Glider pilot to self: "Now what?"

Lance F

Lance F

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Lance F
ls10-michael-seischab.jpg
 
Find a smooth section to land on.
 
Hope you have a turn coordinator, and enough juice in the battery.
 
Although with that title I thought you were asking us to help you pick out your sailplane :D
 
I'm thinking (hoping) this photo was taken right at the edge of a cloud bank, and 180 degrees behind the glider and the photographer is clear skies.

Or they're IFR certified & equipped...
 
I've heard of intentional spins being used in gliders in such a situation; no reason why that wouldn't be fine if you were really sure of your position (and knew you had room below the deck). That's the quickest way through the layer, and you will not cover much real estate doing it. that's better for you and any IFR traffic in those clouds. It's also a technique employed in visual conditions when one is getting too much lift, getting too high, and can't descend normally without exceeding Vne.

If you are unsure, there's the "benign spiral": a shallow turn, spoilers deployed, trimmed hands-off and at a lowish airspeed, that will keep you from wandering very far, allow you to descend slowly, and minimize the danger of impacting something in the clag (one wing low means a wingtip, not the nose bowl, will probably hit first, and the low airspeed will help somewhat). This also is recommended when you are not sure you can continue operating the glider, due to a problem with the machine or with yourself.
That may seem too passive, but most of us know that trying to actually control an aircraft in IMC, when not prepared or equipped to do so, will probably get you killed a lot easier than a benign spiral. I wouldn't dream of it in our club's 2-33: Yaw string, ASI, wet compass, altimeter, VSI... that's it. Maybe less, if the probe gets iced up. Any instrument-rated pilot will tell you that the less controlling you try to do in IMC with such a limited toolbox, the better off you'll be.

But both maneuvers (through clouds) are emergency procedures...not something to be done casually (without IFR cabability). I hope the pilot pictured did have an "out" behind the camera!
 
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Let'sgoflying! said:
In general, how much lift would those conditions provide?
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Looks like he's in wave, since it tends to be somewhat hard to thermal on top of a stratus deck. :)

Wave can range from weak to very strong, and has been used to fly to upwards of FL500. I've never flown in wave, but one of the dangers is having the area below you develop just such a stratus layer, cutting you off from a safe descent.
 
either the foehn gap is behind him or he has a turn and bank. neat picture though. i, like pete, was hoping this was a thread where Lance tries to decide what glider he should buy. maybe we can turn it into that :)
 
rottydaddy said:
If you are unsure, there's the "benign spiral": a shallow turn, spoilers deployed, trimmed hands-off and at a lowish airspeed, that will keep you from wandering very far, allow you to descend slowly, and minimize the danger of impacting something in the clag (one wing low means a wingtip, not the nose bowl, will probably hit first, and the low airspeed will help somewhat). This also is recommended when you are not sure you can continue operating the glider, due to a problem with the machine or with yourself.
That may seem too passive, but most of us know that trying to actually control an aircraft in IMC, when not prepared or equipped to do so, will probably get you killed a lot easier than a benign spiral. I wouldn't dream of it in our club's 2-33: Yaw string, ASI, wet compass, altimeter, VSI... that's it. Maybe less, if the probe gets iced up. Any instrument-rated pilot will tell you that the less controlling you try to do in IMC with such a limited toolbox, the better off you'll be.
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Benign Spiral is the way to do it, practice it with a CFIG in the 2-33, not hard at all.
 
BillTIZ said:
Benign Spiral is the way to do it, practice it with a CFIG in the 2-33, not hard at all.
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Are you convinced it would be just as easy in an LS-10? :yikes:



and I sure don't know. It may be.
 
N801BH said:
My gut feeling is the regs are busted.

500 below, 1000 above. 2000 horizontially...

he is busting the 1000 above by about 300 feet.:nono: Altho it could be an optical illusion.
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Not if he's IFR equipped, rated and on a flight-plan. Gliders can fly in the IFR system too!
 
BillTIZ said:
Benign Spiral is the way to do it, practice it with a CFIG in the 2-33, not hard at all.
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Done it, and yes, it is easy and looks like it would work well. What I "wouldn't dream of" in the 2-33 is trying to fly it in IMC. :frown2:
Besides, if you kept fiddling with it, what would you choose to do, other than make a shallow descending turn with the spoilers out? :D Staying on the controls after setting that up would probably just spoil it.
 
N801BH said:
My gut feeling is the regs are busted.

500 below, 1000 above. 2000 horizontially...

he is busting the 1000 above by about 300 feet.:nono: Altho it could be an optical illusion.
Click to expand...

I dunno, it looks to me like he has a good 2000-3000 over that layer. :dunno:
 
N801BH said:
he is busting the 1000 above by about 300 feet.:nono: Altho it could be an optical illusion.
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How are you figuring out his separation from that layer based on that photo?
 
jesse said:
How are you figuring out his separation from that layer based on that photo?
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Yeah, I don't get that either. In fact my guess would be that they are well past 1,000 feet above... but clouds are funny that way; they don't come in standard structural units. :D
 
N801BH said:
My gut feeling is the regs are busted.

500 below, 1000 above. 2000 horizontially...

he is busting the 1000 above by about 300 feet.:nono: Altho it could be an optical illusion.
Click to expand...

My goodness, wouldn't you make a fine little Fed.
 
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