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- airbus3801
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Ever Been Soaring?
Have you ever been soaring in a glider by being towed up by a plane or a self launch? I did that yesterday and must say it is very exhilarting! What did you think of the experience?
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- TupolevTu154
- Posts: 1933
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
I got self launched in one of these...
Got thrown upto 800ft, the flight only lasted 3 or so minutes, but the angle at which you are launched is amazing, if only it had lasted longer!
Tom
Got thrown upto 800ft, the flight only lasted 3 or so minutes, but the angle at which you are launched is amazing, if only it had lasted longer!
Tom
RE: Ever Been Soaring?
I have never been soaring but when I get my pilots licence in the future it will be very close to the top of my "things to do" list. 
RE: Ever Been Soaring?
Yes, many times.
I love it.
My longest soaring flight to date was 5.5 hours.
[Edited 2006-06-01 15:11:58]
I love it.
My longest soaring flight to date was 5.5 hours.
[Edited 2006-06-01 15:11:58]
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- airbus3801
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
| Quoting TupolevTu154 (Reply 1): I got self launched in one of these... |
How did you self launch in that?
RE: Ever Been Soaring?
I have been towed up many times, and it is a great experience. We usually went up to around 2500', and the flight lasted about 15 mins. I would love to go back and get my glider license sometime.
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Photo © Jason Pineau
Jason
Photo © Jason Pineau
Jason
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- Goldenshield
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
I was planning on working on my rating this year, but am having to wit on it due to finances. When I do get my rating, though, I have a few models in mind for pruchase. 
RE: Ever Been Soaring?
It was exhilarating - all I could hear was the wind rushing past. We glided, we soared, released from the towplane over German Hill Airstrip and then out over Lake Mangamahoe and the gentle green hills and valleys round about, and a reasonable look at the mountain which was behaving itself for once and not hiding behind clouds like it usually does... it was great!
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- wingscrubber
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
| Quoting Airbus3801 (Reply 4): How did you self launch in that? |
I would imagine he was winch-launched, the cable is attached underneath the glider and pulled at very high speed by a winch which pulls you into the air like a kite. You have to call out the commands to somebody or over a radio, normally goes something like...'Open, Closed' (Attaching the cable) 'Take up slack' (winch winds up slowly) 'All out!' The winch gives you a fudging hard yank into the air, 0-60 in about 3 seconds or something, once you're as high as you can go, you release the cable which parachute back down and look for a thermal! If you can't find one, spoilers out time to land...
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- Goldenshield
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
| Quoting Airbus3801 (Reply 4): How did you self launch in that? |
Unlike the above example, the prefix 'self' usually means 'performed by the object in question.' In this case, the Grob 103C Twin IIISL, pictured above, is a self-launching model with a retractable engine and propellor mounted on a pole that comes out of the fuselage, just aft of the rear occupant. It can carry a payload of 463 lbs., which is good for two 200 lbs people, and 12 gallons of fuel.
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- Goldenshield
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RE: Ever Been Soaring?
I found a good picture, courtesy of sailplanedirectory.com, and copyright its respective owner.
