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| Volume 3, Issue 5 |
June, 2004
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CROSS COUNTRY SOARING (Part 1) Flying across the countryside together with several other gliders and occasionally soaring in thermals with hawks or other soaring birds is one of the great experiences any glider pilot strives for - and it's really not that difficult if you follow the rules. This column will cover some suggestions on how to begin to teach yourself to become a competent Cross-country glider pilot. In order to keep it as simple as possible just a few suggestions will be made each month . PLANNING AND PATIENCE are 90% of what is needed provided you are comfortable flying and thermalling the glider you plan to take cross country. The PLANNING is done mostly before you get into the glider : 1) Firstly you need to acquire a sectional chart (map). Note all of the prominent features on it within say 20 miles of the field . This would include the main roads, towns, rivers, lakes, powerlines, railway lines and airports . It's useful for example to say to yourself " If I was to fly from Alexandria to Elwood I would : a) Cross state road 9 running north into Alexandria town. b) Cross the railroad as I pass south of the town of Alexandria. c) I would pretty much follow a railroad line from Alexandria to Elwood ( on my north side) d) I'd pass to the south of the village of Orestes, and to the north of the town of Frankton. e) Elwood airport would be south of the town along state road 37. 2) Make a note of the information on the 10 closest airfields to Alexandria - Altitude, Runway length, Radio frequency ( You might ask someone knowledgeable about the area about the runway directions and any other "extra" info on the fields . Ask also about other airfields not on the chart - there are quite a few, and you could plot their approximate positions on your chart). Note also that Anderson and Muncie airports have towers and restrictions on flying into those air spaces. Calculate the distances to the 5 closest airports ( don't use Anderson or Muncie) - and calculate how much altitude you would need in the glider you fly to get there from Alexandria with a safety margin of 1000agl when you arrive. ( you will find of course that some require more altitude than you can probably climb to over Alexandria - no problem, we'll discuss that later !) . If you don't use GPS then work out the compass headings to each airport too. 3)Now pick 4 prominent landmarks ( E,W,N,S) each about 2 - 4 miles from Alexandria, and mark them on your chart . Work out the altitude required to fly to each from Alex and back again ( with a 1000 ft safety margin) in your glider. When you have done this PATIENCE takes over as paramount . Now you need a day when the winds are light and the thermals go to at least 4000 agl . When that day comes climb to max altitude over Alex and fly to one of these turnpoints and back . If your calculations show you don't need to thermal on the way then try not to - but go ahead if you are more comfortable doing so . With practice ( have patience ) your goal should be to fly to each of these turnpoints and back without thermalling. Fly Safe, Have Fun , ZA. |
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