My instructor certificate was renewed one year ago giving me the excuse to fly with several FLSC members. I thank these members for making instructing a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience for me.
Soaring provides me with a tremendous joy and challenge, in addition to the pleasure of interacting with a wonderful group of friends who share my passion for the sport. I decided to take this opportunity to describe some of the challenges that enhance my enjoyment of soaring, as well as honing my skill level. I recommend that you set similar challenges to increase your enjoyment of soaring.
One wonderful challenge is to compete with a friend climbing in a thermal. Do this in the spirit of friendly competition; the goal is to improve your skill, not to prove who is the better pilot. When Geoff and I compete in a thermal, we each go for the jugular and have a great time in the process. Find a friend who enjoys competing, and then go for it. If you get to the thermal first, turn in your friend’s weaker direction; it is good practice for both of you. I challenge you to come trounce me in a thermal. Every time I am beaten I learn a little more about thermalling, so that I benefit no matter whom wins, and often you will add another notch to your gun belt. Do not compete if you are a sore loser because you will lose many times, and, if you challenge Ed in the K6, you certainly will lose. When climbing in a thermal even the 2-33 and 1-26 can compete well against the higher performance ships, that is, pilot skill is the key to thermalling. Another glider circling in a thermal at the same altitude is the best probe of the lift profile. Watch this glider like a hawk and take advantage of your relative flight paths to stay in the best lift. Continually optimize your speed, bank angle, and location to maximize your rate of climb. The optimum depends on the dimensions and shape of the lift profile. If the thermal diameter is small, use bank angles between 30° and 45°. Remember your instantaneous radius of curvature increases as the square of the speed, so it really pays to fly slowly and smoothly to stay in the strong core of the lift. Once you get to the top of a thermal, go upwind to the next cumulus cloud, then locate and center the thermal as quickly as possible. Remember that often the strongest lift tends to be in the same relative location under nearby cumulus clouds. Develop your skill at quickly centering a new thermal. At low altitudes the thermals are small, thus you must roll into a steep turn immediately upon detecting strong lift, otherwise you will lose the thermal. At higher altitudes you can slightly delay rolling into the turn. If you enter the thermal at a higher speed and then slow down, your trajectory will spiral away from the initial strong lift since your instantaneous radius of curvature is changing. Reduce the bank for a moment after turning through 270°; this will put the center of your circle back to where you first detected the strongest lift. Even when flying locally you can have great fun playing in thermals with your friends, and it is a great way to hone a crucial skill in soaring.
Never waste valuable altitude at the end of your one-hour flight; you should exploit your hard won altitude gain to have fun. If high enough, I always practice spin entry and recovery to hone my skill. Different ships have different spin characteristics. For example, full application of the powerful rudder on the Russia can induce a violent secondary spin in the opposite direction if the opposite rudder is held too long coupled with delaying relaxation of the elevator. Remember you must use a parachute and make clearing turns prior to trying any spin. Borrow a parachute if you do not own one. Practice shallow left and right turns at the slowest speed that you can control the plane. This is good practice for developing correct recovery at stall speeds. If you have a parachute, and after making a clearing turn, try a chandelle finishing up exactly with a 180° turn at the minimum airspeed and highest altitude gain. Simulate a benign spiral pretending that you are trapped above a cloud layer. Trim the glider to a slow speed near the best L/D, put it in a gentle turn and then remove your hands and feet from the controls. See if the ship is stable by tapping the stick instantaneously and watching the subsequent oscillatory motion. Practice rudder coordination keeping the string well aligned during steep turn entries and recoveries. Rudder coordination is the most frequent problem I have noticed from the back seat. Practice constant speed, super steep turns ensuring that you do not enter a spiral dive. This is a great way to lose altitude while honing a valuable skill. Practice slips; each ship has different slipping characteristics. For example, the ASK21 airspeed will read negative in an extreme slip. Some ships suffer rudder reversal at large slip angles and require pushing hard on the rudder pedal to center the rudder. Explore the slipping characteristics of your plane. You may need this skill in an emergency.
Another fun challenge is to practice final glides back to the airport; see how close you can come to estimating your arrival altitude. You will be impressed by the glide angle of the ASK-21, Blanik, Russia, and most private ships, or be shocked by the glide angle of the 1-26 when flying into a headwind. Plan for a generous arrival altitude.
For every landing, practice energy management and set a personal spot landing challenge. Make the round out and flare as smooth as you are able, and land between the two mowed lines at the minimum speed consistent with safety. This is an essential practice for those eventual unplanned off-field landings.
There are many other personal goals that you can set to challenge yourself, no matter whether you are a fledgling student or a crusty old buzzard. The nice feature about setting personal goals is that nobody else knows your goals; you are the sole arbiter of the goals and of your success. So come down to Dansville, challenge yourself, and have fun.