SOAR and learn to fly gliders the official soaring instruction manual of the Soaring Association of Canada SOARING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA L’Association canadienne de vol à voile SOAR and learn to fly gliders Edition 9 January 2007 Ian Oldaker Approved by the SAC Flight Training & Safety Committee Ce manuel est aussi disponible en français SOAR and learn to fly gliders Edition 9 2nd printing, August 2011, with corrections Copyright © 2011 by Soaring Association of Canada Published by Soaring Association of Canada 71 Bank Street, 7th floor, Ottawa, ON K1P 5N2 www.sac.ca [email protected] Book design & layout: Tony Burton Illustrations & cartoons: Robert Hellier, Jack Olson, Gil Parcell, Les Waller Front cover illustration: Hans König All rights reserved. Excerpts of the text may be reprinted provided that this manual and the publisher are acknowledged. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Soar and learn to fly gliders – Ed. 9 ISBN 978-0-9782861-0-1 1. Gliding and soaring – Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Gliding and soaring – Canada – Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Soaring Association of Canada, Flight Training & Safety Committee TL765.S614 2007 629.132'522 C2007-900782-1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Flying training manuals are the distillation of many years’ work by individuals in many countries, and they are no longer the effort of just one or two people. However, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the OSTIV Train- ing and Safety Panel (TSP), chaired from 1998 to 2004 by Sakari Havbrandt (Sweden) and prior to that by Bill Scull (UK) since its inception in the early 1980s. The TSP’s detailed look at various training exercises and methods over the years has given us useful updates to this manual. Indeed, without the international input from the regular exchange of ideas, the methods that we use could otherwise become stale and outdated. I would further acknowledge the ideas and comments from several Canadian pilots, in particular Dan Cook and Gabriel Duford, who provided very useful and independent checks of the manual and its contents. To Tony Burton, many thanks for painstaking attention to the design and layout of this new edition, text details, graphics improvements, and additional comment on content. Examinations of accidents to gliders provide us with ‘Safety Bulletins’. Related training exercises have been amended accordingly in this and previous rev- isions in the hope that pilots trained with these materials will become aware of the pitfalls to avoid, and will have been trained to the latest standards. OSTIV is the Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol à Voile. It has three technical panels: the Sailplane Development Panel (SDP), the Meteorological Panel, and the Training and Safety Panel. Among other tasks, the SDP is responsible for the development of the international airworthiness standards for gliders (CS-22, was JAR-22). OSTIV publishes a journal, Technical Soaring, together with the Soaring Society of America. Ian Oldaker chairman, OSTIV TSP January 2007 Table of Contents Foreword Chapter 1 PREPARATION FOR FLYING Important points to consider 1 Pilot decision-making 2 Ground and air operations – general 3 Ground and air signals – aerotowing 5 Figure – Standard signals used in glider operations 6 Ground and air signals – winch launching 9 Chapter 2 THE EARLY LESSONS First flights 11 First instructional sessions 12 Personal checklist: I AM SAFE 13 Pre-takeoff checklist: CISTRSC-O 15 Stalls, spins, aerobatics checklist: CALL 16 Pre-landing checklist: SWAFTS 17 Pilot decision-making (judgement training) The 4-step technique for making flying decisions. 18 Learning the technique 19 Discussion 20 Examples of situations to review 22 Human factors 22 Chapter 3 THE BASIC LESSONS Control effects How does a glider fly? 25 Flying demonstrations 28 Aileron drag, gentle turns, and straight flight 30 Stability and further effects of controls 32 Slow flying, gentle stalls and recovery 36 Medium turns and basic soaring 39 Thermalling – entering and centering techniques 43 Figure – The rules of the ridge 45 The standard circuit pattern 47 Figure – The standard circuit 48 Judging positions and heights in the circuit 49 Flying the circuit and landing 52 High key area 52 Goal #1 – Downwind leg 52 Alternate landing area 53 Goal #2 – Diagonal and base legs 53 Too low and too high at Goal #2 54 Figure – Adjusting turn to base 54 Goal #3 – Final turn and approach 54 Overshooting and undershooting 56 Running out of height in the circuit 57 Figure – The abbreviated circuit 58 Winds and the wind gradient 59 The landing 61 Downwind landings 62 Approach control devices 63 Safety considerations 64 Takeoff, aerotowing & emergency procedures 67 Takeoff and aerotow 67 Towplane upsets 71 Cross-country towing 73 Failed launch procedures 75 Emergency