Monthly Archives: January 2017
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- January 25, 2017
Being prepared shows respect to the examiner
Many many years ago we had a 20-something candidate who showed up to his CFI checkride wearing a Homer Simpson "D'oh!" t-shirt. It wasn't the reason why he 'pink-slipped', but probably didn't impress the Inspector.
Flash forward to late 2016 when Alex Franke earned his private glider license and the FAA Inspector was very impressed with his knowledge base
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- January 18, 2017
"Avoid Stupid Group Think"
I heard this term from Pete Alexander, but I'm unsure if he brought it from working with engineers in his professional career or just came up with it for racing sailplanes. But it applies to gaggle flying.
Let's use Pete's experience at the SGP on the day I lawn darted because I failed to shift gears. He came in second because the gaggle kept wanting to push at warp speed
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- January 11, 2017
In a past, I wrote about leaving a thermal and accelerating while in the lift. That way when you encounter the sink you are already at or near cruise speed and get through the sink quickly. That is great when you are alone. However, let's think about what happens when we have company.
Everything Changes in a Gaggle
When you exit it is considered bad form to cut through the core of the thermal, dive
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- January 04, 2017
There I was nearing cloudbase. I had been running along a nice cloud street into the wind. It had been a long lonely day and now I had company... woohoo... Getting to the last cloud on the street already near cloudbase, I made a few turns and noticed something odd. This shadow wasn't drifting like the others.
The mountains were well upwind (maybe 20 miles). All day the clouds had been drifting like