetness was the reflective part.)

As far as seeing red wing tips, I now fly tow planes or gliders about
29 days a month, and I've never noticed another glider because of it's
wing tip paint -- red, orange or whatever. Usually the first thing I
see is the top of a wing of a circling gider, and for reasons of
avoidance you probably don't want to be showing the top of your wing to
another A/C coming your way in a hurry -- you want to be showing them
your tail! (Joke -- but you certainly want to be getting out of their
way, though).

Since we fly in day VFR conditions, reflective tape seems like
something we should look further into. At Skyline we came up with a
reflective material that is used to make fishing lures, but I don't
think anyone ever stuck it to a wing for fear it would damage the
finish. This reflective tape sounds better than the fishing lure
material, but the same question about damaging gel coat still applies.

Please let us know if you try this, and if so, what you think about it.
This is an important issue and I look forward to more traffic on it.
Fred

I wonder if a canopy could have a tinted reflective film applied like a
window. It might be more scratch resistant, keep things cooler, and
hopefully be replaceable.
Rich

Wasn't there an article in "Sailplane and Gliding" about the
visibility of high contrast and reflective paints a couple of years
ago? I give away old issues so don't currently have it. Anyone have
that article?
....The assumption here is that the power pilot is using that window
thing in front. I used to be in a club at an airport with a VOR on it.
We NEVER assumed that the pilot of a cruising aircraft was looking at
anything other than the instrument panel.
Jim

rich wrote:

I wonder if a canopy could have a tinted reflective film applied like a
window. It might be more scratch resistant, keep things cooler, and
hopefully be replaceable.

That sounds rather dangerous to me, as it makes it impossible to see inside
the canopy from the outside. When I am thermalling and get another glider
close by, I *allways* try to make visual contact with the pilot of the
other glider, so I am *sure* he has seen me. I see the other pilot looking
in my direction and preferably giving me a short wave, I know he is aware
of my location.

Something silimar is the reason why dark tinted or reflective windows are
illegal in cars around here (the Netherlands): pedestrians and cyclists
have no way of knowing if the driver has seen them.

André

There was a 304 on the wings and wheels want-ads a few months ago with
reflective markings on it. As I remember, the owner had a web site
explaining the setup.

You might want to take a look.

dave r.


"ContestID67" wrote in message
ups.com...
I live in a fairly busy area, airplane wise. Just last weekend I
spotted a single engine plane coming more or less straight at me at my
altitude. I quickly banked to 1) get out of the way and 2) be more
visible to the approaching airplane. I didn't notice any reaction so I
don't know if he saw me or not.

Face it, airplanes are difficult to see in the best of times and a
glider is generally white which makes it more problematic. I have
been told that is why European gliders have red wing tips.

This brings up a possible idea. No, not anti-collision lights. How
about reflective tape. Radio Control glider pilots use a hologram like
tape called Sky Sheen to help them spot their ships from the ground. I
was at a RC glider field last summer and saw it in action. I found a
source (but no picture) at;

http://www.newcreations-rc.com/Produ...lection=search

The question is, might this work for us? Is there a worry about
damaging the wing surface? Spoiling the aerodynamics? Others?

The question is, might this work for us? Is there a worry about
damaging the wing surface? Spoiling the aerodynamics? Others?

From my understanding the difference in colour or color if you live in the
USA.

Is temperature difference and this is why the markings should be at a
outboard point of the wing so as structural integrity is maintained.

http://www.mals.net/lksc05/pages/DSC00129.htm

----- Original Message -----
From: "ContestID67"
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 11:11 PM
Subject: Making a Glider Easier to See in the Air



Face it, airplanes are difficult to see in the best of times and a
glider is generally white which makes it more problematic. I have
been told that is why European gliders have red wing tips.


The current thinking is that red wing tips break up the outline of the
glider and really don't stand out, especially when seen against the ground.
That's been my experience as well.

Most newish gliders and those with recent paint jobs, certainly in the UK,
are all white.

Stephen