Today looked promising for thermal strength but with a real risk that high winds would blow the thermals apart. I launched second in line and got off at 1.4 AGL into a great 7.7 kt thermal that took me to 10.5 K altitude. I set out on course – and that was the last good…
Today we incorporated a new feature at the Cafe–posts from external sources. From the beginning, we have looked for interesting news on the web and posted excerpts for you to “get a sip” and then provided a link to the full post. We have discovered that we can automate that process! The Soaring Cafe home…
OK – so much for “I won’t fly until Wednesday”. Today turned out to be a really pretty good day. A new young German pilot did his first 300km (so he bought all the beer tonight) and one of the more experienced fellows did a bit over 400km. My Nimbus got done with the tail…
The weather in different places in Europe is GLORIOUS!! Yesterday Holland had 4 over 700 km. flights and that means only thermals!!! Today it looks great again. Did we have yesterday pretty much wind and a very COLD one, today is much more pleasant on the ground and for sure also in the air! Look…
In February I attended the SSA Convention in Reno and I learned about the Let’s Go Gliding! campaign. This is an extraordinary initiative that can benefit the sport of soaring, especially if all it’s members (or at least the active ones) would get involved and really promote soaring and the campaign. During the convention everybody…
I am privileged, as are many others, to participate in several online groups that have a shared interest in soaring. A few months back, a discussion on the ASW-20 Yahoo group was initiated about the proper way to jettison the canopy in that particular model if a bailout was needed. The discussion went back and…
It is hard to imagine that gliders could comfortably cruise less than 1,000 feet above the desert floor at ground speeds often over 140 miles per hour for over 20 miles with nowhere to land in sight! Note the completely unlandable terrain both above and below the ridge making for spectacular scenery but scary flying. This was a very fun day of flying! Thanks for watching, Bruno (B4).
This winter, Chris Woodward has been a regular in Dick’s workshop, applying a lightweight plastic film called SolarTrim to Concordia’s control surfaces. Last weekend, we interviewed Chris and asked him to explain the process and the rationale for using SolarTrim rather than gel coat or paint.
n the year 1999 I purchased a new ASW22BL after taking a leave from soaring for 15 years. The first shock I had in purchasing the ship was that it cost three times what my first ‘-22 cost in 1980, and the second was that it had basically the same performance. What I realized was that in the open class of competition sailplanes there had been no significant improvements in performace for the last 20 years, while the other sailplane classes had made significant performance increases from advances in both aerodynamics and structures.
During our visit to Dick Butler’s workshop on February 19th, Dick graciously accepted our request for an interview. He talks about the status of the project and a few of the many remaining items that have to be tackled before Concordia debuts on the world stage in July.
