[OLD PRAIRIE RED NECK]

I posted this rant on another thread and someone suggested it belonged here. What are your thoughts on this?

A few years back I was talking to a older glider enthusiast and he made the comment "Electrics are ruining model gliding!" I thought he was over reacting but have come to see since that he was dead right! It's fairly rare nowadays to see pure gliders at all with the exception of the odd high level competition. Even there, E glider classes are gaining momentum.

When you do see gliders at the field they are NOT being flown as gliders. They are just poorly performing sport planes being driven around the field like tractors attempting to do aerobatics and high speed passes until the battery runs out. As one sport pilot said to me on seeing his first Radian (That thing rolls like a piece of shxtt! I won't be getting one!) So then the Radian Pro comes out... right?

This happens to pure gliders that are converted to E power almost without exception. We are loosing the desire to learn the air and the ability to soar.

"More control of aborted landings" is one of the reasons guys convert. Every landing in a pure glider is a keeper - you learn to make it count.

Sure I have converted gliders to E power too, go ahead it works well but you watch and see if I'm wrong - it will make you a lazy glider pilot! That's what was happening to me!

I'm now buying E gliders and taking the motors out. Doing the third one now.



__________________

[davidmc36]

I think your "rant" is pretty much on the money.

I got rid of a couple Gentle Ladies because I wanted a 3M E-Powered. It's not very easy to set up a winch or anything where I fly now.

But it does tend to make me a lazy glider.

So I ended up getting another Gentle Lady and it will just get a hook. I have a starter motor to build a winch because every year I kick myself for not joining the other nearby club which glides at the sod farms. Electric power is allowed there but there are miles of wide open spaces to set up a winch.

It's a different kind of thrill knowing you only have "One Shot" at it and doing everything you can to make the most of it.

Maybe this will be the year.

[mwavesdave]

I can say in Nova Scotia, gliding, in all forms is alive and well, but particularly slope soaring. At Lawrencetown Beach, there's a wonderful cliff, and the local surf shop who owns the property, welcomes the slope soaring crowd. Last year's slopefest saw a lot of pure gliders, from my tiny ASK-21, up to 3-4 meter gliders. Biggest was a huge Me-109, built specifically to be unpowered. Last year, I put together a Great Planes Spirit Elite for the fest, plus the little foamy. This year, I'll have a Multiplex Astra, a stock Spirit, kit built, and a scratch built 1/4 scale Bergfalke. I've already gotten one request for a short kit of the big scale glider. A lot of 99% dedicated power, jet, etc guys showed up, took turns at some trainer gliders, and are now hooked!

[Skidoo55]

I just bought a Calypso foamie this year, electric powered, and I'm sure it's nothing like a pure glider, but I couldn't tell you, since I have never flown a glider of any type. Well, before I even flew it, I cut in the flap servos, and set it up as a full house glider wing. I got all the mixes sorted out, and inside flaps move more than the ailerons, I have camber and reflex that is adjustable with the left stick, I have landing mode where the flaps drop with the left stick... The hardest thing was to create a mix that enabled the motor to be controlled with the left stick as well. As soon as I set the radio to a glider mode, channel 3 (Throttle) was completely disabled. I wound up mixing channel 8 to the flaps, and set up a switch to enable/disable the motor. So when I throw it, I have it in flight mode, and enable the motor. As soon as I get a few hundred feet up, I disable the motor, and try to figure out how to adjust camber or reflex to take advantage of what the wind is doing.

I can do this out my front yard, as I live in a rural area with farm fields out front, and forest out back. I am almost at the bottom of a valley, and my neighbours field is a gentle slope down to my field. His field is about 400 meters wide, and he is at the top of the hill. I know it isn't so simple, but on the side of a gentle slope, how to I find thermals, and is there a time of day that is better than others. How do you find thermals on a flat sod farm?

I wish there was an experienced glider guy near by to me all of this stuff, because I get pretty fired up thinking about how much fun that calypso is going to be in the summer!

[davidmc36]

Originally Posted by Skidoo55

.....How do you find thermals on a flat sod farm?

....

There are paved roads on the sides and pretty much always there is a mix of actual sod being grown and other portions in rest or corn mode so there is dark land that will give nice thermals on sunny days. It's a great place to glide actually.

[davidmc36]

Originally Posted by mwavesdave

....slope soaring.....

That's something I am dying to try.

[Lazy Ace]

I think it’s mostly the space and convenience that limits the gliders at regular fields. Last few times I had the winch and high start out there were a lot of complaints about interruptions to the flying when we had to reposition them as the wind changed. Rules about no one on the field has changed how we retrieve the tow line. Last pure glider event we had was ten years ago. Instead we have an electric event which e-gliders are used. The only way we don’t interfere with regular flying is when I bring my glider tug out and give pilots a lift aloft.

Places I used to fly gliders from are no longer open to access due to development etc.

Even though I have pure gliders I am taking them out less and less. I get more glider time when I travel than anything else. I bring my tug and a few easy to fly gliders and let others I meet try them launched from the tug. Everyone thinks it neat but that’s about as far as the interest goes.

I even tried hand launch at the field and some complained about what can be short flight times blocking the field and being on the field to launch and retrieve. This was even though I would wait until there was a lull in regular flying. Someone sitting on their butt for hours all the sudden wants to fly when I finally get a chance to go out and fling my glider for a few minutes.

Dennis

[ddruck]

Gliding is not dead at all, we have 2 glider clubs in (large) greater Toronto area, COGG and SOGGI, both fly on sod farms, DLG, winch and electrics. Electrics here are strictly for climb and glide, since all members are glider fliers not power fliers flying a glider.
Problem I see is not only of space, but most traditional clubs are not particularly suitable to glider flying. You cannot stand in a box flying a circle pattern with multitude of restrictions. There are rules of course but you really need to have separate space of open field for gliders, most clubs do not have that or would not even consider it. Gliding is also live and growing in Quebec and bit of it in Ottawa area, also active out west.
Last point, do not blame electric motors for ruining gliding, people ruin gliding!
Electrics, when used properly on a thermal glider, meaning climb to altitude, shut off and glide without ever turning it back on till landing, just replace the winch and for some this opens gliding for pilots who have no space or desire to invest in winches but still want to enjoy gliding.
Dan

[Cricklewood]

Paul (Skidoo55),

There is a club just north of Beeton, COGG, that is quite active. The club may be a bit of a drive for you but not too far, Google maps shows it as about 45 minutes. It is a gliding club only with members flying pure gliders with either winch or hi-start launch and electrics. The club flies off a sod farm so there is lots of space.

Chris

[cicopo]

I have 4 E powered gliders & the motor is to get them to altitude or to get around the trees in the middle of my landing area rather than to just land on the other side of them. None are flown as powered gliders. I work the air currents & relax until it's almost out of sight. Searching for thermals makes for relaxed flying.