9
STALLS
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When practicing stalls always make sure that you have sufficient altitude. The stall
characteristics of the Horizon ET are very straightforward. If you push out slowly
it is hardly possible to stall the glider at all and the Horizon ET will mush without a
tendency to drop a wing. The sink rate is more than doubled, if you 'fly' the glider in
this mode. If you push out harder, the nose of the glider will come up a little higher.
This is followed by a gentle pitch down and the glider will regain flying speed. There
is not a lot of altitude lost in the type of maneuver. Never stall your glider
completely with the nose pitched-up very high. This is one of the most
uncontrollable and dangerous maneuvers for any tailless aircraft and can result in a
tail slide and severe tumble. Stalls in a coordinated turn are difficult to do by
mistake. If you push out too much in a turn the glider will turn tighter, unless you
are flying very slowly in which case you may enter a spin (see Spins).
SPINS
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The Horizon ET will strongly resist spinning. However should you stall one wing in
a turn, move your weight forward and the glider will recover quickly from a spin (half
a turn) without entering extreme attitudes and without extreme loss of altitude.
This is due to the Horizon ET's positive roll-yaw coupling and a neutrally balanced
roll characteristic.
LANDING
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This is a simple matter. Your final approach should be a straight glide into the wind
at faster than best L/D airspeed. Bleed your speed off slowly, wings level, and
ground skim onto your chosen landing spot. In light or no wind conditions a full flare
is required. When it is time to flare, flare aggressively and abruptly and hold 'A'
frame out. You may also choose to do a “runout” landing. This is done by running to
a stop while pushing the nose up as more and more weight is transferred to your
feet. It is possible to make steep approaches to a landing area or target utilizing the
mush mode; this should only be done in steady, smooth winds. It is not
recommended to mush the Horizon ET all the way to the ground.
