H4 Lake Elsinore. Sat Jan 26, 7: I've landed at night unintentionally. I found it is hard to judge distance without light. I flaired at what I thought was too low a height and too slow to get a proper flair. I was still five feet off the ground and hit hard. I will never be skilled or experienced enough at this activity that I can't get killed doing it.
Fri Apr 13, Tue Jan 16, 5: Hang gliding at night Every 5th january at night Los Reyes Magos the equivalent of your Santa Claus come to the village of Alarilla a flying site by hang gliding and paragliding, to give presents to the childrens [youtube]. Tue Jun 17, So, for landing you just need a couple of buddies to park their cars anywhere, and leave their lights on. Fri Jul 23, 7: Valle de Bravo Lake, Mexico. Options 17 posts Page 1 of 1 17 posts. Users browsing this forum: Very nice mountains you have there Jorge, and nice[…].
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Misgav Am hostage crisis April 7 Hebron terrorist attack May 2. Egged bus hostage crisis April Night of the Gliders November Mothers' Bus attack March 7. Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the s. Retrieved from " https: Views Read Edit View history. This page was last edited on 5 October , at Most gliders do not have engines or at least engines that would allow a take-off under their own power. Various methods are therefore used to get airborne. Each method requires specific training, therefore glider pilots must be in current practice for the type of launch being used.
Licensing rules in some countries, such as the USA, differentiate between aerotows and ground launch methods, due to the widely different techniques. In an aerotow a powered aircraft is attached to a glider with a tow rope. Single-engined light aircraft or motor gliders are commonly used.
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The tow-plane takes the glider to the height and location requested by the pilot where the glider pilot releases the tow-rope. Under extreme loads the weak link will fail before any part of the glider or plane fails. During the aerotow, the glider pilot keeps the glider behind the tow-plane in either the "low tow" position, just below the wake from the tow-plane, or the "high tow" position just above the wake.
One rare aerotow variation is attaching two gliders to one tow-plane, using a short rope for the high-towed glider and a long rope for the low tow.
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The current record is nine gliders in the same aerotow. Gliders are often launched using a stationary ground-based winch mounted on a heavy vehicle. The engine is usually powered by LPG , petrol or diesel , though hydraulic fluid engines and electrical motors are also used.
Winch launches are much cheaper than aerotows and permit a higher launch frequency. A winch may also be used at sites where an aerotow could not operate, because of the shape of the field or because of noise restrictions. The height gained from a winch is usually less than from an aerotow so pilots need to find a source of lift soon after releasing from the cable, otherwise the flight will be short. A break in the cable or the weak link [Note 1] during a winch launch is a possibility for which pilots are trained. Another method of launching, the "autotow", is rarer nowadays.
This method has also been used on desert dry lakes.
Night of the Gliders
A variation on the direct autotow is known as the "reverse pulley" method. In this method, the truck drives towards the glider being launched. The cable passes around a pulley at the far end of the airfield, resulting in an effect similar to that of a winch launch. Bungee launching was widely used in the early days of gliding, and occasionally gliders are still launched from the top of a gently sloping hill into a strong breeze using a substantial multi-stranded rubber band, or " bungee ".
The hook normally used for winch-launching is instead attached to the middle of the bungee. Each end is then pulled by three or four people. One group runs slightly to the left, the other to the right. Once the tension in the bungee is high enough, the glider is released and the glider's wheel pops out of the trough. The glider gains just enough energy to leave the ground and fly away from the hill.
A glider can simply be pushed down a slope until gravity can create enough speed for it to take off. One of the measures of a glider's performance is the distance that it can fly for each meter it descends, known as its glide ratio. Glide ratio is dependent on an aircraft's class, and can typically range from A good gliding performance combined with regular sources of rising air enables modern gliders to fly long distances at high speeds. As the performance of gliders improved in the s, the concept of flying as far away as possible became unpopular with the crews who had to retrieve the gliders.
Pilots now usually plan to fly around a course called a task via turn-points , returning to the starting point. In addition to just trying to fly further, glider pilots also race each other in competitions. Initially, ground observers confirmed that pilots had rounded the turn-points. Later, the glider pilots photographed these places and submitted the film for verification.
National competitions generally last one week, with international championships running over two. The winner is the pilot who has amassed the greatest number of points over all the contest days. However, these competitions have as yet failed to draw much interest outside the gliding community for several reasons.
Because it would be unsafe for many gliders to cross a start line at the same time, pilots can choose their own start time. In an attempt to widen the sport's appeal, a new format, the Grand Prix , has been introduced. There is a decentralized Internet-based competition called the Online Contest , in which pilots upload their GPS data files and are automatically scored based on distance flown.
Soaring pioneer Paul MacCready is usually credited with developing mathematical principles for optimizing the speed at which to fly when cross-country soaring, [50]: It accounts for the fact that if a pilot flies faster between thermals, the next thermal is reached sooner. However at higher speeds the glider also sinks faster, requiring the pilot to spend more time circling to regain the altitude. The MacCready speed represents the optimal trade-off between cruising and circling. Most competition pilots use MacCready theory to optimize their average speeds, and have the calculations programmed in their flight computers, or use a "McCready ring", a rotatable bezel on the glider's variometer to indicate the best speed to fly.
The greatest factor in maximizing average speed, however, remains the ability of the pilot to find the strongest lift.
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On cross-country flights on days when strong lift is forecast, pilots fly with water ballast stored in tanks or bags in the wings and fin. The fin tank is used to reduce trim drag by optimizing the center of gravity , which typically would shift forward if water is stored only in the wings ahead of the spar. But if lift is strong, typically either from thermals or wave, the disadvantage of slower climbs is outweighed by the higher cruising speeds between lift areas.
Thus, the pilot can improve the average speed over a course by several percent or achieve longer distances in a given time. On days with particularly strong and widespread lift pilots can attain high average speeds by alternating periods of fast flight with pull-ups, merely slowing down in areas of lift without deviating from the course. This 'dolphining' technique can result in high average speeds because the height lost can be minimised until particularly strong lift is encountered when circling would be most effective.
Achievements in gliding have been marked by the awarding of badges since the s.
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Typically, a bronze badge shows preparation for cross-country flight, including precise landings and witnessed soaring flights. The FAI's Sporting Code defines the rules for observers and recording devices to validate the claims for badges that are defined by kilometers of distance and meters of altitude gained. The Gold and Diamond Badges require pilots to fly higher and further. If lift is not found during a cross-country flight, for example because of deteriorating weather, the pilot must choose a location to "land out".
The pilot has to choose a location where the glider can be landed safely, without damaging the plane, the pilot, or property such as crops or livestock. In some instances, a tow-plane can be summoned to re-launch the aircraft. Although adding to the weight and expense, some gliders are fitted with small power units and are known as motor gliders.
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The power units can be internal combustion engines, electrical motors, or retractable jet engines. Retractable propellers are fitted to high performance sailplanes, though in another category, called touring motor gliders , non-retractable propellers are used. Some powered gliders are "self launching", which makes the glider independent of a tow plane.