Volume 16 No 1 Feb 1965.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

SB-7space in the cockpit. In addition, comparisonglides were carried out by theOart with both the K"6 and the Oarmstadt0-34(0). Th~ pilot of a chasingPiper aircraft c'arefully observed anyrelative changes in height that occurredat selected airspeeds. As expected, theDart proved superior to the K-6 at thehigh-speed end, but not quite as good asthe 0-34(0), an experimental 12.5-metreglider. The mass of information obtainedis now being collated in Germany, andit is heped that a report will be availablesoon.Fourteen different types of gliderswere available. These ranged from thetailless Fauvel AV -36 and a diminutive12-metre machine called the B-Spatz toproduction gliders such as the Ka-6, Ka-8and to sophisticated "one-off" laminarflowmachines typified by tbe 0.34(0)and the Kria. These latter two 12.5­metre gliders, designed and built by~Akallieg" student groups, using mainlyfibreglass, had advanced laminar-Ilowsection wings with tbe maximum thicknesspoint located very far aft. Excellentsurface finish and refinements, such asretractable or droppable wheels andtrailing-edge flaps, gave them a verygood straight glide performance, butuncomfortable cockpits and excessivecontrol friction marred their thermallingpotentialities.Experience gained from the aerodynamicand fibreglass techniques usedin the construction of these smallermachines was clearly apolied to tbe"next generation" 0-36. SB-6 and SB-7gliders which also put in an appearanceat Brunswick. These very advancedgliders were strictly reserved for punditsonly. The loss of one of them followingan aero-tow incident, and references tovicious laminar flow separations, demon­~tratcd the wisdom of this decision.Since the D-36 will probably be repre-8senting Germany at South Cerney, its"hot" performance capabilities will beawaited with considerable interest.Perhaps the glider that aroused ,thegreatest delight and amusement was amammoth two-seater designed and builtby the students of Copenhagen.Officially this was christened the PoIyt,but unofficially it was called (amongstother things) the "flying omnibus"!Despite its prehistoric looks, Clark Ysection, and uncertain controls, tbe Polytseemed to be under the guiding handsof "Saint Tuberg", to judge from itsunbelievable ability to maintain altitudeover other gliders in thermals.In case the reader has arrived at themistaken impression that the OSTIV­Braunschweig Idaflieg flight-testingcourse was nothing but drag polars andslide-rule pushing, it should be pointedout that whenever the weather obliged(as it often did), variometers rapidly replacedstop-watches in importance andtbermalling soon took priority overevaluation flying. On such an occasionJorrn Bridgewater was fortunate enoughto find himself in possession of the Dart,the others having been eliminated bythe careful manioulation of a coin.Following the successful completion ofa 300-km. triangle the previous day byno fewer than seven pilots, it wasdecided to attempt a similar task withLilneburg and Nienburg as the turningpoints. Here follows John's account ofhis fligbt:-"At 11.30 I pulled off in a blue thermaland started climbing at 6 knots. Bythe time 5,000 feet had been reached,a small cumulus cloud had formed overhead,and with others starting to formI set off for the first turning point;Uincburg, in company with a K-6 andthe Kria. Navigation presented no diffieultiesat this stage; it was just a case offollowing tbe road."However, the second leg was almost