mountain flying talgarth
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Mountain Flying
Talgarth
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T
he
Site
loo
king so
uth south we
st
t
o
th
e
r
econ
eacons insn
ow.
hotograph
by alcolm
aynes
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CO
NTENTS
Page
Contents
2 Ackn
owledgements
3 Forew
ord
by
Bill Scull,
Director of Operat
ions
B.G.A.
4
Introduction,
The
Site
6
Site Check, Field
Oper
ations for
G l
ider Tug Pilot
s
9
Mass Landings
Procedure
1 1
W ind
&
Weather,
Wind
Gradient
1 2 The
Tug
1 4 Safety
1 5 Fiel
d
Sele
ction and Landings
1 9 Ridge
Soaring
2 1
Ridge Routes, Black
Mountains
23 Lower
Beat,
Cwm
du V
alley
2 5 Hay Bluff to
Pandy
25
Llangattock,
Bre
con Beacons, Ffo
rest Fawr Black
Mountains
29 Wave, Topography
33
Meteorol
ogical Con
ditions for Wave
33 Rotor
and
T
urbulence Layers
36 Th
ermals
in
Mou
ntains
37 Courses
37
M
embership
38
Visitor
S
upervision
(N
otes for
Instructors
S
ite Check Pilots)
40
'On
Flying
at
Talgarth'
by
Chris
Carton
A
ppend ix
ILLUSTRA
TIONS
Inside cover
Photogra
ph
The
Site
5
Drawing
1
Brecon
Beacons National Pa
rk
8
Drawin
g 2
Mass Landin
g
Sequence,
westerly
1 0
Drawing 3 Mass La
nding Sequence, easter
ly
1 6
Drawing 4
Emergency Fields
1 8
Drawing
5
U phill
Landing
Advantages
20 D
rawings 6, 7
8 Wind Flow
and
Lif
t Zones
22
Drawing 9 The B
lack Mountains Lla
ngattock Escarpment
R i d g e
R outes
24
Drawing 1 0 Fforest
Fawr Brecon Beacons Ridge R
outes
26
Drawi
ng
1 1
Black
Mountains
2 8
Photograph
2
W ave
30
Draw
ing
1 2 C
ross-section
of
a
Wave
System
3 1
Photograph 3
Wave
3
2 Draw
ing 1 3
The
Directio
n
Places
Wave sets
up.
34
Drawing
1 4
W ales
in
north-west/north
north-west
Wave
35
Drawing 1 5 Ro
tor
Inside
b .cover
Photograph 4
Wave
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ACK
NOWLEDGEMENTS
Throughout th
e period
of
writing this book n
um erous
pilots have
cont
ributed
in
various forms as to compile
it has
involved
a
long
period of
evaluation and
measuring the feedback from pilots. To this end am
most
grateful
to
all
Club members and to pilots
have
ta
ught to fly
at
Talgarth.
am especia
lly indebte
d
to:
Derek
Eckley ithou
t
his suppo
rt and
hard
work the Club would not be in
e
xistence.
Dave Hodsman or his contributions
to and criticisms in constructing
this
book.
Bill
Scull orwriting
the
foreword
and providing a lot ofofficial support and
quot
ations.
Derek Piggott and
Ivor
Shattock
or quo
tations
Chris
Carton or writing his article
on
Fl
ying
at
Talgarth
Lastly
Evelyn my
wife
for all
the
typing
and help
in
preparing
th is
book
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FOREW
ORD
It is not
often
that
new gliding sites appear
on the
map; when they do
they
a
re usually of t
he basic
T
21-and-w inch variety.
Talgarthwas
not of
this sort.
Instead it
offere
d
a new and
challengin
g soa
ring oppo
rtunity.
However,
to
become
established it
needed the basis
of
a
clu
b in the
more usual
sense
wit
h ab-
initios and
basic
training.
It soon
became apparen
t
to
the Club's
managemen
t
that t
here
w as
a
need
to
select
students
b ec
ause the site
is
quite adiffi
cult
o
ne and there
was even
the vi
ew
thatthe site shoul
d only beused
by "experienced" pil
ots.
In any
case the
us
e of
the
site by visitors increased
to
the
point where
it
can
cont
inue
to exist with th
eir
support.
Eventhe v isitors
found the
site
to be
a
tric
ky
one,
on occasion, an
d there was
c
learly a need for expedi
tions to
Talgarth
to be
controlled by C.F.I.'s of the
Clubs involved. This
they can
only
do
if
they
know
the
site
themselves.
The
reason is that
Talga
rthand the
loc
al soaring
opportunities
are,
for themos
t part,
different to
anything that one may h
ave
experienced
at
other UK
h
ill sites. The
decision
making
based
on "
what
he
ight to l
ea ve
the
ridge"cannot be
la id
down
as
simply an
d as
arbi
trarily as at most
other sites and th
e need
is
for more
comprehen
sive briefing
and
checking
than i s required
elsewhere. Th
is
the
'locals
especially John
Bally the Club's
C.F.I., have cometo
recognise,
and
this
small
book represents a step
along the way
towards communic
ating the
op
portunities
(a
nd the hazards) of so
aring
in the
area.
