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KRONFELD ON GLIDING AND SOARING.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

KRONFELD ON GLIDING AND SOARING.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

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THE <strong>SOARING</strong> COURSE 183<br />

nearer to it before beginning your turn, then steer with<br />

ailerons and rudder in the same direction, fly steadily<br />

onward, and wait patiently till the machine carries you<br />

round ! "<br />

The wind has changed ; we move to another slope, and<br />

once more I demonstrate. When I land, a pupil asks:<br />

" Why do you sometimes begin your turn at a certain spot,<br />

while at others you start it much sooner, almost in the<br />

middle of the slope ? "<br />

" You must all have noticed that a good machine has a<br />

tendency to luff, that is, to turn of itself towards strong<br />

gusts of wind. When you are flying on a slope, you<br />

continually feel the gusts that play about it turning the plane<br />

into the wind and away from the slope as they rise. Now<br />

every gust brings with it a stronger upwind, and it would be<br />

foolish and useless to try to force the plane out of this<br />

upward current. The machine itself shows us quite<br />

plainly where the most favourable upwinds lie, though<br />

when the gusts are too weak we ignore such hints. But if<br />

the tendency to turn is very strong, then it is advisable to<br />

take advantage of the gusts and carry out the curve which<br />

has already been initiated by the luffing. And this is the<br />

way to maintain ourselves the longest possible time in<br />

a strong up wind."<br />

Once more the word of command rings out. " Pull<br />

out! . . . Run ! . . . Let go ! " But this time something<br />

goes wrong at the very beginning. As soon as the plane<br />

reaches the upwind field and begins to climb, we see that<br />

the pilot is nervous. He presses very suddenly. The<br />

upward current lifts him again ; then comes an upward<br />

gust which could enable him to climb, but he pushes once<br />

more, and is soon compelled to land.<br />

" I was always afraid of over-pulling when I climbed/'<br />

says the pupil later.<br />

" It is most important that you should learn to discriminate<br />

between the short climbs when we pull and those which<br />

are necessary for soaring. Climbing by pulling is impossible<br />

unless some outside force helps the machine to rise. We<br />

only climb as long as the machine is under way, but it<br />

soon comes to a standstill. Only in motor-flying where

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