20
Chapter
05
Use
Level flight
The symmetrical pull on the brake lines
adjusts the speed and glide to the
flight and terrain situation to ensure
optimum performance and safety.
The best glide speed in calm air is
achieved with the SPITFIRE 3 with the
brakes fully open. If the brake line is
pulled about 10 cm on both sides, the
glider is in the area of least sink. If you
increase the tension on the brakes
further, the sink rate is no longer
reduced, the control forces increase
noticeably and the pilot reaches the
minimum speed.
Turning flight
The SPITFIRE 3 reacts instantaneously
to control impulses and is extremely
agile.
Basically the control is a combination
of weight shift to the inside of the turn
and brake line pull on the inside of the
turn.
As the brake line pull increases, the
lateral position increases and the glider
flies a fast and steeper curve with a
high sink rate, which turns into a steep
spiral at the end.
C-Bridge Control
The C-Bridge (grey riser), which
connects the B and C planes, allows
the SPITFIRE 3 to be controlled
precisely with the trimmers closed and
open. With the trimmers open, the C-
bridge allows the pilot to control the
angle of attack to adapt the glide to
the terrain. With the trimmers closed,
the best glide can be achieved with a
slight pull on the C-bridge.
Emphasising the pull on the C-risers
allows the SPITFIRE 3 to be controlled
very efficiently and flown actively.
Caution: Never fly with the trimmers
fully open in turbulent weather
conditions.
Emergency control
If the brake lines fail, e.g. due to
loosening of the knot at the brake
handle, or a defective brake line, the
SPITFIRE 3 can also be steered and
landed with the rear risers.
In this case, the stall occurs earlier and
the pilot must compensate for the
changed flight behaviour by pulling
sensitively on the risers.
Landing
After landing, simply stay hooked in,
take the speedbag out of the side
pocket and pack the SPITFIRE 3
gathered in it so that no more lines
hang out.
The speedbag can be taken under the
arm or attached to the harness to re-
enter the lift.
Here we refer again to the rules at the
beginning of the chapter.
TIP
After each landing, adjust trimmers
to how you want them to be on the
next take-off!
