mountain flying talgarth

7/25/2019 Mountain Flying Talgarth

1/48

Mountain Flying

Talgarth

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2/48

T

he

Site

loo

king so

uth south we

st

t

o

th

e

r

econ

eacons insn

ow.

hotograph

by alcolm

aynes


3/48

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


4/48

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


5/48

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 .


6/48

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.


7/48


8/48

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


9/48

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.


10/48


11/48

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.


12/48


13/48

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


14/48

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.


15/48

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.


16/48

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

.


17/48

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.


18/48

V

\

'

\

>

x

^

b

X

'

^

;

K

i

x

^

'

^

v

v

mountain flying talgarth

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