The
need
forthe first-tim e visitor
is
to
absorb
as
much
as
he
can
by
reading
these notes
and pouring
over
maps before
flying at all, so
as
t
o better visualisethe
risks
and als
o to
comprehend
t
he briefings. Even
then you must recognise
the
fr
aught nature of
so
me of th e
soaring op
portunitiesand
heed the
words ofthe
briefing.
If John Bally says
"don't try to
get
back
to the
site (in given
circumstances)
.. land at field
'X'",
then
his words
ar
e as
near
to
'go
spel as you
will
get.
Thes
e notes
w
ill
undoubtedly be
revised
in the
light
of experience.
You
ca
n
play
a partin this by
giving the author
the
necessa
ry feedb ack.
If you do others
will
enjoy the
soaring
the
area
offers
with
the
mininium
of
risk .
W .
G .
Scull
Dir
ector
of
Operations,
B.C.
A .
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INT
RODUCTION
The airfield is
on Derek Eckley'sfarm. A keen glide
r pilot fo
r a number of
years, he
found that
it was
difficult
to
combine
gliding with far
ming
com
mittments. A chance disc
ussion with m
e in 1978
started
the following
ev ents. Derek
thought he ha
d enough room
for
an
airstrip, and after pacingout a
couple
of
fields,
despite the difference
in
stride
size, we
agreed
that
it
was
possible
Work
started
im media
tely;
hedge
s were bulldozed
out,
ditches
filled in,
and
two weeks later, hav ing
purchased an A
uster, we flew it in. For
the
rest
of the
su mmer
and
following
winter the s
ite was evaluated
with this
air
craft,
and
improved. In
June 1979 the Black
Mountains
Gliding
Company
Ltd.
was
formed. The
Auster was so ld
and
a Rallye
180
Commodore and a
Blani
k bought
from
Shobdon. The
Club
has
been
growing ever
since. In 1980 w e built a
hanger
and
a
Club House;
in 1981 w e replaced the
Ra
llye with a
Pawnee
2
35; in
April
1982 w e
obtaine
d full planning perm ission;
and in January
1983
officially
formed the
Club and join
ed
the British Gliding
Association
. W e
have
a steady
flow of visiting pilots from
all over the
southern halfof the
B r
itish
Isles. A
chance
discussion and
a lot of
hard
w
ork
h
ave created a highly prized
gliding
site;
perfectly
positio
ned,
offering th
e longest ridge
routes
in
the countr
y,
c
ombined
with wave
flying contact
able
f
rom the
ridges
in more dire
ctions than anywhere
e
lse in the U.K.
So
, y
ou
no longer n
eed those 2-3,000
'-plus tows
;and
to
find out
how and why
read
on.
THE
SITE
A
study
of
the
Brecon Beacons
National
Park
(see
Drawing
No.
1),
reveals
the
Black Mountain
s
(2,600'),
the Brecon
Beacons
(2,907'),
Ffo
rest Fawr
(2,379'),
an
d Cam
arthan Black
Mountain (2,636'). This is
our playground,
amongst
one of the most beautiful
areas of
W ales.
(O.S. sheets
159, 160 ,
and
161) .
The site i s an advance
d
mountain
f
lying site
(O
.S.
M ap
161,
refe
rence
1735.3200). It is
at the foo
t
ofthe
westerly escarpment of the Black
Mountains,
facing
the prevaili
ng
winds.
It is
950' ab ove mean
sea level, and
530'
above the
va
lley floor. The field
(see Drawing 4)
is 27-acres of well-drained lan
d, enabling
us to
o
perate a
ll
year
round. The grou
nd
is highest
in the
m
iddle, slopin
g
downwards
from west rou
nd
to
north-east; enabling glide
rs landing in an
easterly, south-easterly,
southerly or south-westerley
direction
to land with
an
uphill
grad
ient.
The
main
runway is ea
st-west; 440 y ards, with
a
f
urther 250 yards
ove
rshoot
fiel
d. On
westerly
take-of
f, after 250 y
ards
th
e
gradient
i
s
down
hill,
there are no o
bstacles to
cle
ar. The field is
small in com
parison
with
flat
glidin
g
sites, h
owever it
is
perfe
ctly
adequate, and
in
direct pro
portion to
the
surrounding fields.
W e
are
restricted
by
planning permission
to
a
maximum
of
20
gliders
and
one tug
at any one time
on the airfield.
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SITE CHECK
Minimum
q
ualifications
are 100
hours p. 1 Silver
C , and flying exper
ience
at
two
hill
s
ites.
All
pilots, wit
hout exception
, are subjec
t
to
site
checks
and
gra
dings
for
conditions
and
areas of
oper tion
according to
ability
and
experience. The check
by design
will
plac
e
a
certain
mount of
pressure on the
pilot,
particu
larly t
o
those wh
o have
not
experienced soarin
g in close proxi
mity
to
the ground.
