December 3

This Saturday was another relatively warm and sunny day with a gentle breeze to tow in. When I got to the training field John asked what glider I wanted to fly. I haven't had a choice before, I've always just flown the Falcon. Here's what I know about gliders: The Falcon 170 that I am used to flying is a single surface low performance glider that is designed to be exceptionally easy to turn and land. As you increase the performance of the glider, for example by adding a second surface (to the underside of the wing and enclosing the sail frame) you often have to sacrifice in other areas, such as responsiveness in handling or landing characteristics. I often hear people talk about the "flare window" getting smaller for high performance gliders. The flare window is that ideal moment to flare in order to come to a complete stop for a no-step landing. So when John started talking about trying a different glider, I was concerned that a higher performing glider would give me a lot of trouble

We ended up decided to setup and try the Northwing Horizon 180. The Horizon is a double surface glider with VG (Variable Geometry means that the shape of the internal frame of the glider can be changed in flight by pulling on a long cord at the control bar). It's definitely a couple of steps up in performance compared to the Falcon, and I'm on the lighter end of ideal hook in weight for such a large glider (at 185 square feet), but it's given a USHPA rating of H2, so we thought it would be a good glider for me to try out.

After John test flew it, he made an adjustment to the hang point to get a good trim speed and I gave it a go. The flight plan was just to box the field and get a feel for any differences in handling compared to the Falcon that I'm used to. We also had a variometer and an anemometer attached to the glider so that I could start paying attention to airspeed and altitude. For the first flight, the glider was trimmed pretty fast, at around 25 mph, and I certainly felt the speed while flying. The glider responded nicely though and I didn't have any trouble making some turns and setting up a landing. I landed kinda fast though and only flared weekly. We adjusted the trim again, and on the second flight I saw the glider trim to 19 mph. At this trim speed, I felt I had to pull in a bit more on the control bar in order to get a turn to respond quickly, but my landing was a no-stepper.

I still need to work on consistent flares though. I tend to move my hands to shoulder height on the control bar when I turn to final and then keep them there even when I flare for a landing. Instead I should be keeping my hands lower on the down tubes during final for better roll control and then move my hands much higher when I round out to flare. I will work on that the next time I fly.

On my third flight I had a tow line break. It's one of those things that we need to be aware of and know how to respond to when it happens. As the video shows a tow line break causes a sudden dive as the glider stops climbing and picks up speed to start flying again. I think I handled this part well and was able to level the glider and continue on a straight path. The thing that I wasn't immediately aware of was the fact that I still had a tow line dragging behind me. This can be extremely dangerous as a dragging tow line can get caught or tangled on the ground and suddenly pull you in the opposite direction your flying (Think about throwing a tennis ball attached to a string). I only thought of the towline dragging behind me when John called it out on the radio. Later on in the day I had another tow line break and reacted much quicker to disconnect the tow line trailing behind me.

The other thing I tried doing with this glider was slowing it down at altitude. At his point he glider was trimming to 20mph but I was able to slow down to 16 mph before I felt the control bar pushing back against me and the glider wanting to nose down. I think this was only the very begging of a stall though. 

Over all I thought the Northing Horizon 185 was a whole lot of fun to fly. I felt comfortable making turns, speeding up and slowing down, and landing was pretty easy too. From all the descriptions I hear people give of higher performance gliders I expected the Horizon to feel completely foreign to me. Instead I felt great and had no trouble with it at all!

The word is that the glider I flew is for sale too! Maybe I'll have a glider of my own sooner than I thought!

I only recorded 3 flights of the 10 that I got that day. I need to get in the habit of stopping recording when I land, and also turning the camera off while I wait for my next launch in order to save the battery. Oh well, I recorded the line break and my first flights on a high performance glider.