When Flying XC Don't Give Up

Last weeks topic on final glides could lead to a poorly planned final glide and a possible low save. Safety must prevail and landing out might be the best option. However, 3000ft AGL within glide to an airport is not the time to give up.

Let me summarize 8hrs of instruction in the Nimbus 4D: 'More rudder, shove the rudder, more rudder, yes I want you to add more rudder.'
 
Despite the yaw-string acting as a windshield wiper the most important lesson was to never give up.

I had the brilliant idea to head out on a cross-country after a nice climb off tow, despite the dismal forecast. As we got lower my student* wanted to return home, he was feeling the pressure of ‘get-home-itis'.
 
We were flying at an MC=0.5 setting and had an enormous amount of sink. At the rate, we were plummeting (we were in a 60:1 glider so I say that as a relative thing), I don't think we could have made it back home through the sink.
 
We continued on looking for a thermal. Well, I wanted to look for a thermal while my student* was more interested in landing at the next airport. We were 2000ft over final glide with many miles of possible thermal sources. After some coaxing, I get him to start searching the terrain for a source and thermal trigger as we headed in the general direction of the next airport.
 
I wanted to give us the best odds for finding a thermal. He had given up and was ready to just land. I did not want to arrive over the airport much above pattern altitude, nor did I want to land there, the restaurant is long since closed and it was probably 110F on the ground which feels like 130F on the ramp. 
 
We discussed where there might be better odds for a thermal and tried a few spots, one paid off. We were close enough to get a good idea of the thermal trigger. We then found more areas of similar features and tried them, they worked. We had to make two passes along a 3mile ridge line but eventually, we timed a good thermal which got us back on final glide to home with a low MC setting.
 
Now he was ready to head directly home. Which would have ended in a field. I was told that one world champions thought process was to avoid less sink then everyone else. So to do this on our final glide we needed to deviate a little. After convincing him to do this we stopped loosing on final glide and started to gain on it.
 
Again he had given up and just wanted to land. 
 
I love this sport because there are many right answers, lots of wrong ones and very few certainties. I was certain we would land, but I didn't want to rush it. If we did land at the other airport our Towpilot would have LOVED to come to pick us up, so really it wasn't something to get the blood pressure worked up about. Even at our lowest, we were still 20min from landing out.

* Actually a private pilot with a 1000hrs of glider time and new owner of Nimbus 4D. I use the term student because I was the PRIC (Pilot Really In Command).

Photo:  Alex Gilles

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 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.