control your skid. Flaps will stop the plane from sliding a
little quicker. You can also “steer” the plane while it is sliding
along the ground. Don’t expect to be able to “horse it
around” but you can gain valuable inches by using the
rudder to guide it towards the spot as it slides to a stop. Be
very careful not to “ground loop” the plane since you will
lose your landing points if the plane flips over.
To be able to slope soar, you need a slope with a smooth
piece of land (or water) out in front of it and a breeze
blowing pretty close to straight up the slope. The higher and
steeper the hill or cliff the better. Also the larger and
smoother the land out in front the better. The air flowing
towards the hill, is forced up and can generate a very large
area of lift. Behind the hill is a large area of turbulent air that
can be very dangerous to try to fly in. The faster the wind is
blowing the stronger the lift and turbulence will be.
To fly off a slope, stand near the edge and throw the
sailplane (nose down) into the wind. As the sailplane flys out
into the “band” of lift it will begin to gain altitude. Turn and fly
parallel to the slope and make all of your turns into the wind
(especially when you are close to the slope). You will be
surprised at the altitude you can gain just from slope lift.
Thermals will often be “popped loose” by these slopes. If
you catch a thermal and follow it downwind, be very careful
to stay high enough to make it back to the slope without
flying through the turbulent air. Landings can be very tricky
on some slopes. On gentle slopes you can often fly very
close to the top of the slope and “slide” into the top of the
slope without encountering any turbulent air. On steeper
slopes you may have to be a little more aggressive to get
the plane out of the lift. In any case it is a good idea to plan
your landing before you launch your plane.
In strong wind conditions, you may want to add ballast
(weight) to the sailplane to increase its wing loading which
increases its normal flying speed. Increasing the weight of
your sailplane does not change its “glide ratio” but it does
make it fly faster which makes it sink a proportional amount
faster. Because of this faster sink rate, you need to be very
cautious when ballasting for a thermal contest. In duration
type contests only use ballast on very windy days that also
have a lot of thermal activity. Center the weight directly on
the center of gravity of the plane so you can add ballast
without having to re-balance the plane. When learning to
ballast your plane, start out small and work your way up.
Have fun and Good lift!!
BALLAST
SLOPE SOARING
30
Summary of Contents for Spirit Elite
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