moyes LITESPEED, Owner'S Manual

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LITESPEED OWNERS MANUAL
Version 1.01
25
Body Position
The most v ital thing for a pilot to do in heavy turbulence is to maintain a strong grip on
the control bar. The pilot remains safest w hen the control bar is held tight and close to
the body at or just below the pilot’s chest. If ex treme turbulence is encountered the pilot
should apply a force pulling his/her body tow ard the base bar. This means that if a sudden
w eightless or negativ e G situation occurs, the pilot can stay pinned to the base bar
achiev ing a forw ard centre of grav ity, which greatly aids in producing a quick recov ery.
VG in Turbulence
Most high performance hang gliders produce a stronger positiv e pitch moment through
negativ e angles with a loose VG setting as opposed to a tight setting. The least amount
of positiv e pitch moment generally occurs with VG 3/4 tight. The Litespeed’s compensator
sy stem allows the glider to produce a particularly strong pitching moment in the loose
VG settings. If a significant amount of turbulence is encountered it is best to release the
VG to full loose or 1/4 VG. While in turbulence make sure y ou keep a v ery firm grip on
the control bar, and do not sacrifice this strong grip to release the VG. It is best to w ait
for a safe moment and then release.
When leav ing a strong thermal one can ex pect significant turbulence at the edge of the
thermal. Many pilots like to pull 3/4 VG to allow more control ov er the glider in this
turbulence, how ev er it must be remembered that this is the VG setting, w hich produces
the low est positiv e pitch moment at negativ e angles. Many situations occur during
regular fly ing w hen a pilot will enter pre-recognised turbulence, such as entering a strong
thermal or entering the lee side of a mountain. The pilot can grea tly increase his safety
by entering this foreseen turbulence with an appropriate VG setting.
Flying the Litespeed in Rain
Fly ing in rain can cause significant changes in glider behaviour. It is strongly adv ised
that y ou avoid deliberately fly ing in rain. As w ater beads up on the leading edge, the stall
characteristics of the w ing begin to change. If rain is encountered while fly ing your
Litespeed, keep airspeed w ell abov e stall, especially near the ground. If the w ing stalls
y ou may need a significant pull in of the bar to low er the angle of attack enough to
restore normal airflow . When landing, av oid any turns close to the ground, as a w et
glider w ill loose significantly more height in a turn. Fly a faster final approach than
normal, and be ready to flare aggressively as soon as the wing begins to stall.