It is
desig
ned
to
evaluate
a pilot, and his
ability to
l
and
in the surroun
ding country
safely.
Pilots
who
are n
ot
very expe
rienced or who fall s
hort of
requirements w
ill
h
av e the opportu
nity to
l
earn
under
a pro
gramme of training
designed
accordin
gly, and back
ed
up b
y a
tut
ori l
element.
Two-seater fl
ying/instructing
is
by
e
xperienced, site approved,
pilots only.
There
is
normally
a
separate
test
first
for
passenger
carrying,
despite
a
pilot
possibly
being a
qualified in
structor; and later
for instructing. Instruc
tors will
appreci
ate
the
need f
or
a
period of e
valuation and
assessment of th
e
site. A
n
instruct
or
on t
he
sit
e is re
sponsible for, amon
gst other du
ties,
site chec
ks Some
of
our visitin
g pilots
h
ave a
lot of ex
perience.
In
e
valuating them a certain
amou
nt of
str
ess has to
be impo
sed; it is unl
ikely
th t
an
in
structor
with, for
example,
200
hours, would have
flown
the site enough, un
less the product
of it,
to imp
ose sufficient
pressure
on a
1,000
hou
r pilot
without putting
himsel
f
u
nder
pressur
e and the combination i
n danger. A
de
tailed knowledge of the sit
e is
therefore
a
prerequisite,
and can
only
b e
gained
over
a
period
of
time.
The
higher
the
expertise and skill of
pilots flyingfrom
Ta
lgarth, the
more gliders we
can
operate
. Since an
incre
ase
in members makes
the oper tionmore
viable, we
dictate
and strive for highe
r standa
rds. To
this end
instructo
rs have
to
be
well
above average
requirement
s
a
nd experience
d.
FIELD O
PER TIONS
FOR GLIDER N
D
T
U G PIL OTS
Launchi
ng
La
unching takes p lace
in the fol
lowing direction
s
south-west, wes
t,
north-west, and
north-east.
A
launch
towards
the
mountains
in
easterly
winds
is
not recom
mended
except
in certain
circumst
ances due toflying into
sink cre
ated
by the
mountain; no
cable-brea
k
fields
;
an
d risingground. In
easterly and
s
outh
easterly winds, la
unching i
s
do
ne
in a
south-wester
ly/westerly direc
tion in light
w
inds,
and north
-easterly
in
strong w
inds. The former
is not as od
d
as it
m
ight
appe
ar, for the
following
reasons. The P
awnee
235
h
as
n
excellent
cross-wind
capability. Its acceler
ation is fast giving aile
ron and r
udder contro
l quickly; the
take-off run
combines a do
wnhill run; a
ll cable-b
reak
fie
lds slope dow
n
predominantly
north-west
; in the ev
ent
o
f a cabl
e-break
a
gli
der
is
downwind for
an
into-wind uphill landing.
In
southerly
winds,
take-off
runway
27,
1 5
knots
and
over,
take-
off southwest
erly. In north-wes
t, north
a
nd north-east
winds,
take-off
runway
2
7, 5 knots
and over, launc
h
into
wind.
In the ev
ent
of a
cable-br
eak
in
the
worst
po
sition on
these
last
three
launches
,
th
ere is no problem in
flying
dow
n the
valley
on
the
north side of
the
field on a westerly
heading,
to fields in
the main valley 530
' below
(see Drawing
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7
4). The runway
2 7
is use
d primarily for launch
ing. Gliders landing
when possible
do
so
on
the north side
of
the runway.
This ensures
the
min
imum
delay
in
launching. The
runway is to be considered active
at all tim
es.
Aircraft la
nding on
it to clear into th
e taxi
area marked on Drawing
2 .
Gliders on
the
north side
of the
runway to be cleared
promptly by
ground
staff.
1 .
Before
you
launch know
your
options.
M ost
fields
can
be
viewed
from
the
en d
of
the runway.
2 . Know the last
safe point
to abort flight.
3 . K
now the
height
where, d
epending on wind
conditions,
a 180
turn for a
down-wind
landing, cross-wind or into-wind
landing on the air
field
can
be
saf
ely
achieved.
Bear
in
mind
that
on
a westerly
take-off
the
oversho
ot
field
can
be landed
in for a
180 .
4. Sel
ect field, circuit
i
f applicable
,
and la
nd, (see section
on Field
Landing
s) .
5. Controlled crash. In
the
unlikely
event of
an
imminent
crash,
plan a
controlled
one
where y ou
can
dictate
events,
i.e.
leaving
your
wings
behi
nd between trees coming
into
a
field
rather than
ha
ve
a
hea
d-on into a
tre
e or
wire at
th
e
other
end.
Far too
few
pilots even
consider
this
an option
.
Knowin
g
your options reduces
thinking time, it could be the
difference
between
a safe landing;
an
accide
nt; or wa lking away instead
of being in jured or
trapp
ed.
