Gliding advice

[Guest]

Sorry if this appears as a double post, but I thought I'd posted a few hours ago, but now I come to look, can't see the post anywhere.Basically, I've got back into FU3, esp the glider. I've never really flown it before, and after a flight yesterday, really enjoyed it. I know very little about the principles, though, except you have to catch thermals. Can someone help me with a few points. What's the best altitude to get upto before switching off the engine, and where should I look for thermals. I kind of figured on valley bottoms, but I'm damned if I can find them.BTW, was there a glider in FU2, and if so, was it towed? Or was it FU1 (with the little red thermal indicators, I seem to remember.).

[Guest Quaxo]

Hi,The towed glider was in FU1. It was very nice IMO - you could actually see the wings bending under G-Loads!! FU2 didn't have a glider.I don't know for the thermals, but you can find a lot of good dynamic lifts... just find a steep hillside, which is "hit" from the wind; the wind will follow the hill's slope, and if you fly just over it, you'll soon get very high!!! But our expert here is Glidernut - I'm sure he'll give you a lot of good hints... :-)Cristian

[Guest glidernut]

Gottedammerung,Gosh!, thats wat I call a high aspect rashiow user name, I meen its long. what is your first name ?Anyway, you read this wyial I get you sum mor usfull stuf. (10) Hints and tips on soring in FU3 by glidernut.(1)IN OPTIONS.First of all, in OPTIONS, you must put WIND ACCURACY to the far right.If you don't do this, you will not fined slope-lift in the right places.Or where you expect it to be.(2)Also in OPTIONS put GEAR DAMAGE OFF.If you don't do this,even after a perfectly soft landing, the glider will no longer roll down hill "unaided". Even thowe the under-carige looks to be OK, and works perfectly OK in every other respect, the under-carige will be damaged to the extent that it will no longer roll down hill unaided, And multiple take offs by rollingdown hill will be imposibl.(3)Also in OPTIONS, use at least sum TURBULENCE.I sergest about a quorter low.The reesn for this is bicous in FU3, thermal lift has more turbulence than slope or wave lift.So if you are over a slope and under a cloud at the same time.The turbulence you experience is sum times the only way of knowingwhich kind of lift you are in.So having sum turbulence set in OPTIONS is not just my persanal preferance, its useful when thermal soring.(4)IN THE WEATHER SCREEN.In the waether screen, fore good slope and wave lift choos or createa waether file with high winds.You can change the wind speeds by dragging and dropping from betweenthe black arrows.If the waether file has a frunt in it, indicated by a blue line,then most lightly sum where in that region there will be wave lift.But don't ask me where.Fore thermals choos a weather file with as meany clouds as posibl.The thermals are under clouds.If theres no clouds, theres no thermals.Fore a more raelistik thermal soring experience I sergestyou use much lower wind speeds than for slope lift.And using at least sum turbulence set in options, will help you detect and ditermin wether you are in or out of thermal lift.(5)WHEN SORING WITH THE STEMME.In the cockpit there are 2 variometers,The less sensativ slower moving one is the one to woch for lift.It needs to be at least 3 notches abuov 0 to be ganeing hight.Keep an i on it. Its more acurat than your best gesis.(6)Its the steepest part of the slope that provides the strongestlift, not neseserely the highest part.(7)The straterge of ganeing as much hight as posibl bifor setting off across country to the next place of good lift, is best used on a small scale.This straterge "at high altitude" only works well if you intend toset off across country down wind.But at low altitude this straterge works well in all directions.And is often more rewording.(8)In good slope soring condishons, the hight of the slope need not be any higher than your wingspan is long.(9)If you wont to glide the maximum distance for a given hight.In most cases, manetaneing 60 mph with flaps set at 0, is best.You will not go fare wrong by manetaneing 60 mph with flaps set at 0. (10)But the stemme with its wide speed range is also well sooted to another "more advanced" straterge commonly known as porpoiseing.Porpoiseing is a straterge "or tecneek" that can take advantageof small patches of lift that are too small to take advantage ofby sercling.Imagen you are flying at about 500 feet and you are traveling in a more or less striate line.And in order to get where your going, you despratly need to hang ontoevery foot of altitude that you have.And your flying over terrane that is repeatedly giving you smallbut strong patches of lift, folowde by small poaches of doundraft.The straterge "or tecneek" to use in this situashon is to slow theglider down by razing the nose and leveling out just bifor the stall when you are passing throw the patches of lift. And when you are passing throw the patches of doundraft, alouw the glider to pick up a little speed.In this way, you spend more time in lift, than you do in doundraft.Go on, have a go. Glidernut.

