Soaring

[kielbasa]

Do we have any fans of unpowered flight here?

As a kid I watched gliders flying thermals above our town and dreamed of doing it someday. I forgot all about it when I discovered cycling. With my recent retirement from serious riding, I'm giving gliding a second look as something to pursue into retirement. Just last month I took my first flight in a glider and I can't wait to do it again.

I don't know if this thread will gain any traction here, but anyone with an interest in any type of gliding (including hang-gliding) is welcome to post. Here's a cool video to help get things started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bOGqWheCY&feature=plcp

 

[RedheadDane]

I'm quite partial towards skydiving. Probably because my parents actually met in the local skydiving club, and I've spent a significant amount of my childhood summer's camping out (in Sweden) while my dad took part in various events.
Some years ago I did a tandem-jump. Both scary and fun!

 

[kielbasa]

I'm quite partial towards skydiving. Probably because my parents actually met in the local skydiving club, and I've spent a significant amount of my childhood summer's camping out (in Sweden) while my dad took part in various events.
Some years ago I did a tandem-jump. Both scary and fun!

Though I am aware that strictly speaking there is no unpowered flight only controlled falling at least in relation to the surrounding air, I nevertheless prefer to fall at a much slower rate. The best high performance gliders have a glide ratio of around 60:1 (distance:loss of altitude).

 

[RedheadDane]

Once you deploy the chute your gliding!

 

[kielbasa]

Ouch:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1311828/Shoreham-air-crash-pilot-escapes-stunt-glider-smashes-runway.html

Video from distance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbulrrQVig

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Never tried it, due to a lack of funds, but would love to. That video on the Sailplane Grand Prix was pretty interesting. A ride in such an area must be incredibly awe inspiring beautiful.

 

[kielbasa]

Never tried it, due to a lack of funds, but would love to. That video on the Sailplane Grand Prix was pretty interesting. A ride in such an area must be incredibly awe inspiring beautiful.

The guy who won the Grand Prix, Sebastian Kawa, featured in the video @ 3:05, talks in a different video how during preparation in the Andes, he went out to scout different terrains. He decided to conquer Aconcagua, but failed initially being fearful that his water balast would freeze. He came back later to accomplish the feat. The commentary is in Polish, but the shots of Americas' highest peak are around the 7 minute mark for those interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0iPkeJ54yw

In a note related to another thread, Mt. Everest has not yet been conquered in a glider, even though the absolute altitude record is far beyond that.

If you consider that a lot of gliding enthusiasts buy club memberships in order to fly club planes, the costs are not as prohibitive. Owning a road, a TT bike, plus racing and maintenance are probably equally expensive IMO. When you consider costs of special racing "preparation", you can probably buy a plane for that.

Incidentally, the world championships took place last month in Texas. Same guy repeated for the n'th time.

 

[sittingbison]

yup, I am a glider pilot

I am with the Narrogin Gliding Club in Western Australia

 

[leftover pie]

I was on my way down Mont Ventoux not so long ago and had to do a giant double-take as a glider whooshed past the side of the mountain.

Silent, fast, graceful, looked pretty cool.

 

[kielbasa]

yup, I am a glider pilot

I am with the Narrogin Gliding Club in Western Australia

For now I'm jealous, but I suspect that our Rocky Mountains offer better ridge flying.

The following video shows some highlights including turbulence and an outlanding in a field (from what I'm told, there's no "emergency" landing in a glider ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nNUmAUJUso&feature=g-user-u

This is in southern Utah:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGkUwlK0NvA&list=PLC3CB10C720C373E5&index=2&feature=plpp_video

I know that Sittingbison knows this, but for the benefit of others, that whiny sound you hear is the variometer indicating whether the glider is in rising or sinking air.

 

[kielbasa]

I was on my way down Mont Ventoux not so long ago and had to do a giant double-take as a glider whooshed past the side of the mountain.

Silent, fast, graceful, looked pretty cool.

Yeah, I witnessed an outlanding in a field nearby when I was a kid and it really left an impression on me, especially since the pilot was a cute girl. We ended up helping her move the glider.