After
all,
the
tug's
engine
could fail
and
if
you
think
you have
a
problem in a glider, wha
t
about the
tug
pilot.
Drawin
g
4 is
also
disp
layed in the Clu
b
House,
an
d
colour
ed for clarity.
Circui
ts
When landing in
a
westerly
direction
we favour a northerly circuit
(right
hand) because a
t any
point
ont
he down-wind
leg
abeam the
ru
nway a glider can
turn finals and land; becau
se of this facility
that the field
provi
des, it i
s
possible
for a
number of gliders to land
at
once, (see
drawings 2
and
3.) In
strong winds
circuits
are on the down-wind
side of the field so t
hat
pilots
whencom
pensating
for drift
have
good
vi
sion
and the arc
en
scribed
in
a tu
rn
is
sma
ller as opposed to
the
same
turn
in a cir
cuit on the upwind side.
North-west landing
This
direction of landin
g
shoul
d
only
be attempted if a
glider is unable to
la n
d
on a
westerly
hea
ding
due
to strong winds. The grou
nd ru
n
is
effectively 150
yards, most of which is
down hill, ashaving
clea
red the
entrance
gate the
g
round
slopes
downwa
rds
to theru
nway
where
there is a small
rise; it is at this
point
a
good 60 yard
s in
where
most gliderswill
touch down. It would also
be difficult
for
a num
ber of gliders
to land this way.
Easterly
and
North-
easterly landings.
In
t
hese d
irections there
is
a
lot
of
sink on
the approa
ch.
In this
case the
normal oversho
ot
fieldcan
serve as
a
n undershoot All
ot
her approaches have
no
undersho
ot, and
whilst
no serious
problems
have
arisen,
a pilot should
always
be aware of wind
gradient, and occas
ionally
wind
sheer.
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Appr
oaches/Sidesliping
In general w e favour
higher
than
optimum approaches
for
safety. The
ability
to sideslip holding
a
good
attitude with accurate speed
control is a
pre-
requisite, and
a subject w e
teach.
MASS
LANDING PROCEDURE
It is important that every
pilot is familiar with the above procedure. In
the
unlikely event
of it
taking place accurate, disciplined flying
is
required.
If the
standard
of flying is not
such,
then
the Club will have to restrict membership
and
the number of
gliders
on
the
site
drastically,
which
would
have
severe
overtones.
Certain considerations come to mind:
1 The
larger two-seater gli
ders,
for
e
xample
J
anus, Astir and K21, and some of
the larger
single-seaters,
have
a lot more inertia
in
the ground
run.
2 .
Some
of the
first
generation
glass
gliders,
for
example
standard
Cirrus and
Libelle and Nimbus B ,
do
not
have such
effective
brakes as a more moder
n
glider. They consequently requ
ire
a longer dis
tance
to land
in .
3. A newcomer
to the
site
, or
early
site solo pilot s wor
k
loa
d,
in
the event
ofthe
abov
e, is going to
be a
lot hig
her
than a
seasoned
site
pilot.
Sou
th-west Direction
(see
drawing 2)
1 Lan
d lo n
g
on the
southern s ide of the
runway,
finishing ground run
at
the
e l e c t
r i c fence.
2. Land lo ng
on the
northern
s ide
of
the runway, finishing ground ru
n at the
e l e c t r i c
fence.
3 . Land long centre
of
runway,
finishing
behind
and 2.
4 . Land on
the north s ide of the runway, fin
ishing behind
n
umber 2.
5 . Land on the runway, clea
ring
left
into the Taxi area behind 1
6 . Land in
a south-westerly direction, to finis
h south
of the
windsock.
7 . Land on the
r
unway,
clearing
left
into the Taxi area.
8 . Land
in
south-westerly
to
finish alongside 6 .
9 . Land in
south
-westerly direction,
to
finish
on lefthand s ide of 8 .
10.
Land in
south-sou
th-westerly direction, to finish behind
6.
11.
Land
in
south-south-westerly direction,
finishing
by
Club
House.
1 2 . Land in south-south-w
esterly direction, to finish between
1 0
and
1 1 .
The basic rule is: lan
d,
clearing
the
ru
nway to the
so
uth. When this
is not possible
stack
up the landings on the north s ide
of the field.
It
is
important for pilots to
call
th eir
landing numbe rs when
joining
the circuit downwind.
In addition to the above, or the sequence
not
working
out to
plan,
other options
include landing short up the
slope on the north s ide of the
field,
where four
gliders
c
ould land, or overshooting and
flying down
the valley
to
a suitable field.
Easterly
Direction (see
drawing
3)
The
sequence here is simpler, on account o
f
the w id
ening of
the f ield as
one
gets further into it. The basic rule is: land
easterly, clearing the runway to
the
right
(south-east
corner of the field).
When
this
is
not possible
stack
up
the
landings on the
north
s ide of the runway. In addition
to this, the
overs
hoot field
can accommodate
a
number of gliders
comfo
rtably.
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WIND
AND WEATHE
R
In south-
west,
west,
and n
orth-west
winds w e
get
what we
call a clean wind.
