A lot happens when landing,
making it a complex task. Landing
should be broken down into smaller building blocks making it easier to teach
and comprehend.
Before teaching landings,
the student must be able to maintain a constant airspeed and make coordinated
90-degree turns at a constant airspeed.
A student having difficulties landing probably isn’t skillful enough
with basic flight skills. Other common
student problem include:
1. Not watching the horizon as the principal reference to airspeed control. Some students will watch the airspeed indicator, making it virtually impossible to maintain a constant airspeed. Covering the airspeed indicator will force the student to use the horizon as a speed reference.
2.
Not
understanding the mechanics of flight.
Is a student doesn’t understand that the wings, not the rudder turn the
glider, or that the nose will drop when initiating a turn, or that aileron
deflection causes adverse yaw, they won’t be able to properly coordinate
constant speed turns. Proper control
input is essential to coordination.
3.
Improper
use of trim. Some students will leave
the trim in the normal flying position while landing. This makes speed control more difficult. Setting the trim full forward will help keep
the nose below the horizon and maintain a constant speed of at least 1.5 x
Stall Speed.
4.
Not
understanding the elements involved in landing. Student should understand the normal pattern legs and the TLAR
technique. They should understand proper
alignment with the runway and how to flare before touching down. Changing from controlling the glider in
flight to controlling it on the ground can be troublesome for some students.
After
the student understands the proper use of the flight controls and can maintain
a constant airspeed and coordinated constant speed turns, they are ready to
learn the That Looks About Right or TLAR technique (which is covered in the
Glider Basics text) of judging angles in reference to the touch down point to
fly proper landing patterns. There are
3 basic glide ratios the student should be able to identify.
The
5:1 glide ratio is the most important in gliding. It’s the glide angle (in still air) that most gliders perform
with the dive brakes fully deployed. If
the student understands this and learns to recognize it, they should have
little difficulty making accurate landings on any spot.
20:1
is roughly the glide ratio (in still air) of the 2-33 with spoilers closed and
is the minimum angle the glider will fly.
12:1
is the optimum glide ratio as it is about half way in between the 2
extremes. The optimum pattern would be
flown entirely at 12:1, giving the pilot room for correction both plus and
minus the target.
When
flying the pattern, the student should keep the runway at a 45-degree down
angle while on downwind (other angles such as 30 degrees is more difficult for
the student to grasp). The turn to base
should be made when the landing point is 45 degrees behind the glider, and
should be a constant speed 45-degree bank turn. The turn from base to final should also be a constant speed
45-degree bank turn, lining up with the centerline of the runway. Don’t let the student perpetuate bad habits
such as over shooting the turn to final.
The rule of thumb is the glider will be flown at 1.5 x Stall Speed + ½ the headwind on final while in the pattern. The glider will then be slowed just before touch down. Deploying spoilers appropriately in the flare will help keep the glider on the ground and maintain directional control.