Learning the hill...

[RMihara]

Okay so after attending the Duo event - part II at Devil Mountain and watching this chap DS'ing, I've been re-bitten by the soaring bug.

I have a (~ 25 year old) 2.5M Cirrus sloper, fiberglass fuse, Balsa over foam main wing, T-tail at home in mothballs just itching to give the slopes another shot.

I've done some light reading on the basics but I am curious about how to expedite ones ability to 'read' a hill, so I pose this question: "Would using a portable smoke/fog machine be necessary" so that I could "see" the air flow and detect where a rotor may exist?

Regards,
Roger

[Daemon]

A smoke generator would be great, but would likely get the fire department of forest fire fighters on your butt in a heartbeat. I think a small battery powered bubble blower would work better.
Sometimes I just pick up a handful of dead grass and throw it up over the top and see where it goes.

Or you could it the way the rest of us do.
Walk down the back of the hill a few steps, and if it's relatively calm, or the air is even blowing back up from the backside, we fly a glider back there with some speed to find out if it can be DSed.

Getting a DS trainer like the JW is generally a good idea. Cause even if it's a *good* DS ridge, you're still going to plow a glider into the hill when you're learning.

ian

[RMihara]

Thanks for the reply Ian, I wasn't thinking about a 'Broadway' class smoke machine but something akin to what Beekeepers (?) use to sedate honeybees.

Next time I go to my local hill I will try your recommendation and walk the slope.

BTW, tell me about plowing into hills...that's what happened on the last flight of my Cirrus :(

Regards,
Roger

[Daemon]

By plowing into the ground, I mean that if you pursue DS, you will eventually fly a glider into the ground fast.. hard. If it's a crunchie, there won't be much of it left. Even the pros do it.
Lucky for us there are some fantastic foamies out there like the Bowman JW and NCFM Bluto and Moth, and a few others, that make learning to DS a lot less painful process. Even an EPP combat wing with 8oz of ballast strapped on top will do, if you've got a good spot. I've hit the ground with the JW at 70+mph, picked it up, dusted it off and thrown it back in the air. I flew the Bluto in a vertical rock face once, and other than trying to separate the wings from the center section, it was nothing that a couple pieces of fiber tape on the spot couldn't fix.

You really should learn to DS a foamie, and get your crunchie up to speed on the frontside, before you start flying your crunchie over the back.

ian

[RMihara]

After reading the thread "DS BASICS" and checking out that nice DS link I realized what you meant.

So my Cirrus is called a "Crunchie" huh? LOL, I'll pick-up on all the jargon as I go along then.

I took a look at the JW you mentioned, can you please tell me where to look/buy one of these?

Thanks again!

regards,
Roger

[Daemon]

JW http://www.bowmanshobbies.com/aircraft.html
Bluto http://www.northcountyflyingmachines.com/bluto.htm
Moth http://www.northcountyflyingmachines.com/themoth.htm
Videos of the Bluto and Moth in action
http://www.northcountyflyingmachines.com/videoclips.htm

Of the 3, the JW is probably the most forgiving to fly, is very very stable through rough air but its speed range is limited by its fatter airfoil. The Bluto and Moth are faster and have great energy retention but are trickier to get trimmed and flying perfectly.

ian

[Ade]

Hang tight.

My next article will be about your first time DSing. Should give you some pointers on where to start what to look for etc.

Ade

[RMihara]

Excellent news Ade,

Looking forward to reading it!

Regards,
Roger

[bjaffee]

Just FWIW, I've been DS'ing crunchies almost exclusively for around 2 years, and have yet to seriously damage a plane. It's not that I'm a great pilot, but still, it's not that I don't go fast: I just worked up to it slowly and steadily. I think some of my friends thought I was being a bit whimpy, but I have no desire to spend $300/month on crunchies.

I would definitely suggest learning with a foamie, but if for some reason you don't want to, then the best advice is to just take your time. You don't have to be super agro, 1 foot off the ground in a 30 foot radius circle the first time you try it. In fact, in some ways crunchies tend to be easier to learn DS on because they have better energy retention and you don't have to fly as tight a circle. Still, better to learn on a foamie, tho.

BTW, at my local hill, I've seen 3 DS foamies flown, the JW, Moth and Gulp. Based on what I've seen my preference would look like this:

1. Gulp
2. Moth
3. JW