Be
cause of the elevation
of the sit
e,
grou
nd effects and turbu
le nce are
less
compare
d
with
launching in a valley.
It
means
that
w e have
a
ver
y high wind
launching capability and
a very good tu g
-plane to
do it in.
W e th e
refore
qui
te
often
operate
when
other
sites
cannot. Pilots
are restricted to launching
initially
in a
maximum of 20kno
ts, until they
h
ave flow
n
the
site a
few
times and gained
more experience
of our wind grad
ients. If
the
wind is strong, then
a
r
e-ride may
be necessary.
When flying in
the
mountains
w e sometime
s
fly
in ra
in, occasionallywe
get
i
ced up,
so
metimes w e
have squalls. W e
fly rotor, weather and conditio
ns
cha
nge;
whilst
w e
are su
nning
our
selves
in
wave at 18,000'
, and often
we
are
i
nstrument flying
doing a climb or
le
t-down.
Yes,
i
t
is challen
ging
flying it
is
also flying that y
ou may possibly never have
experienced before.
W e would like
to help, and
introduce
those
of
you
who
are
new
to it
by
teaching
the
skills,
thus
taking the
risk
out of
it and
injecting
greater professionalis
m.
Th
ose
more
exp
erienced pilots we welcom
e you aboard
.
You
can help
, your
experienc
es
a
nd
advice m
ight
bene
fita
lesser
pilot.
WIND GRA
DIENT
On a
number of
occasions
in
strong
wind
s we have
o
bserved
some
appr
oaches
into the
field which were n
ot as
they
should be,
sometimes by
experienced
pilots. It
is
necess
ary therefore
for me to re-inforce cert
ain
points
on
this subject.
Derek Piggott's b ook
'Understanding
G liding', for those
of
you who
have
not read it, is
a
m
ust. He covers th e su b
ject in detail.
The Airfield is an elevated
area of grou
nd.
It is
not uncommon in a
15/20
knot wind
to
have
40/45 knots a
t
1,00
0'
above
site, a
s
there is quite
a lot of
frictio
n
between
the
air and the gro
und,
reducing the
actual wind at air field level.
There are th
ree
mai
n areas where pilots mis-j
udge the s
ituation.
1 .
They
misjudge the wind
and turn base le g
too
l
ate.
2 . The
y select
an approach speed
for
the wi
nd
tha
t theyare experiencing
high
up
and not the gro
und speed. (
It
is fortunate that most
modern
gliders hav e
good
brakes ).
3 .
They
turn onto finals at
too low
an
altitude.
In hig
h
winds
I prefer
to join a
circuit i
nto a
field
on
a long
base
leg, having
st
udied the field from
several vantage
points, as from this position
I ca
n
view the
field strate
gically and
avoid turnin
g some 140
plu s downw
ind onto
base. At any
point on this leg I can
alter my position downw
ind by only bearing away
a
few
d
egrees, and
letting
the wind
do the work
for
m e.
At
all
time
s I am updating
myself on th e
wind
gradient that I am experiencing,
and
ensuring
that my
reference
point
is
well in to the
field,
b
earing i
n
mind
that it is not
so
easy
to move
to
windward.
If,
for example,
a
pilot
sets up a landing spe
ed of 50
kn
ots, plus ha
lf
the
wind
strength
that he/she
is
experiencing at 1,000', a
s opposed
to
the
actual w
ind
in
the
field, an
approach
sp
eed in
excess of
7
0 knots
could
be
flown. Apart
fro
m
hop
efully man
aging t
o
stopbefore
hitting anything a
t
the
fa r
end of
the
runway
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because the wind
at airfield height was o
nly
5
knots, there are other
considerations. In strong
winds
bad
turbulencec
an
be expected. I
n some
gliders
70 knots
is
close to if not over the maxim
um
roug
h
air speed.
In
these
conditions
I
for
one fly well within the maxim
um rough air speed, and pro
viding you
are
positioned
well, with plenty of
height
on a
full brake
steep approach,
particularly
in
the last
few
hundred
feet,
you
will
have
stored
energy
in reserve
to cover
any
contingency.
A n
old pilot
in w
indy condi
tions
will always
have
plen
ty of extra
height.
In
some of
bur
m
ore
high wind flying days,
finals have been turned at
1 ,000 almost
over the
boundary fence. In strong winds low turns
are absolutely out. Recovery
from a stall
into
wind can
loose an alarming
a m o u n
t of height.
Finally, if you have not flown in high
winds, do so with
a competent
instructor. It is a lot
of
fun, and you
can land
in a very
small area. A fter all, on a
nice summ er s day you co
uld
get
caught out in a squall, and
gliding doe s
breed
fair-weather
pilots
which
can
be
dangerous.
W e
have the
facilities
and
expertise
he
re, so
make
use
of i t.
TH
TUG
D esigned
as
a
crop
spraye
r,
the
235
h.p.
Pawnee C is
also
an excellent tug.
