I’m still harping on this subject and, perhaps, I can ignite a bit of gliding passion in someone.
Both of us, Angelika and Manfred, were glider pilots once. This is were our passion started – gliding I mean.
These were old and heavy “Plywood Bombers” Ka7, but quite an improvement to the even older Minimoa
Today there are very advanced gliders made of space-age material such as the Ventus 2, which you can see here releasing water ballast. The weight is needed to fly fast from one thermal to another.
There are two launching techniques: winching or aerotowing.
A typical winch. At East Sale, where I was stationed with the RAAF, the local club used another method. A car and steel cable towed the glider along the runway, enough to gain 700 to 800 ft.
The “richer” pilots could afford to pay a tug plane for aerotowing.
As exciting as the “real” gliding looks, model gliding can hold its own. Unfortunately, good performance model gliders cost upwards from a thousand dollars – beyond this retiree. So, let’s start building our own “Balsa and Plywood Bomber.”
