Who first thought it would be a good idea to have an aeroplane without an engine ? Go on,think about it.Do you fancy turning up at Heathrow and getting on a Jumbo jet,or what ever they're using now,and just accepting a tow to get it going to cross the Atlantic . I don't think so.Give me a plane with an engine anytime!!
There is a privately owned one at my club, they usally get it out in the summer. It looks pretty awesome! I love vintage stuff. You look like one of the instructors at my club.
Don't want to be critical, but this is the method of spin entry we generally taught until the early 1980's, but it is never the way that an inadvertent spin, the one that can harm you, happens. The deadly spins tend to happen with almost level attitude, but plenty of back stick, in a turn (low level thermalling, base to final turn, or a low turn off a cable break without waiting for speed to be established). I know of instances where a spin was not recognised because it had not been preceded by the entry as taught. In one of these, the pilot denied having been in a spin, and only recovered having given up and let go the controls, fortunately having started with plenty of height.
I use the Fat Gecko mount with some tape over it to stop the airflow going under the suction cup: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002K8Q0EU/ref=cm_sw_r_fm_apa_i_wb8GEb9SNYK5W
Had the pleasure of a flip in the Falke off Stanley Island, SA in 1998...only powered up on take off and a touch of throttle to correct on a near vertical approach, Good days...'-)
Had a few nice flights in a K13, lovely machine just slowed down quite quicky and I had the misfortune once to arrive a little short of the clubs airfield when the other pilot decided to do a couple of more doubtful turns trying to get some height home. He picked up the bar tab for that and walked home, I took the glider tow home. The field we landed in was too short and we needed minimum weight so fatty had to walk, LOL
I just became solo on the LS4, flew over an hour including over my own house and I’ve never been more hooked than now! Can’t wait until saturday when I can finally escape again! :)
Take a good look while you are up there folks - as soon it will be just one big housing estate! Great video .... and one which will become historical very soon - as they are looking to build thousands of houses on some of this - loosing Maiden Bower !! There is an action group just formed if anyone wants to contact me (savebedfordshire@gmail.com)! I guess the developers don,t care much about archeology and our right to a quality of life - not to mention the hundreds of ancient underground workings (tunnels) which will become apparent once a few houses have disappeared down them ! Anyone who loves our countryside should get behind helping to save what little we have left now. Don't you think there has been enough development on the suburbs of Leighton Buzzard? At this rate it won't be long before that town is joined with Dunstable - then I guess, eventually just called Luton - voted the worst town in the UK (2016). Theres something for us all to look forward to.
....i soloed in the K13 ...i had to do three consecutive launches by the reverse pulley system.... cheap and effective...on my third flight a squall hit me on my base leg...and when I turned finals I could not see ahead because of the rain... fortunately I had plenty of space and I was able to open the clearview and look out sideways and land by attitude...our CFI was quite impressed....i went away to launder my trousers....i flew for a while after that and even joined a syndicate with a single seater..romance struck me and I couldn't keep up with my passion because of the expense ..so unfortunately I have had to live with an itch I am unable to scratch.
A stall with Wing drop is where your attitude is too high with a slight bank. You speed will bleed off and the nose of the aircraft will drop and you will bank considerably more however you will not continue to rotate like you do in a spin.
I wonder if you could say what the atmosphere is like at the LGG. Is it friendly there and do you feel you got good training and of course value for money? It has very high aerotow charges and I think the most expensive per minute charges (72p dual seat) in the entire UK! Equivalent to around an outrageous £78 per hour assuming one launch and an hour on the ridge or thermalling. That is a staggering charge and close to a whole hour in some motorgliders. How can LGG possibly justify this enormous fee? Gliding is meant to be an "affordable" activity. Well not any more! It also appears to have one of the highest membership fees in the UK. I'm guessing its proximity to London somehow means it thinks these outrageous fees are "normal". Perhaps its membership comprises lawyers, accountants and oligarchs.
LGC is without a doubt the most friendly and welcoming club I've ever been to. Throughout my flying from first flight to my instructor course last year everybody has been extremely supportive and the training has been second to none. The fees are certainly higher than many clubs but in return you get excellent ground facilities, cross country briefings, grid launches on good days, aerotow retrieves and much more. Most of these fees are only applicable to members over 30 as the club operates reduced membership costs for junior members up to 30 years of age (see prices: bit.ly/2oDAaHp) and runs an extremely successful cadet scheme for young members currently in education. The cadet scheme has an annual membership fee of only £40, half price launches and NO soaring per minute fees whatsoever. Along with this, there are quite a few dedicated instructors focusing on helping the cadets progress their flying. Overall, LGC is an excellent club. I suggest you come and visit before forming such a strong and incorrect opinion online.
Almost all large clubs offer cross country and other briefings, and many also have excellent facilities and retrieves too, but they don't charge a whopping 72p per minute soaring or the staggeringly high other fees. I'm not really offering an opinion on anything other than costs in my post above, which are factually correct. Opinions are neither correct or incorrect, but when they are based on fact they are fair comment. LGC is an extremely expensive club but I cannot see any rational explanation as to why they are, apart from the fact that they seem to get away with it! BTW I enjoy your videos which are very well done. I'm glad that you benefited from the cadets membership which if £40 is at least 15 times cheaper for you than an ordinary member. That's great for you, not so great for anyone over 30 though ;) I also feel it is quite fair to point out to others the relative costs of gliding between clubs, which is extremely varied even for clubs which offer broadly similar facilities, as hitherto there isn't much info around, short of wading through the small print of every club website.