In Am erica
and Austral ia
they
are used a lot;
i t
is a real
work-horse
and
unlike
most
tu gs
i s not a compromise. W e were the first club
in
the country to use one
w ith this horsepow er
and if flow n efficiently we get a
n average
of one
gallon per
launch.
It
has an excellent cross-wind
capability;
it
is
ind
ispensable
w
ith f ield
ret
rieves, and
i
t is
s
uperb
for
high wind o
perations. W e have only a
few
experienced
proven tug-pilots
w ho
are
cleared
to
fly
it.
They
are
also
g lide.r
pilots. The
r
eason for
th
is is that all the pilots remain
totally
current and s
witched
on
and procedures
standardised. Experience
has
shown
that
the greater
the
num ber
of
tug
pilots, the m ore me chanical problem s; whils
t we would
li
ke to
give
other pilots the opportunity to
fly the plane, they will appreciate the above
and
also that
the greater the num ber
of pilots cleared to
fly
it, t
he less hou
rs
in d ividual pilots amass.
It
is essential
that
our
tu g pilots
fly
regula
rly.
The Tug is
fitted with an
automat
ic
release
hook to reduce the risk of
a
hang-up
situation , so do not get high out
of position.
The
tug
pilot
varies the c
limb out according to p
ilot requirements,
taking
into
account
noise impact on neighb
ouring
f
arms.
Normally
he will
climb out
into w ind turning left or right
to avoid
over flying
a
n
area sensitive to noise.
A
100
0
launch,
take-off to landing, takes three min
utes;
2000
f ive minutes. The
rate ofcl imb for glas
s
single-seaters
is approximately
800
f.p.m.;
fabric
glide
rs
1000 f.p.m. plus.
In strong w inds on take-off 15
0 0 f.p.m. can be expected
so
don t
get
left behind,
i t is
a powerful
tug.
Releasing
O n
release
a
clearance
turn
should
be
executed. On
this
site
we
clear
both
left and right.
W
hen launchin g we to w
out to a vari
ety
of ridges; a
t the
select
ed
release point the r idges are
often
close
to and
abo
ve the combinat ion. The glider
must therefore do
a clearance
tu rn
towards
the
ridge, allow
ing the tug room to
dive aw ay .
I t is
impo rtant that the glider
pilot
shows
his /
her
intentions
clearly to
the tug p
ilot.
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7/25/2019 Mountain Flying Talgarth
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1 3
Landing/Cable
drop
The
tug mostly lands with the towro
pe
at
tached,
when
this is
not possible
he
will drop
the rope across the
take-off area near
the
thresho
ld, doin
g
a pass
at
right angles to the
launch,
a pull
up, and land.
Gliders
at
all
times have
the right
of
way,
and the tug pilot
must
ensure
that
he
is no
t responsible for
a
glider
p
ilot
h
aving to change
his plan at the last
minute.
However, glid
er pilots
are
expected not to
hold up the
tug unnecessarily, and
whi
lst
fly
ing
a
circuit,
in
particular
to make
his/her
intentions
clear at all
times.
Gliders waitingto be
launched, get your
fetling
done
before going on
line, you
will
not be pop
ular for h
olding
u
p
the
tu
g unnecessarily.
Crosswind take offs
If
a
glider stays behind a
tug
in the di
rection of take-
off
in a st
rong cross
win
d
it
will
cause
the
tug
to
drift/slip
downwind. The
tug
in
this
uncomfortable
position
can do little aboutit
apart
f
rom running wit
h
his
windward wing
down
to
try to
co
unter d
rift. If this
fails
to have
the
desired effect and obstacle
s
like
hedges
are getting
clo
se, then he
will back-release, leavin
g the pilot with a
d
ifficult pr
oblem. A glider pilot
can
avo
id this by assisting
the towing
com
bination to weather-c
ock into wind on take-off.
This ensures
tug
andglider
flyi
ng clea
nly
and
the combination clim
bing away from the ground
with
maximum gradien
t.
Normally the glider is
air
borne
before the tug, in
our
case
we rotate at 60
m.p.h.,
52
knots.
If,
for
example, the
glider
was
airborne
at
38
knots
the
ground
for the tug
thereafter is some 100
yards. At
38
knotsthe
tug has good
control
response
; if the glider
sideslips out of position,
downwind of the
tug, thus
weathe
r-cocking
the
tug
some
20
or so,
it ma
kes
a
favourable
difference for the
tug pilot. Pilots
who have been trained ona large
s
ite may not
have
been
taught
this t
echnique. This oversight has
in
the past
given
usa problem or
two and
we
are
anxious that it
should
be
remedied.
Taxi-ing
In
strong
winds
it
is
sometimes difficult for the tug
to
taxi,
particularly
if the
ground
is
wet.
Pilots w
ho
ar
e
not flying
should
be
aware of this,
and if necessary
help by holding the
wing to assist the
aircraft
in tur
ning or
to avoid
wea
thercocking. There h
avebeen
o
ccasions when t
he
tug
has been s
tuck
at
the
en
d
of
the field,
with pilots
doing
nothing a
bout it. This could be
an unnecessary
hazard,
and
is costly
in
en
gine time.
