|
Home
Pilot Qualification
About MSC
Flight Training
MSC Organization
Maps/Airport
News/Notices
MSC Chronicles
Calendar
Newsletters
New Members
MSC Organization
Related Links
Photo Library
Document Library
|
What is Soaring?:
The Art of Soaring can be defined as: "Sustaining
flight by taking advantage of rising currents of air".
 Large
birds do it all the time, we just are not used to thinking about air
moving upward. The truth is that our survival on planet earth
is contingent upon rising currents of air. For instance, the
beautiful cumulus clouds that fill the spring and summer sky are the
result of rising currents of air called thermals that carry moisture
up into the atmosphere that will ultimately be turned into rain.
Wind blowing against a hill or mountain range will cause the air to
rise and become compressed and in so doing squeeze out the moisture
that is in the air on the windward side of the slope. This
familiar to all who live on the west coast of Washington. The
moisture brought in from the Pacific is squeezed out of the air
before the wind reaches the desert on the eastern side of the
mountains. Soaring is taking advantage of these phenomena and,
remarkably, sustaining flight for hours and travelling hundreds of
miles when conditions permit. The art of soaring is learning
to navigate by finding these rising currents of air.
The Soaring Machine - The Sailplane
Commonly referred to as 'gliders', sailplanes are
highly refined aircraft that have been designed to reduce drag to
the lowest possible level. They feature all the elements of standard
aircraft including controls, instruments except those related to
power systems. This is why the FAA issues a pilot's license for
flying gliders. Much of the training to fly gliders carries over
into powered airplanes and vice versa. Early designs focused on
reducing the stalling speed (the speed at which the aircraft no
longer produces enough lift to keep it flying) in order to fly in
very small circles and more emulate the soaring birds. Gradually the
designs shifted to more streamlined, sleek machines that also
emphasized lower drag. 
This has been facilitated by the dramatic
improvement in materials that permit long thin wings and very sleek
fuselages. Lower drag is essential to be able to navigate between
thermals with a minimum of lost altitude. Current designs are
incredibly efficient able to sustain flying speed while losing less
than 100 feet for every mile covered.
Such performance would make landing a sailplane a
very difficult task without some way to increase drag. For
this reason all sailplanes have either dive brakes or flaps in order
to create a controlled rapid descent. Sailplanes are built as either
single or two seat aircraft with the two seat sailplane being the
primary training vehicle. The Minnesota Soaring Club owns two two
place sailplanes and one single place sailplane for the use of its
members. A number of members also own their own sailplanes.
Getting off the Ground
Since sailplanes cannot flap their wing as birds do
they need some way to get enough altitude to initiate a soaring
flight. There are three methods that are commonly used:
- Aero tow. A single engine plane such as a Super Cub
is equipped with a tow hook and a 200 ft. rope connects the tow
plane with the sailplane equipped with a similar hook. The tow
plane pulls the sailplane up until the sailplane releases the
rope, typically between 2,000 and 3,000 ft. above the ground.
The tow plane then returns to the airport to tow the next
sailplane into the air. The entire process takes between 10 - 15
minutes per launch.
- Winch launch.
 A large winch powered by an automotive
gasoline or diesel engine is situated up to about 5,000 ft. from
the sailplane. A tow line connects the winch to the sailplane
and on launch the winch winds in the tow line. The sailplane
quickly accelerates to flying speed and climbs at a steep angle
to its release altitude of between 1,500 and 2,000 ft.
This method of launch is very popular in Europe but seldom used
in the United States.
- Self Launch. A recent modification of the sailplane
is the installation of a small engine with a retractable
propeller system. While the addition of the engine, propeller
and drive system does increase the aircraft weight the benefit
is worth the small loss of soaring performance.
Beyond Solo
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) has
established a series of badges that recognize and encourage the
soaring pilot to further develop soaring skills. They are
designed with increasing levels of accomplishment and are recognized
throughout the world. The Soaring Society of America is
charged with administering the badge program for the United States.
An abbreviated summary of the badges follows:
- Bronze Badge is designed for the solo pilot and requires two
soaring fights of at least two hours each.
- Silver C Badge is designed as an introduction to
cross-country flying as well as demonstrating increased soaring
skill. Three separate tasks are defined: 1) A soaring
flight of at least five hours; 2) An altitude gain of at least
1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from the lowest point of flight after
launch; 3) A cross-country flight of at least 50 kilometers
(31.1 miles) to a destination.
- Gold Badge continues to increase the challenge for the
soaring pilot. Two separate tasks are defined: 1) A soaring
flight of at least 300 kilometers (186.4 miles); The
flight may be accomplished using a variety of courses such as Out
and Return, Triangle or Straight Out Distance; 2) An altitude
gain of at least 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) from the lowest point
of flight after launch.
- Diamond Badge. This is the highest level of badge
awarded to the soaring pilot. Three separate tasks are
defined and are intended to establish the mastery of the soaring
pilot: 1) A cross-country flight of at least 300 kilometers to a
defined goal; a variety of courses may be utilized as described
above; 2) A cross-country flight of at least 500 kilometers
(310.6 miles) using one of the courses defined above; 3) An
altitude gain of at least 5,000 meters (16404 feet) from the
lowest point of flight after launch.
- A diploma is also awarded to a pilot who accomplishes a
flight of at least 1,000 kilometers (621.3 miles).
For the pilot with a competitive inclination there
are State, National and World record categories for speed, distance
and altitude. There are also local fun contests and
SSA Championship contests at the Regional and National for different
classes of sailplanes.
Each year the Minnesota Soaring Club
organizes a week-end outing to Sleepy Eye and for the more
serious pilot a soaring camp at Parowan, Utah is organized in conjunction with
the Auxiliary powered Sailplane Association.
As you can see from the above, there is a range of
activities that will fit the most casual to the most serious
soaring pilot.
Return to top. |
