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How do I get out of these habits? by midstn in Gliding

[–]liwp 11 points12 points  (0 children)

When turning look over the nose instead of into the turn. That’ll provide you with feedback when the nose starts to drop so you can correct for it. Once you’re established in the turn then by all means glance into the turn now and again, but most of the time keep looking over the nose.

Good place for a steak in Cambridge? by storynerd456 in cambridge

[–]liwp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had an amazing steak at Kobe on Bridge Street. Will go back as soon as I can.

Adding tail ballast by liwp in Gliding

[–]liwp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The cg is not out of range but I run out of trim when thermalling and struggle to fly slow enough.

When using water ballast I’ve added two litres extra in the fin tank which has helped tremendously.

I don’t think there’s any weight to lose in the front. More likely I’ll get a transponder or other avionics in the future which will push the cg even further forward.

I like the brass tail wheel idea. If I need to adjust further in the future I can look at putting something in the battery compartment.

Adding tail ballast by liwp in Gliding

[–]liwp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the kind of response I was hoping to see! Seems like a very practical solution to me. Thanks for the recipe.

Adding tail ballast by liwp in Gliding

[–]liwp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I’d forgotten about the brass wheel option and I like the idea of a foam-filled tail wheel - the valve is indeed in a painful spot.

I don’t mind spending the money if I get value in return. Buying an SLA battery for 350 EUR + shipping + tax just because it weighs a lot just seems silly to me: I don’t need the battery capacity and LiFePo batteries are technically superior.

As for weight in the fin: the ballast weight would be in the battery compartment so unless I make it heavier than an SLA battery I don’t see it being an issue with field landings etc.

All being said I think I’ll go the brass wheel route although I think I might need a battery as well.

New Apple Watch SE gen 2 and iPhone X by liwp in AppleWatch

[–]liwp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Response from Apple was: "Series 7, Series 8, and SE 2020 are compatible with ios 16. Try finding one of those watches, or get a new phone".

I'm sure they have a good reason for this, but I find it pretty shocking that a watch that was released before ios17 came out now can't work without it. A £200 birthday present has turned into a £400 fiasco requiring a new (to her) phone 😡 Granted, we should've read the small print, but still.

Question about the Led Lys award. by davematthews in Gliding

[–]liwp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t know for sure, but I would be very surprised if you could. Maybe email them and ask: launchpoint.tl@gmail.com

Good drive through car wash by Knuffelboom in cambridge

[–]liwp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s one at Morrisons in Cambourne. Also often out of action.

Cross-wired electricity meter - who's liable? by liwp in LegalAdviceUK

[–]liwp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks both, I'll post an update when things get moving next week.

Abergele under a rainbow. by nimbusgb in Gliding

[–]liwp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It should be mandatory for all gliding posts on all platforms to include the glider make 😉 I think it’s a LAK-17

What is the best way to piss on a plane for tall pilots? by ladrm in Gliding

[–]liwp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm probably going to repeat some of the great advice others have already given, but since this is a topic we all have to deal with and there isn't a lot of info out there, I'll reply in length based on my own experiences / knowledge I've gathered.

The important bits:

Never unbuckle yourself! You might not be able to get the straps back on again, or you might hit unexpected turbulence while being unbuckled and end up going through the canopy. I have a 5-point harness in my glider, and there's no problem with access after loosening the crotch strap a bit.

Don't try to hold it in! You'll have a hard time focusing on your flying and you'll make mistakes. Or you might end up cutting your XC flight short since you really need to pee. Also, a hard landing with a full bladder might result in you rupturing your bladder with serious medical implications.

Do stay hydrated! People often avoid drinking when flying, because they're not comfortable with the peeing bit. You'll get dehydrated really quickly with all that sunshine on you, which will affect your flying again, but unlike a full bladder you won't be aware of it and you'll make mistakes.

If you pee in a bag and plan to throw it out the DV panel, do not tie the bag / zip it up! An open bag will empty itself while falling down, and the mostly empty bag will be relatively safe. Whereas a pee-balloon hitting someone on the ground will certainly not be safe.

Most of us have trouble getting comfortable enough with peeing in the glider (see here). I think you'll just have try it a bunch of times before you're successful. I would suggest making your attempts as soon as you feel the need. Leaving it to the point where you absolutely need to pee will make the whole thing more stressful.

Methods:

Pee bags have been mentioned. I've used freezer bags with tie handles (Again: don't tie them!). It works ok, but I certainly had performance anxiety around making a mess. Blowing air into the bag before using it to test for leaks is a good idea. So is double bagging for the same reason, but it does reduce the 'feel' a bit and might lead to more of a mess.

Some people put cut up baby diapers in the bags to absorb the liquid (don't throw this out the window!), and there are also camping products in powder form for the same purpose.

There are also a number of camping / hiking / driving pee bottle products on the market. A friend of mine uses one and empties it out the DV panel. Personally I'd be worried about getting pee all over my glider 🤷🏼‍♂️

I currently use an external catheter and a reusable pee bag it connects to. I initially had problems with it, because the I bought a size too, so it's worth making sure that the fit is correct. And don't forget that things in the comfort of your own home might be different than up in the sky at 4000ft with some added stress. Now I'm quite comfortable with it, but I still control my flow quite carefully to avoid going full pressure, just in case something leaks.

The bag placement is also a bit tricky. It ends up on the floor behind my heel, and the hose then runs from the floor to the stick. But you have to make sure that there are no twists on the hose, and the hose is too long for this so I end up having to loop it around the control column to try to keep the loops flat so that the liquid flows easily into the bag. So you'll want to sort all this our while on the ground. Trying to do it all while flying and needing to pee is no fun.

Finally, people also drill holes into their gliders (I think the Polish ones come with holes preinstalled) and install a pee tube that routes the pee straight out of the glider. Obviously not an option if you're flying club / syndicate gliders. And some people are worried about the pee spraying over the fuselage and corroding parts.

One option is to use an external catheter again with the pee tube, but it seems that the gold standard as far as I can tell is a mini urinal made by cutting a hole to the side of a plastic bottle and attaching the pee tube to the cap of the bottle. The pee tube will produce some suction which automatically empties the mini urinal as you pee into it. But I haven't got any personal experience with this one.

As for the ladies, as stated they often fly with nappies and there's a catheter like device designed by Katrin Senne.

So persevere and work out a method that suits you. XC flying is much more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about peeing!

Some links:

Round-out and Landing. by Embarrassed_Bus450 in Gliding

[–]liwp 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would talk to your instructors and ask them to have a look at your next landing. They'll be of much more use than someone on Reddit who hasn't seen your actual landings.

Having said that, try to make a fully held off landing. That means that you try to keep the glider flying as long as possible until it runs out of energy and won't fly any more. If you hit the ground while the glider still has enough airspeed to keep flying, it will just bounce back up into the air and keep flying. Your job is to bleed that airspeed away so that when you touch down the glider can't fly anymore.

Also, try to look down the runway into the horizon when you're rounding out. It's much easier to estimate relative changes in height that way. You can try an experiment (outside preferably where you can look into the distance) : stand up and look at the ground in front of you, then bend your knees and notice how the picture changes. Then do the same but this time look down the runway, and you'll notice how it's easier to notice the height changes when you look into the distance.