rusty eagle wrote:That's what I remember from decades ago, flying the draggy Slingsby Swallow. Penetration is vital!
I think the first time I end up "unsure of position" was on XC with K6 with 30kts winds, I was lost while termaling on local flight from an unfamiliar gliding site, no paper map & no GPS were onboard, after all it was just a quick winch & local but the sky did not stop giving
I did not want to admit or ask for help on RT, I just muddled through and found my position in Google map suing my phone, and surprise I was way downwind, the hard bit was to penetrate
One thing I try to remember for landing is that wind & gust handling depends also on wing load and drag, the generic Vref = 1.3*VS and stall speed does not fit the bill for low wing loading on gusty days, gliders are flown on final near 1.5*VS (BGA suggest 55kts for fiberglass and 50kts for wood + some gust factor), my normal approach in Turbs is 60kts which is north of 1.6*VS, in gusty days, I am north of 2.0*VS
When I fly a heavy +20lbs/ft^2 with an engine, I just nail Vref without adding anything for gusts, however, without power I will add as much speed as I can to cut through sinking & turbulent air