Wills Wing Sport 2 155, Owner'S Service Manual

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b. Improper body position - pilot leaning back, (away from the anticipated hard landing), with feet
extended in front. This moves the pilot’s center of mass forward ahead of his shoulders, effec-
tively shortening the pilot’s arms and reducing flare authority. The proper position is with the pilot’s
body inclined forward, with the shoulders out ahead of the pilot’s center of mass. Thinking about
pushing “up” instead of “out” when flaring may help you to maintain the proper forward inclined
body position.
c. Slowing too much prior to flare, so that your arms are too extended to allow enough flare ampli-
tude.
Using drag devices during landing
It is becoming more popular on high performance gliders for pilots to utilize a small parachute or
“drogue chute” during landing approach. The proper function of such a device is to increase drag on
the glider, and as a result reduce the glide ratio. Please note that a drogue chute, because it produces
only drag and not lift, does not “slow the glider down” or allow it fly at a slower speed, or reduce the
landing speed. What it does do is to allow the pilot to fly a steeper approach at a higher speed, have
much less “float” after round out, and thus make it much easier for the pilot to plan his approach, to
time the flare, and to accurately “hit the spot” and land close to the intended landing point. It restores
the ability, which used to be present on lower performing gliders, to use adjustments in speed to control
the steepness of the descent.
Drogue chutes have been used which attach to the glider, and others have been used which attach
directly to the pilot’s harness. There are several significant dangers in using a drogue chute. One pilot
died when he deployed a drogue chute over the bottom side wire, and the glider was pulled into a fatal
spiral dive. A drogue chute attached to the pilot’s harness can, if it becomes caught on the keel or on a
batten at the trailing edge, interfere in a dangerous way with the pilot’s control of the glider. A drogue
chute which is unstable, or does not remain inflated, can create distractions for the pilot which inter-
fere with his safe operation of the glider.
Wills Wing manufactures a drogue chute that attaches to the pilot’s harness on one side, and deploys
and flies off to one side behind the pilot attached to a very short bridle that keeps it inside the keel and
the trailing edge of the sail. This configuration minimizes the prospect of entanglement of the chute
with the glider.
When using a drogue chute, we recommend that you deploy it early, before you begin your approach.
Deploying the drogue will effectively change the performance polar of your glider - the glide ratio will
be reduced at all speeds, and it will be reduced more and more as you fly faster and faster. As a
result, proper approach technique will include setting up a normal approach, but at a significantly
steeper approach angle in all phases of the approach. In other words, you will be higher, and on a
steeper angle of descent, at every point during the approach. You should also err on the high side when