Thinking about doing your silver distance ?

Ron Clarke starts the discussion:

If so here's a thought or two:

Some of you may remember the talk Frank Reid gave to our members about cross country flying a couple of years ago . In the talk he suggested that if there were airfields each 3 miles everyone would fly cross country without the slightest concern all the time!
But of course airfields are often not just three miles apart. If however they are 6-10 miles apart that makes the task of flying a 50 km course very doable on a day when thermal tops are 4-5000 agl.

This is the time of the year [in Indiana - ed.] when those conditions abound !

One of the choice courses from our launch site is Alex to Terry airport ( about 56 km ), especially if there is a NE wind component . This course is also one where there are a number of good airfields en route ( about each 6-10 miles ).
Stimulated by the video tape Pete presented at the club meeting this month I have a couple of suggestions :

1) Take out a chart and draw the course line from Alex to Terry.

2) On a non-flying day,or on your trip home if you live in Indy or Carmel go visit EACH of the airfields on or close to that route . ( I had a debate recently with a member who differed with me on the direction of the runway of one of those airfields - he said EW, I said NS )
Seeing is believing , and once you have visited each airfield your confidence level about overflying it with the knowledge of where it is and how landable it is ( or isn't) will increase markedly. Think also about whether you could tow out of that field if you needed to. FYI there are about 8-9 airfields on that route I would go look at - at least one good one not on the charts (Stottlemeyer - just west of Frankton)

3) Make sure you are familiar with the Barograph and its operation.

4) Calculate the max tow altitude you can take, using the 1 % rule. [see below - ed.]

Now on the next day when the lift goes to 5000msl you are almost guaranteed a succesful Silver Badge flight .

Happpy landings ,

ZA.

Nyal responds:

To this I would add another thought:
After you have done this exercise, pick out another course generally northeast and with the same characteristics and do the same exercise with it. This will increase your chances of making a downwind dash on any day the thermals top 5000ft.

I haven't looked at the chart to see if there is a really good course line with lots of airports for a silver flight in that direction. There might not be one as good as going to Terry, and it is off-course for your drive to and from Knotts Field.

Nyal

Mario, our newest silver badgee, responds:

I'd like to add something for those, like me, planning to do XC, even if only for the Silver Badge.

If you are flying the PW5, you should know how to assemble and disassemble the plane, and how to put it in the trailer and properly secure it for transportation.
Use every opportunity to learn how to do it and get good at it. In a weak day (of which we have many) propose to your instructor to disassemble the plane. Then re-assemble it again. It doesn't take a single tool to do it, and the wings are not very heavy.

Be there when the plane is being assembled and disassembled.
Read the manual.
Have you ever carefully looked at the trailer? Do it.
Do you know what this dolly and that ramp are for? Ask.
Can you identify, of all the junk sitting in the trailer, what pieces are not part of the PW5 trailer gear? Find out.
Bad news: nothing about the trailer is in the PW5 flight manual.

I think a big reason so few pilots fly cross country is not the problem of landing out, but having to disassemble, transport, and re-assemble the plane.
One thing I learned crewing at the National Championships in Utah is that, with practice, you can assemble and disassemble the plane in 15 minutes, tape and all.
Ground retrieval of a plane does not have to be a big production.

Mario

Let me add this:
On flights less than 100km, the formula for the 1% rule is:
Maximum release altitude in MSL = Altitude of landing point in MSL + (distance flown / 100)

So if you are planning to fly 55 km, your tow release must be no more than 550 meters (1804 feet) higher than your planned landing point. A 2000 foot tow is too high, and remember - when you pull the tow release and make a climbing turn to the right to clear the tow plane, you are going to gain some altitude which will show up on the barograph trace! I recommend you release a couple of hundred feet lower than what the 1% rule would permit - even earlier if you hit a decent thermal on tow. On a good day (good enough to be trying for silver distance anyway) you should be able to get away from a tow release well below 500 meters. But don't wait for the perfect day! Everybody else will want the glider.