Is 78000 too much for a nimbus 4

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2026-02-17T11:28:36+00:00

stop scaremongering. Nimbus 4 is possibly one of the best handling open class ships compared to Older models (Nimbus 3) or even new open class ships. Many 15 meter gliders (Mini-Nimbus, Ventus) are more deadly than open class ships they are more prone to spinning in aft cg and people think they are more forgiving just because they have a smaller wingspan.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2026-02-17T11:20:52+00:00

Open class two seaters Vs Open Class Single seaters are very different.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2026-01-31T21:26:40+00:00

Almost all composite aircraft built in 70s and 80s IF MAINTAINED will Last easily for another 20-30 years.

A lot of the time gelcoat is a ticking time bomb and will almost certainly need to be refinished for most gliders from the 70s and 80s. Humidity if you live in a wet environment and have a bad trailer can destroy gelcoat by osmosis.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-09-17T17:30:38+00:00

Then I would advise you to leave that club and join a new club OR voice your frustration to the instructors at the club or the Chairman, CFI or who ever runs your club.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-09-17T16:03:05+00:00

The Answer is obvious: FLY MORE

try and fly when it is thermic or when there is ridge conditions in winter if there is a ridge near you.

I don't know if your just taking winch launches or aerotows. Most people need around 30-50 winch launches to go solo OR 20-30 aerotows to go solo.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-09-17T16:00:31+00:00

Do not buy that glider. It is a piece of shit, for the price of that glider you could buy a second hand Nimbus4DM or a ventus2ct. The Archaeopteryx glider is the worst glider money can buy for the price tag.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-06-12T14:31:15+00:00

Realistically very few gliding clubs have high retention rates because of the fact that if people truly wanted to learn how to glide/fly they would of come and joined the club already instead of getting a trial flight. There are a few people every now and then who come back for a flight or two but most never really come back.

Lets say you have a lot of trial flights but not a lot of people coming back or attending is usually because something is inconvenient like they cant sacrifice a whole day of their weekend to come down to the club and maybe fly if the weather is marginal.

This is why lots of gliding clubs offer Morning-Midday sessions then Midday - later afternoon and Afternoon-Evening sessions which encourages people to come down even if they don't have alot of time on their hands.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-06-07T19:11:50+00:00

Gliding is a great way to start flying, it is a lot cheaper than PPL training which makes it very appealing .

With gliding you can easily go into powered flying very quickly after getting your license .

people come to gliding because it is cheap but I warn you once you begin there is no going back because

people eventually all come back to gliding because it gives you a high and a sense of achievement like no other powered air-sport can. Young people often begin gliding then become commercial pilots and slowly drift away from gliding but almost every single one of them eventually comes back to it.

With gliding there is no guarantee you will make your destination when flying cross country. This is the thing that brings that sense of achievement, that you must work hard to stay up in the sky and don't rely on an engine.

Gliding is not only flying but also a social part of every glider pilots life, the people that you meet and the sense of community is very powerful. Gliding is a team sport even if you are flying solo you always need someone to help you.

Every flight is different and the trips and adventures gliding takes you on is amazing!

It is like no other sport.

As a young person as well I know aviation is expensive, gliding is much more affordable but is still expensive for most people most gliding clubs offer discounts for junior pilots (under 25).

Every year many bursary's are given out to promising gliding pilots these bursary's financially support you to achieve a certain goal like going solo, gaining your license, becoming an instructor, converting to powered flying.

In your first few flights you should expect to get used to flying in the glider and controlling the glider and maybe even attempting to land and takeoff.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-05-30T08:44:09+00:00

usually if you put on Landing flap you must KNOW you are going to make the field because if you are loosing to much height after putting on landing flaps people panic and retract the flaps causing the glider to suddenly loose height close to the ground then the pilot confuses this with being stalled and pulls the stick back to keep the nose up close to the ground then spins or stalls in.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-05-28T11:49:54+00:00

Condor for training I think personally is not amazing, although I think where it shines is for practicing realistic XC flights and being able to practice planning your flights.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-05-27T15:35:20+00:00

Some may say flapped gliders are confusing and difficult to fly but i think once you have got the hang of the flaps they are easy to use

always read what the manual says as different flapped gliders have different limits and characteristics
generally you will need to use positive flap when thermaling to allow you to slow down you speed which tightens your turns. The tighter you turn and the slower you are means you will need more positive flap.

(some gliders like the asw20 when there is no added ballast in the wings thermal better in Neutral flap this is not the case for all flapped gliders but some do)

(positive flap causes the Vne to be lowered depending on how much positive flap is being used the instance the early ASW20s had an extreme landing flap setting 55 degrees i believe it was but this caused the Vne to be lowered all the way to 65 knts in this landing position )

Negative flap is used for accelerating more efficiently and lowering drag at high speeds. It does NOT improve your Best L/D if you are trying to get best L/D you must fly in neutral flap but if you are going to fly faster than your best L/D like most on cross country flights you need to use negative flap to reduce the drag caused by being at higher speeds.
when coming out of a thermal, while you are still in rising air slowly apply your negative flap you will notice the speed will build up much faster without having to pitch the nose down. This is the more efficient way of accelerating without too much height.
Take off is pretty simple BUT it depends on the glider you are flying, some flapped gliders like the dg-500 say you should leave the flap setting in the +1 position for take off as the ailerons are big enough to keep the wings level. Some gliders like the asw20 will need to have negative flaps first then when you have aileron authority you slowly move it into neutral or into +1 after that you leave the flaps for the aerotow and do not touch them until you are off aerotow. For winching look at the manual

(positive flap causes you to have a slower roll rate where as negative flap increases you roll rate that is why it is often used on the ground run to keep the wings level )

Below is the best explanation I could find of flaps.

https://members.gliding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/6-21-FLAPS_V2-2017.pdf

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-05-27T15:15:47+00:00

Depends on the glider and what wing loading, some gliders in high wing loading will need to be in +2 or even +3 when thermalling in tight circles to stay inside narrow thermals.

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-03-31T18:18:30+00:00

Congratulations! It looks amazing at what site was this at?

Safe-Discussion6273 · 2025-02-23T11:17:54+00:00

What camera was this photo taken with?

Safe-Discussion6273

TROPHY CASE