Exadios

The fastest two place LSA would have to be the Rutan VariEze. We have two at our airstrip and they move like rockets! We are thinking of rigging one up as a tug :big_grin:. They are also , objectively, the best looking aircraft.

I practice slow flight (one or two knots above stall) every time I thermal. However, there is no requirement to do a HASLL. But the pilot should be competent in recovering from a spin - i.e. should have done about 30, or more, spin recoveries.

The (apparently) ultimate competition low pass finishes. http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/vbtube_show.php?do=tube&tubeid=421&name=ultimate-low-pass-glider-compilation-passages-planeur-best-caffa-frana-ois#watch

Avgas contains lead. I think Trangia is the best stove.

So, what do you think of auto tow? I have never tried it.

The 2011 Club and Sports Class Nationals will be held at Benalla from 10th-21st Jan 2011. Details of entry fees are still being finalised but all details will appear on the website at Gliding Club of Victoria - 2011 Club and Sports Class Nationals Entries should be available around the beginning of May.

I agree. This is a very shabby operation on the part of the glider. At our club we regularly tow gliders from the hangers down the runways (i.e. "backtrack"). I regularly have to wave these gliders off the runway. I cannot remember a situation when a got off the runway because they have seen an aircraft anywhere in the circuit. The reason is that it is quite difficult to see an aircraft from a motor vehicle. Most of the posts here do not address another possible situation. The aircraft on final could have been a glider. As most of you will know the go around possibilities for a glider are very limited! (This is why you will rarely see a glider practicing touch and goes.) When I tow gliders I carry a radio and make the standard calls ("Entering ...", "Backtracking ...", etc). The radio and calls serve to increase the situational awareness of myself and others. The fact of the matter is that the landing from final to touchdown, without any extra steps, is the landing that has the lowest probability of an accident. Any deviation from the "standard" landing increases the probability of an accident. This is a safety issue. I recently raised this issue with my club. Specifically I suggested that all vehicles towing gliders carry a radio. The club has hand held radios for this purpose. I got some support but not enough to prevail. I am going to bring this up again.

Narrogin Gliding Club is giving an Ab Initio course from Friday, 2010 / Apr / 02, to Tuesday, 2010 / Apr / 06, inclusive. These dates correspond to April of this year. See the page for details.

300Km is nothing ot sneeze at - especially on a difficult day. I doubt that there butts where sore - they would have been frozen solid!

Pilot crash-lands his plane.

And here's another one.

Las Malvinas son Argentinas.

Not exactly news, but news to me, the world distance record has been broken. Also at the Schleicher Website.

Not exactly news, but news to me, the world speed record broken.

The Gliding Queensland Easter Comp. pages are here.

Why aren't we flying these now days?

Will those who contribute be able to take the plane out for a spin from time to time?

A

Sky?s the limit for women gliders - Local News - News - General - Narromine News

They're going for the ASH 25 look.

Thanks for the clarification. But I do not think it changes my previous point. Essentially the gliders were backtracking on the runway and, just with a power plane, they can only enter the runway when there is no traffic landing or taking off. I think the NOTAMs assume that pilots and ground crew are going to do the right thing.

I'm my experience it is not possible to simultaneously launch 35 gliders with 3 tugs. So there should not have been 35 gliders on the strip. If it where a competition I image that many of the gliders where open class with water on. These need to take off from the center of the strip. With 3 tugs the worst case is 3 gliders on the strip at the same time. Standard class gliders usually do not need to be on the strip at all to take off. They can be launched from the side by the tug pulling them onto the strip. It is the ground crew's (and, ultimately, the CFI's) resposibility that there are no more gliders on the strip than necessary, and, in any event, no more than they can clear off the strip quickly.

I've never heard of "tug priority" before. I do not think it exists.

Our policy is to clear the gliders off the runway when we hear an aircraft enter the CTAF and announce that they intent to land. The situation is clear - you should not have been forced to use a cross wind strip. Also when we hear a new aircraft on the CTAF we make the announcement: "<call sign or 'Narrogin traffic'> this is Narrogin base, be advised that gliding operations are in progress and we are using runway <nn>". This allows the aircraft to declare their intentions if they need to. I think safty and courtesy require all gliding clubs to addopt these sort of policies.

A traditional circuit is one within gliding range of the strip. These other circuits you are fond of are a recent development. I do not know why you guys are taught to do a scenic tour before you land - but it is wrong. The idea of landing is to get onto the strip quickly and safely.