New to Condor

Discussion related to the Condor...

Moderators: Uros, Tom, OXO

Locked
Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:24 am

Well Guys I had a great couple of hours practicing.
Figured out how to center thermals using the PDA screen 4, the 270
rule worked great as described earlier and slipping worked like a charm.

I found that slipping helped me control my speed and allowed me to
tune my position around the core. As the Vario goes up I introduce
slip and as it goes down I center the yaw string.

That's where I was going wrong - too fast so in and out of the core.
I also needed to check that my trim was between +50 +70.
I've never climbed so well. Lets hope it wasn't a fluke.

I also figured out a rule of thumb for thermals in wind.
Prety basic but seemed to work.

"Fly in the direction of the wind towards coulds or fly under a cloud then turn against the wind to intercept thermals"

I also stayed high and tuned the MC to fly to the next thermal at
best speed.

Next thing is to stop using the PDA screen 4
and just listen to the vario and feel what you're flying through
but that'll take time.

I still make some poor judgment calls when in the mountains
but that'll come with time. I'll just keep practicing and keep racing
as that's one of the best ways to learn.

Cheers all
Last edited by Edge on Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ImageImage

User avatar
wickid
Posts: 2429
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:32 pm
Location: Venlo, NL
Contact:

Post by wickid » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:40 pm

You should not be slipping al the time. Just make corrections using sideslip as i described!. Speedcontrol should be done with elevator inputs just like in level flight. Try to fly as coordinated as possible. If you go flying in real life and you don't keep the yawstring in the middle your instructor will undo his seatbelts, climb to the font and wack you on the head with your logbook :P .

The methode is: Fly the 360 circle like with the roll out roll in methode, but this time when you approach the better lift, just give a little opposit rudder to just slide it a bit towards the better lift and then continue with a normal coordinated turn. This is much more precise than rolling out and in again, but you need to be paying atention with speed in gliders that tend to stall suddenly.
PH-1504, KOE

Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:05 pm

wickid wrote:your instructor will undo his seatbelts, climb to the font and wack you on the head with your logbook :P
:lol: :lol:

Will do and thanks...

Reminds me of the time my instructor told me to
switch tanks and I selected fuel off by mistake :lol:
ImageImage

User avatar
wickid
Posts: 2429
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:32 pm
Location: Venlo, NL
Contact:

Post by wickid » Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:15 pm

haha, my powered flight instructor warns me that he will wack me with the fire extinguisher (which is next to his seat) if i do something wrong :shock:
PH-1504, KOE

Chock
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 6:30 pm

Post by Chock » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:03 am

Reminds me of the time my instructor told me to
switch tanks and I selected fuel off by mistake
Just wait until you get in a Cessna with an instructor after having flown gliders for ages and he asks you to do a turn, at which point you stick the trim forward to up the speed and wrench the thing into a 60 degree bank because you are so used to thermalling. That always elicits a few tasty comments from instructors, I think when I did it, I got the sarcastic: 'Is there a Messerschmitt behind us?'. :D
Image

User avatar
Freebird
Posts: 2472
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:40 pm
Location: North Wales UK

Post by Freebird » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:03 am

The are times when they love glider pilots :) I worked for over 30 years in aviation, I spent many years working on single & twin engined aircraft at which time there was no GPS. Part of a C of A airtest on a twin was the single engine climb, the aim was to shut down one engine & climb for 5 minutes to prove the aircraft could still make the figures in the flight manual. To achieve this the pilot had to keep the speed spot on & fly as straight as possible while the observer recorded speed & altitude every 30 seconds. Neither would be paying much attention to the outside world & it was not unusual at the end of the climb to be handed the map with the comment 'your a glider pilot tell me where we are' On the odd occasion where only fields & trees were visible with nothing to pinpoint our position the next step would be a transponder check & when asked our position by ATC the standard reply would be 'err, temporarily unsure of position' :)

User avatar
Freebird
Posts: 2472
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:40 pm
Location: North Wales UK

Post by Freebird » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:17 am

Edge wrote:
wickid wrote:your instructor will undo his seatbelts, climb to the font and wack you on the head with your logbook :P
:lol: :lol:

Will do and thanks...

Reminds me of the time my instructor told me to
switch tanks and I selected fuel off by mistake :lol:
More interesting is when the pilot does it at 25,000ft in a pressurised piston engined twin :) That incident occurred on an airtest, part of the test was to crossfeed the fuel tanks... left engine running on right wing tank, right engine on left tank. Pilot selected both off by mistake which I though was really funny... for about 5 seconds, as the next event was a very rapid loss of cabin pressure :D Also followed by the discovery that the co pilots oxygen mask was missing which I didn't find at all funny.

Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:15 pm

Random question

If you see a number of birds circling above your house should you:

A) study their technique?

B) get out your RC glider?

or

C) insulate your loft? :oops: :lol:

Joking asside I've been quite busy lately so my condor
progress has been on hold for a while. Hoping to get a race
later though. I'd like to use teamspeak more too.

Are there flights where you fly cross country as a small group
without racing? Kind of like a cycling club... :lol:
ImageImage

User avatar
wickid
Posts: 2429
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:32 pm
Location: Venlo, NL
Contact:

Post by wickid » Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:05 pm

try the various freeflight servers. Just ask around who wants to fly some cross country with you via the chat. I do this quite a lot with some friends from my club, and just random people in the server.
PH-1504, KOE

Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:44 pm

When you start a flight do you zero the altimiter?
ImageImage

Fiddeflygare
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:32 pm
Location: Sweden

Post by Fiddeflygare » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:06 pm

If you are gonna race or have a task with height restrictions on the startline or on some of the turnpoints i do not recommend zeroing the altimeter. The height restrictions are set with QNH and when you zero the altimeter from the takeoff point that is QNF. If you don't have any kind of height restrictions you can choose whatever you prefer. You can set if you always will start with QNH or QNF in Condor in the Options menu somewhere.

//Fidde
Image

Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:11 pm

thanks for that :wink:
ImageImage

Fiddeflygare
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:32 pm
Location: Sweden

Post by Fiddeflygare » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:28 pm

No problems.. :wink:
Image

Love2Fly
Posts: 721
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:46 pm

Post by Love2Fly » Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:38 pm

QNF = QFE (Question Field Elevation)
Just have a look at Wikipedia..

With competitions, use the QNH setting..
Image
Frank Hiemstra - Dutch Gliding Team & GliderTracking.com

Edge
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:37 am
Location: Worcestershire

Post by Edge » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:07 am

Had a little go at using the goodies at condor club
to customise my ASW 27B including new airspeed indicator and
flap setting indicator.

I'd highly recommend it.
It just makes the whole wonderful condor
experience just that bit more special.
ImageImage

Locked