Once upon a time, there was one class: the open class. Standard class came about as a very sensible idea to create a class with good performance, but simple operation and limited cost, in an era when open‐class wingspans, costs and complexity were increasing, and their handling became more difficult.
Other News
Fixing scratches on a canopy
by Bill Elliott •
Have you ever wondered how to remove scratches from your canopy? This EAA video shows you how to do it. The original article and video can be found here at the EAA site.
HD Video of JS1 Surfing the Clouds
by SC Admin •
We first saw this on Facebook. Thought our Soaring Cafe readers might enjoy it too.
The making of a young pilot
by Bill Elliott •
A deciding criterion in recruiting young people to soaring is the so called BIA (brevet d’intitiation aeronautique) or “a short introduction to aeronautics”. This year long theoretical course is being held in a local high school taught by senior instructors of the Vinon soaring club on a Wednesday afternoon, when French schools traditionally don’t have…
Flying with the Masters in the French Alps
by Bill Elliott •
Wolf and Frauke Elber (written in 2009) Wolf: Some twenty years ago I flew with François Lucas into the French Alps in a Janus sailplane. François was an instructor at that time at St. Auban. It was a beautiful day and he went for a comfortable 300K flight up to the Glacier Blanc, over to…
Interesting Pre-Practice Day at the US Seniors Contest
by Bill Elliott •
Frank Paynter reports: At the end of the day, Dick Butler won the day with a blazing 52 raw / 45mph handicapped – actually a great flight for such a weak day. Steve Arndt also had a great flight in his Silent 2, with the handicap working the other way for him – 37.5mph raw…
Watch a Thermal Develop
by Bill Elliott •
Gary Carter sent us this great video which shows a thermal developing and lifting off by picking up what appears to be some sort of large plastic sheets. Enjoy!
The Beverly Soaring Society in Western Australia
by Bill Elliott •
The Beverly Soaring Society is largest of three Gliding Clubs in Western Australia and operates Friday, Saturday and Sunday all year round. Our location is in at the edge of the wheat-belt area east of Perth WA and our terrain is mostly flat. Each year we make a trip five hour road trip south to…
Success, again, with Facebook
by Bill Elliott •
I have spent the better part of the weekend working on the site and connections with Facebook. It would really be nice if you could login to the Cafe with your Facebook credentials and comment with them and so on. Well, I have successfully made that all work. But, I had to delete the Fan…
[HD] Video | Sisteron 2009 – Gliding in the French Alps
by Bill Elliott •
Another beautiful HD video. Life only gets better. From Steffenelberg Another fantastic gliding holiday in Sisteron. 6 days of gliding, 34 hours and 1800 OLC km. Lots of wave, blue thermals and cumulus. Snow in the mountains. Up to 7,2 m/s of climb in the wave. Will be back in Sisteron at 26th March 2010.