Tow
Ropes
Out standard
tow ropes
are
120'. Mitty
weak links are attached
either
e
nd;
on
the
tugend
1,100 Ib
(yellow
staples)
and
on
the
glider
end
900
Ib
(red staples).
In stron
g winds we use
a
longer
rope, minimum
lengt
h
150'. In winds
of
20-40
knots (approved pi
lots only) we sometimes
,
in common
with a
lot
of Alpine
sites,
do notuse
weak links.
W e
use short
ropes, minim
um 60', for
field
retrieves, and
also on the airfield
when training.
Grou
ndcrew and
pilots pleasechec
k
that
the
two staples
are in place before attaching to
the glider.
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7/25/2019 Mountain Flying Talgarth
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4
Sign
als
T
he tu g
pilo
t in
th e
P
aw n
ee is s
eate
d hig
h
andh
as
goo
d
all
-roun
d v
ision
.
U nl
ess r
eque
sted,
a f
orw a
rd signa
ller
is
not
n
ecess
ary;
he
re p
rese
nts ano
ther
ob
stacl
e.
If t
he
wi
ng of
a
glid
er is d
own
the
tu
gw
illnot
laun
ch.
"
Tak
e
up sla
ck"
and
"a ll
out" sign
als
r
emai
n
a
ssta
ndar
d.
If a tu g
w
aves
a glid
er
off
du
ring
fl i
ght it
must
be
obeyed
im m ediately,
re gardless
of circum stance.
B
rake
s ou
t sign
al
If
the tu
g
p
ilot
wagg
le s h
is rudd
er,
che
ckth
at yo
ur
a
irbra
kes
a
ndta
ilch
ute,i
f
a
pplic
able ,
a
re
n
ot ou
t
or dep
loye
d.
SAF
ETY
Th
ep
hilos
ophy
o
f
th e
C
lu bis
toav
oid
unne
cessa
ry bur
eauc
racy
a
nd pe
tty
o
fficia
ldom
. W e
beli
eve
this
ispos
sible
beca
use w
are
a sm
all Cl
ub,
prov
ided
a
ll
members
are pre pare d
to
help,
th uscreating
a
pleasan t, in form al atm osphere .
W
e as
sume
that
as
m
emb
ers yo
u
are
resp
onsi
b le
pilot
s, a
nd wi
ll sup
port
this
o
bject
iv e.
W
e
do
not
want
to
rep
rima
nd pilo
ts
w
e f
ly
for
ple
asur
e.P
ilots
ar
e
exp
ected
to b
e se
lf dis
cip li
nedab
out th
eir
flyin
g an
d w o
rk wi
th in
a fra m
ew
ork
of
safe
ty
whi
ch w
e help
to
prov
id e.
If th
is is n
ot
th eca
se, t
hen T al
garth
i
s
quite
sim
ply
not t
he plac
e f
ory
ou, an
d you
r
bas
e Cl
ub an
d C
.F.I w
ill b
e
noti
fied
a
ccor
din g l
y.
All m
emb
ers
are t
here
fore
resp
onsi
ble for
he
lping
t
o
ensu
re the
sm oo
th an
d
safe
op
erati
on o
f
th
e
airf
ield.
Seve
ral
p
oints
part
icula
rly
c
omet
o
m
in d
in
th
e polic
ing o
f
th e a
irfie
ld .
Spectators and Dogsto
be
keptunder contro
l,
cle
ar
of
the act
iv e
a
rea
of
th e f
ie ld,
and
clear
of th e
la
unch
ing po
int.
Run
way
to
be k
ept c
lear,
a
lw ay
s e
xcep
ting
land
ings
an
d la
unch
es. G
lider
s
u
nabl
e
t
o c
lear ru n
way
on
land
ing
to be
clear
ed
im
med
iatel
y.
R
etriev
al of
glide
rs .Crew
s
to be
effici
ent
and
well
org
anise
d, oth
erglid
ers
migh
t
hav
e
to land
.
To avo
id
cars
o
n
th e
f
ie ld
plea
se pus
hglide
rs
to
th e
laun
chin
g
poin
t.
It
is
only
a
short
fiel
d, an
d the
e
xerci
se will
do
you
go
od
S t
ock.
D uring
flying
operations stock must
be
off and kept offthe
field,
and
gate
s shut
. T
hey
are
cleve
r
a
tgett
ing ba
ck in
.
C
ars and
T
raile
rs. C
ars,
exce
pt thos
e eng
aged
in
mov
ing g
lider
trai
lers,
sho
uld b
e
p
arked
at
th
e
en
tra n
ce of
the
field
o
r allo
te dar
eas.
Th
e ai
rfield
is
farm
ed,
and
stock
do
not
like
f
latte
ned
mu
ddy
g
ra ss.
Cars
dam
age
and
mess
up
th egro u
nd
and C
lub
mem
bers
mu
st appr
eciat
etha
tfa
rm in
g is D e
rek's
li
velih
ood.
