Gliders Photos
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fubar57
General
Great shots
- Thread starter
- #283
Glider
Captain
Bullfinch
Nuthatch
An aggressive little beggar. While he was on the bird table no other bird messed with him
Nuthatch
An aggressive little beggar. While he was on the bird table no other bird messed with him
Good shots!
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Love the giraffes, such gentle creatures (normally). 
- Thread starter
- #287
Glider
Captain
I went to the local gliding club today and they let me take a few photo's
The club tow plane which wasn't used while I was there
Getting into position
Launch
The club tow plane which wasn't used while I was there
Getting into position
Launch
- Thread starter
- #288
Glider
Captain
Just to continue
Climbing
Cable release
Landing
Climbing
Cable release
Landing
Never got to fly a winch launch. That and a seaplane rating are the only things I regret not doing back in the day.
- Thread starter
- #291
Glider
Captain
There fun. 0 to 60 in approx. 2.5 seconds whilst bouncing on a grass field and balancing on one wheel. Standing start to about 2,000ft in around 30 seconds.
Lovely shots!
How long is your launch field? As a kid I rode through a couple winch rides in the hellhole of a Schweizer TG2 (SGS 2-8), and on a 5,000 ft strip, the best we could do was 1200 ft altitude on the CG hook and 1000 ft on the nose hook. The ship was a lightweight "floater" limited to 72 MPH on tow, and it sure felt like a cat shot at the start. MGTOW 850 pounds with two aboard.
- Thread starter
- #294
Glider
Captain
Clearly it depended on the field, conditions and the Glider you are using. Most of my training was on a Capstan before moving to a K13 / K21. Solo in a Pirat before moving on to the K23 and Discus. 60 knots would be the normal winch speed, any less 55 knots and we would indicate that the winch operator would need to speed up
At Culdrose we had the full length main runway and the same at Daedalus. At the Midland Club the cable was over a mile long which was interesting as it wasn't a runway or even a strip in the normal sense. Generally speaking less than 1,600 ft would be considered a little disappointing, again depending on the conditions.
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Great pics. 
There's a bunch of names I've never heard of. About the only British glider I'm familiar with is Slingsby Skylark, and then only by sight. My variety of experience is pretty limited. (1-26, 2-32 & 2-33 Schweizers, KA6 & ASK21 Schleikers, IS28B Lark, and Grob 103.
- Thread starter
- #297
Glider
Captain
Some of them are the same. The ASK21 is what we call the K21 and the Grob 103 we know as the Twin Astir. Our club did have a Twin Astir but I didn't like and tried to avoid it if possible. It could have been just ours but I found it very heavy on the controls if you tried to thermal.
The Schweizers are very few and far between in the UK, I cannot remember seeing one.
Back in my day they were the backbone of American glider training.
Ours were both very light, almost "twitchy" in pitch, but rather heavy in roll, with a very light and powerful rudder, which meant keeping the string straight was definitely an acquired skill. I found it much easier to transition Schweizer 2-33 trained pilots into the ASK21 than the Grob.
The one I really enjoyed was the Lark. As an unreconstructed power pilot and a Johnny-come-lately to gliders, I felt right at home in it, with its heavier but well balanced controls, retractable landing gear, flaps, and spoilers that had nearly identical glide path control response to a T34's throttle. I could thermal the Lark better than any of the others, even once outclimbing a Schleiker KA6 in a shared thermal. I never got a chance to "duel" with a Schweizer 1-26, the acknowledged king of thermallers this side of the pond. The Lark couldn't penetrate as well as a glass slipper, but was more agile and tighter in a thermal, had powerful ailerons, and was built hell for stout (except its tender landing gear).
Those were the days.
- Thread starter
- #299
Glider
Captain
A couple of shots
Halifax Cockpit
Mosquito II NF
Fighting over the water feature. (its been hot here)
Halifax Cockpit
Mosquito II NF
Fighting over the water feature. (its been hot here)
