21.09.2019, News, USA

Managing the Safety Risk of Ridge Soaring

"When you talk to the old-timers about ridge soaring, they often say you just gotta believe in the ridge lift. I’ve always been a bit bothered by this statement. We are strapping ourselves into a 600 pound mass of fiberglass, metal or wood that has a considerable amount of energy and we’re insisting on taking this aircraft into some places where there is nowhere to land, counting on updrafts ahead to keep us up. In the places where you can land, many of the fields are tricky and have a much higher probability of damaging a glider and/or hurting yourself should you have to use them. Perhaps it’s my agnostic upbringing, but I am not one who readily counts on faith when piloting a sailplane. ..." [more]

Quelle: Christian (DD)