aerotow procedures 77 Winch launching 79 Launch failure – cable break or winch failure 83 Chapter 4 ADVANCED MANEUVERS Sideslips and further stalling 87 Sideslip entry 89 Final approach, wind gradients, slipping turns 89 Steep turns, spiral dives & advanced thermalling 92 Spiral dives 94 The benign spiral 95 Advanced centering technique 95 Spins 96 Figure – Full spin and recovery 102 Takeoffs and landings in crosswinds 106 Chapter 5 BEFORE & AFTER FIRST SOLO Pre-solo considerations 109 Post-solo flying 110 Post-licence flying 111 Passenger carrying 112 Typical flight scenario 113 Cross-country flying 115 Looking for lift 116 Map reading 121 Appendix A Gliding badges 125 Appendix B Field landing notes 129 Appendix C Pilot decision-making 132 Appendix D Human factors 138 Appendix E Conversion factors 141 Index 142 FOREWORD THE ART OF SOARING THE FASCINATION OF FLYING has been with us for hundreds of years, but it is only within the last century that we have learned to fly. It is now so commonplace that we often take it for granted. If we can leave behind the bustle and pressures of modern life, the joys of soaring are not far away. Flying in gliders, or sailplanes, as the high-performance models are called, has to be experienced to be appreciated. It is possible because the rising currents of air that support the glider enable it to fly at high speeds and to travel large distances. The record for distance now exceeds 3000 kilometres and average speeds exceeding 100 km/h are common in competitions. “I had never seen a sailplane close up before until I arrived at the glider- port. My experiences had been at the local airport watching and occasion- ally riding in a small powered aircraft. I only considered gliding as a possibly inexpensive introduction to my ultimate goal of a private power pilot licence. Twenty minutes later I was on an entirely different path! Just watch how a glider lands; nothing in the flying world swoops down so gracefully, runs along just above the ground seemingly for ever, and then gently surrenders to the earth. Even birds just seem to arrive by comparison. I was hooked. I eventually also obtained my other licence, but if I had to choose between the two, there would be no hesitation. First and foremost, I will always be a glider pilot.” The modern sailplane uses advanced composite materials and special construction techniques, though many venerable wooden and fabric-covered gliders are still flying; in fact some excellent two-seat trainers were made of these materials in the past. Gliders are carried aloft by thermals in most areas of the country. In mountainous areas in Alberta and BC, mountain lee waves can provide lift to over 30,000 feet, and ridge lift is to be found whenever the wind blows against a hillside. When the sun heats the ground, producing bubbles of hot air, they continually leave the ground to form “thermals”. They allow a glider to ascend at speeds exceeding 10 knots (1000 ft/min) at times. The glider pilot must circle inside the thermal to make best use of the conditions, because the surrounding areas of air will be descending! Having gained sufficient height, the pilot will set off to look for the next thermal, either to remain aloft locally or as part of an intended cross-country flight. Unfortunately thermal soaring is practiced only in the summer, whereas ridge and mountain wave flying are possible almost all year. Surprisingly, wave flights are sometimes made from frozen lakes during the otherwise unflyable winter months. Most clubs offer glider pilot training. Club members can become instructors through the Soaring Association of Canada * approved instructor training courses endorsed by Transport Canada, the licensing authority. People with the necessary aptitude will often learn to fly gliders in one summer and, on passing a written exam, go for their Glider Pilot Licence. Next they will work to increase their skills over many years of pleasant flying. A power pilot similarly can obtain a glider pilot licence quite easily, following a conversion course at one of the many Canadian clubs. Read this book before and during your training to be a glider pilot. Read it now and review the different chapters frequently. Read other gliding books and take every opportunity to talk about gliding with your instructor and other pilots. On the field, learning opportunities are all around you. Question your instructor on what any pilot is doing and how any situation is being handled. Watch closely the per- formance of other pilots and develop a critical outlook. Prior to each of your flights, your instructor will first discuss and explain the exercises to be flown. Up in the air he or she will reinforce the explanations with demonstra- tions, after which you will practice the maneuvers. Full understanding may not come immediately but talking it over, if possible in the air so that you can try again immed- iately, will speed your learning.