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. It's a great help. I'll be in the air this evening.

[Guest glidernut]

Gottedammerung,Peter M Ridge, did a diferant vershon of the stemme motor glider.Its the same as you alredy hav, exept its F2 vew is a lot beter.Its F2 vew is as you see in the snap-shot. See snap-shot.the big black arowe is pointing at the dile that tels you wetheryou are in lift or doun-draft. This is the mane one to whatch,Its more acurat than your best gesis.This F2 vew is grate for reading the instrements and seeing where you are going at the same time.I like it, and use it a lot. And I recomend it to you.Do an "Extended Search" in the FU3 File Library for,Filename: stvfrmax.zipAdded: 11th February 2002Author: Peter M. Ridge / Looking Glass StudiosSize: 3387kb

[Guest juvat2]

Hi,Glad to see you here. For a great gliding experience, you should download the glider_realismchallenge1_0.zip package. It's available here at Avsims library. It's a blast to fly.Jim B.

[Guest glidernut]

Gottedammerung,Dont forget that you hav tow traneing lesons for theglider that cum with the FU3 by difalt. (traneing). Botum left of the FU3 opening screen.One is in aircraft traneing.The other is in Weather leson 5.If you clik on "practis" after the leson, then youare put in the same place and withe the same weather that youv just seen.Thay are good.Almost as good as the Blak-Box vidioes that I hav dun.My Blak-Box vidioes should cum with a worning. Thay will make you feel like an amatuer.My glider vidiowes are in the librery.Do an "Extended Search" for,Orther: John LewisHo! yes, the Glider Realism Challenge.how could I forget that !I only do 95% of my flying in this chalang, and I forgot it.Thanks Jim B, for reminding me.As Jim B, sed,Do an "Extended Search" for,Filename:``glider_realismchallenge1_0.zip License:```Check within download Added:`````4th June 2002 Downloads:`210 Author:````Steffen Schiedek and John Lewis Size:``````3330kb After you hav tried all this, cum back and giv us your impreshions.glidernut.:-wave

[Guest]

Thanks all, I've got all the files mentioned, and got them working. Now I need to get some serious air time.I'll tell you my first impression, though.I've reinstalled FU95, and been messing with the glider in that, and it seems a lot lighter than the standard one in FU3. I'm guessing that it's because it has no engine. I'm hoping it isn't because the way FU3 calculated the flight of the thing is different to FU95. I know FU95 was the pinnacle. I just hope FU3 is still up there. Anyone got any thoughts on that?Oh, I was also messing with the SFSPC demo, which was nice. I caught a themal in it and really felt the glider fly (until the time limit cut me off). Again, the glider felt much lighter that the one in FU3 - well, maybe not "much" lighter, but it didn;t seem to loose speed as fast. Anyone got the full sim. I'm kind of tempted, but I feel it might be a bit limited.Oh, I tell you what else I did - I took a nice flight across the Napa Valley from Parrett to Sonoma Skypark. Now, I used to see California on TV when I was kid - all those shows like Chips, and flying over it, I really did get a feeling like I'd been there. That's why I love FU2/3 the terrain when you're up there is the best, IMHO.