 

[sittingbison]

For now I'm jealous, but I suspect that our Rocky Mountains offer better ridge flying.
...
I know that Sittingbison knows this, but for the benefit of others, that whiny sound you hear is the variometer indicating whether the glider is in rising or sinking air.

Western Australia is extremely flat. We can only soar because of "thermal" which are columns of rising air caused usually by differences in ground conditions such as different coloured paddocks. All gliders have a natural sink rate, basically they are always falling, some sink faster than others. How they stay airborne is being in air that rises (a thermal) faster than they fall. That is why the instrument is a "vario" meter, in simple terms it measures the variation between sinking and rising. There are several settings, but that is its purpose.

There is one place in WA that we can ridge soar, the Stirling Ranges which really is a single knifeblase ridge in the dead flat middle of the wheat belt. Each year we go there to try and catch "The Wave", a body of air that shoots up and over the ridge to vast heights. Here is a nice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6gonCbgpQ

 

[the big ring]

There is one place in WA that we can ridge soar, the Stirling Ranges which really is a single knifeblase ridge in the dead flat middle of the wheat belt. Each year we go there to try and catch "The Wave", a body of air that shoots up and over the ridge to vast heights. Here is a nice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6gonCbgpQ

My favourite account of a glider flight was when the pilot was looking to glide the morning glory cloud.

I like clouds

http://www.morninggloryaustralia.com/doco.html

 

[kielbasa]

Western Australia is extremely flat. We can only soar because of "thermal" which are columns of rising air caused usually by differences in ground conditions such as different coloured paddocks. All gliders have a natural sink rate, basically they are always falling, some sink faster than others. How they stay airborne is being in air that rises (a thermal) faster than they fall. That is why the instrument is a "vario" meter, in simple terms it measures the variation between sinking and rising. There are several settings, but that is its purpose.

There is one place in WA that we can ridge soar, the Stirling Ranges which really is a single knifeblase ridge in the dead flat middle of the wheat belt. Each year we go there to try and catch "The Wave", a body of air that shoots up and over the ridge to vast heights. Here is a nice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6gonCbgpQ

Wow, that view from 18K is incredible. Must be quite a different experience being looking down from a small cockpit soaring, than from a jetliner.

 

[sittingbison]

Wow, that view from 18K is incredible. Must be quite a different experience being looking down from a small cockpit soaring, than from a jetliner.

Its quite an experience from 1800, or even 800.

BTW the pilot who made that and several other you tubes crashed into that ridge last year and perished. Its a safe sport, but does have dangers (sometimes fatal), and even the best and most experienced pilots can crash.

 

[kielbasa]

Its quite an experience from 1800, or even 800.

BTW the pilot who made that and several other you tubes crashed into that ridge last year and perished. Its a safe sport, but does have dangers (sometimes fatal), and even the best and most experienced pilots can crash.

Reminds me of this piece of advice I picked from the net years ago:

Basic Flying Rules: Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult to fly there.

 

[darkcloud]

cool stuff

I fly hang gliders.
Cool videos.
World distance record for hang gliders was set recently in Texas. http://www.xcmag.com/2012/07/dustin...-break-hang-gliding-world-record-in-zapata-4/

 

[sittingbison]

I'm off to the Stirlings this weekend for our ridge soaring camp. I have brought a "hero" video camera. but it wont arrive in time %((

I will take some pics though, and post a good one if any turn out ok

 

[kielbasa]

I'm off to the Stirlings this weekend for our ridge soaring camp. I have brought a "hero" video camera. but it wont arrive in time %((

I will take some pics though, and post a good one if any turn out ok

So how was it? I took my second flight past weekend. It's just about the end of gliding season here, so I'll have the winter to consider if I want to pursue this new expensive hobby.

 

[kielbasa]

Well, I thought I'd bump this and brag about how I'm a glider pilot now. Made my solo couple of weeks ago. I stayed up for about a half hour, before a storm moved in. Cloud base is not a fun or safe place to be when you see lightning, unless you're this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teI8o6k67-k