Ifw
e are
to
fly
th
roug
hout
t
he yea
r we
must
l
ook a
fter
th
e
g
roun
d. Tr
ailers
tob
e
p
arke
d in
allo
ttedar
eas.
Bridl
eway
. A
t t
he
ea
st
end
of the
runw
ay is
a
brid
lewa
y
run
ning
nor
th-so
uth
and
frequently
used
by
pony tre kkers . To
avoid
over-flying
th em ,
for
obvious
rea
sons
, grou
nd s
ta ff
mus
t
co
ntrol
eq
uine
bridl
eway
traf
fic. The
pony
t
rekk
er
orga
niser
s
usu
ally kn
ow ,
how
ever
if
n
ot,
su
gges
t they
m
ove
on
qui
ckly
and
if
th ey
wan
t to s
pect
ate
do s
o by
the
entra
nce
a
t th e sou
th-e
ast
co
rner
of
the
a
irfiel
d. Pi
lots c
an a
ls o
assis
t byc
heck
ingon
dow
n
win d
, and
if
nece
ssary
an
d
safe
c
hoos
ing anot
her f
inal
p
pro
ch and
lan
ding
area
.
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7/25/2019 Mountain Flying Talgarth
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1 5
Rigging
and de
rigging in
all
otted area.
Please
do n
ot leave
trestles and
other
objec
ts
ar
ound,
th
ey cou
ld dam ag
e ta xii
ng aircra
ft .
R
adios.
Visiting
gliders
m ust have
servic
eable ra
dio s.
It has
frequen
tly be
en
foun
d
n
ecessary
for
import
ant
in form
ation to
be passed
o
n,
an
d e
nables u
s
t
o
m o n i
tor
and
control
gliders
if
necess
ary.
C
ABLE
BR
EAK
EMERG
ENCY
FIE
LDS (D
rawing
4)
K
now your
options
?
A
rea and
dir e
ction of la
nding.
Leng
th a
nd height
above m e
an sea
level.
The fields,
a
nd
gradien t
of
groun
d run .
Take
off
directio
ns
re
possibil
ity of tu
g retr
ieve.
W
ires/ob
stacles.
(1 )
Good
in
north -west,
west
and
south-west
win ds.
(2)
G ood in
west
an
d
so
uth -wes
t winds.
(
3) G o
od
in
s
outh-we
st, sou
th
and
so
uth-eas
t
wi
nds.
(4)
Good in
n
orth-we
st, south-so
uth-wes
t, and
sou th -
east
w
inds.
(5 )
G o
od
in
s
outh-we
st
w
inds.
(6)
A cce
ptable
in stron
g sou
th
or
south
-east w
inds on y
(7 )
Good
in nor
th-east
wind
s, al
so
fo
r 1 8
in event
of in
sufficie
nt
heig
ht
for
a i r f i e
l d or
oversho
ot field.
(8 )
G ood
in no
rth-eas
t winds.
(9)
Good
in
north-east, so uth
and
south-e ast
win ds.
(1 0) G o
od in
north
-west an
d nor
th-east
w
inds.
A ll
pilo
tst
o inspe
ct
b
y
ca
r.
FIELD
SEL
ECTIO
NA
ND LAND
INGS
To co
ver this
in det
ail
it
is
well
wo
rth
whil
e
readin
g
B
ill
S
cull s
boo
k
Soarin
g Across
Coun
try , cha
pter 5 .
Ifyou
areto fly in
the m oun
tains a high
stand
ardof airm
anship
is requ
ired
in
th e
following
areas
(unless
of
course you
are
under training) .
Sk
ill.
T
he
ability
to fl
y
accurate
ly
with
goo
d
speed
contro
l when
under pressur
e
and a high
work load
is es
sential. Y
ou m a
y for
exam p
le haveto fly
dow
n a vall
ey
i
n c
lose prox
imity to
obsta
cles on the
ground
in
or
der
to get to
a field
aft
er
a
low
ca
ble
break.
Know
ledge . Deta
iled brie
fing
to include
a s
tudy o
f
the
are
a
on
1:50,0
0 0 an
d
1:25 ,00
0 Ordna
nce Su
rvey m
aps.
et
as
mu
ch inf
ormatio
n as
po
ssible fro
m
experi
enced
local p
ilots.
Comp
rehensiv
e sit
e
check
coverin
g
safe
lan
ding a
reas
cable-break
fields,
and
other
important
information.
Previous
actual
field
landing exp
erience
and detai
led k
nowledg
e and
expe
rience of
th
eglide
r type to
be flown a
re essentia
l.
Judgem
ent
w
indspe
eds g
radient
s obst
acle heigh
ts length
of
fields, su
rfaces
h
eights
of gro
und and
of you
r glider in
relati
on to the
fi
elds, and ap
propriat
e
speed
sele
ction.
-
7/25/2019 Mountain Flying Talgarth
18/48
V
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b
X
'
^
;
K
i
x
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^
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