fliegen!

[nibot]

Let's try all the weather!: rain, hail, and even some snow, all interspersed with some warm sun and blue sky and very "sportlich" wind. I logged my first 0.2 hours in a glider today, and I admit it was a bit terrifying. But also awesome.

Comments

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Ahh, to appreciate "a bit terrifying!"

[bluepapercup]

Ohhh awesome!!!!

More details, PLEASE!!! :)

[joneshead.livejournal.com]

Sailplanes ftw.

[vyncentvega.livejournal.com]

Awesome indeed!

Ignorance alert: they tow you up and then release, right? They don't have some freakish slingshot that launches you into the air?

[nibot.livejournal.com]

It's kind of like a freakish slingshot! At the other end of the field (1 km away) there's a winch (an amazing home-made contraption--doubtlessly more on this later!) and there's a steel cable going to the glider. It's launched like a kite! Once the angle between the cable and the glider reaches some rather high angle, the cable automatically releases. This launches the glider to something like 500 m in altitude. If the thermals are good, you can stay up for hours. If the weather is bad and you get no lift, the flight lasts only about 5 minutes.

You can also launch a glider by towing it with a motor plane, but this is not so popular here in Germany because it costs a fortune to fly a motorplane (about 2€/minute for the tow plane). The advantage is that you can be launched to a much higher altitude. By comparison, most clubs charge non-members about 5€ for a winch start.

EDIT: here's a video! http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobin/7070119387/