DG Flugzeugbau GmbH / Passion, Power + Performance

How to fly a Plane

 

DG-1000 - High-performance Aerobatic Training Glider

taken from the book:
"How to fly a Plane" from  Nick Barnard www.howtoflyaplane.co.uk- Photos of DG Flugzeugbau

Looking straight ahead, across the other side of the airfield, a steady white light glows on the cab of the winching machine. It's time to launch. A quick glance left along the slender 10-m (33 ft) wing to see whether your helper, holding the tip level, is ready; then a look to the right, to the launch chief who nods and swivels round to check the skies are clear before calling 'Take up slack' to the winch operator on his hand-held radio. The winch cable comes alive, slowly at first, and then snakes across the grass. The failsafe chain clinks as it tightens and strains against the weight of the glider, and you begin to ease forward. 'All out – all out – all out,' calls the chief, and the wheel beneath you starts bumping over the turf. An instant later you are airborne, pulled by the cable into the sky with a satisfying whoosh, followed immediately by the steady whistle of the slip stream: You're ascending in what seems like a near vertical climb at more than 3,000 ft (900 m) a minute.

Gliding is a pioneering aviation sport. There's nothing quite like flying without the complexity and noise of an engine. It's a truly satisfying experience that combines a unique selection of contrasting sensations – from bustling team work at the launch point to peaceful solitude in the air, from being hurled into the sky on a winch launch to the graceful, slow descent that follows, and from the exhilaration of soaring and cross-country flight to the trepidation of landing in a farmer's field when the lift from thermals disappears. And it's intensely addictive, providing inexpensive and rewarding flying within a thriving club environment, supported by a dynamic and coherent international fraternity.

High-performance gliders are designed for efficiency when soaring and have always possessed clean and often elegant lines. The traditional materials used to make gliders, wood and fabric, have latterly been giving way to composites (such as plastics reinforced with high-tech materials like carbon fibre), which have pushed performance to new levels. Leading this evolution for two-seater trainers is the DG-1000, a glider that combines excellent soaring and cross-country performance with safe handling characteristics for all levels of training. Its curvaceous canopy is low-shouldered, providing increased visibility down and sideways, while its slender fuselage can be fitted with a fully retractable small engine and propeller to get you home if need be. The seemingly delicate T-tail houses an easy-access ballast compartment containing removable brass weights for optimizing the fore and aft balance of the glider, depending on the weight of the pilots, or solo pilot.

The DG-1000 is also a particularly beautiful glider with a slender 20-m (66 ft) span including kinked wing extensions. Remove the extensions to transform it from a competitive soaring mount into a fully aerobatic training glider. On the ground the DG-1000 looks different too, with a perched stance that comes from an oversize main wheel mounted on a fully sprung oleo. This fully retractable, shock-absorbing main wheel is not just for comfort, but offers vital safety benefits in the event of a hard landing or landing on rough ground: The strong spring on the oleo is designed to help protect the pilot against back injury. In the cockpit there are other sensible features too: All controls, including undercarriage lever, are duplicated and the seating positions are ideal, combining comfort, space and, crucially, a good view forward for the rear pilot (which is also the instructor's position).

Climbing into the front cockpit requires a certain relaxed dexterity that comes with practice: You end up sitting very low, with your legs supported yet raised, stretching out into the slender nose where your feet rest against the lightweight rudder pedals. As with all gliders the instrument panel is small and, aside from the primary flight instruments, uncomplicated. Of great significance, however, are the particularly sensitive variometers – vertical speed gauges which show lift or sink – as well as a GPS. The cockpit is also uncluttered by levers and controls: The short and slender control column falls to hand, with the undercarriage and airbrake levers well positioned on the left-hand side.

There are two ways of launching a glider into the sky: Either using a ground-based towing system, where a fine steel cable is attached to the glider and then wound onto a drum on an engine-driven winch (a winch launch); or towing it (an aero tow) on a fine rope behind a powered light plane, known as a tug.

A winch launch is dynamic and exciting, with swift acceleration and a fast climb. The glider also pretty much flies itself, bar the odd minor adjustment to keep the wings level, maintain best climb speed, or to combat any crosswind. It's important, of course, to be prepared for winch failure or cable break, especially below 500 ft (150 m). Once the glider has been towed to the maximum height of the cable, the pilot pulls the cable release knob, and the cable – stabilized by a brightly coloured canvas drogue parachute – falls to the ground.

An aero tow is a very much more gentle affair than the winch, but one that requires precise flying as the glider is being pulled along behind the tug at about 65 knots (120 kph) with a 135 m (440 ft) synthetic fibre rope. The glider pilot's goal is to fly an attitude and position that ensure a maximum rate of climb and the minimum of stress to the tug. You can imagine how uncomfortable it is to pilot the tow plane if the glider, weighing more than 500 kg (1,1001b), is being flown coarsely, erratically or out of line with either the direction or attitude of the tug. This is a time of dedicated technique and steady concentration combined with quick reactions, particularly near the ground. Once at the agreed tow height it's time to be set free, so look all around and especially in the direction you want to go. And with a pull on the cable release-knob bank sharply away from the tug, glancing out to confirm you are clear of each other as the tug heads for home. Roll out and ease forward on the control column to establish a best cruise speed of 60 knots (110 kph).

Savour the exquisite experience of being aloft without an engine. If your shoulders are tense and hell high, now's the time to pull them down as you wiggle against the harness, making a better contact with the character of this magnificent plane. Adjust your hearing to appreciate the whispering semi-silence and take full advantage of the magnificent view. For a 20-m wingspan, high-performance soaring machine, this is a sprightly, well-harmonized design that can be flown with fingertip precision. At the slightest indication of a thermal – the feeling of which varies from a gentle tremor to a violent convulsion of lift, confirmed by the variometer – you can turn steeply in an instant to start a circling pattern so as to remain within, and ride the energy of, the rising bubble of air.

You'll be able to turn tighter in a thermal at slower speeds, and here is where the DG-1000 shows its design pedigree. Slow speed characteristics are entirely benign and predictable: There's no sudden drop of a wing, and the stall announces itself with a tremble, more like a sigh of exasperation for insensitive handling than a slap on the wrist. As with all gliders, you'll need good control coordination in the turns, matching the correct rudder input to the angle of bank for smooth, efficient flight. Simple, elegant aerobatics are effortless and supremely graceful as the sllender wings provide a perfect reference for accurate loops and rolls, and the panoramic field of view makes for increased safety and enjoyment as you sweep from one manoeuvre to the next.

The DG-1000 descends at about 150-200 ft (45-60 m) per minute at a 60-knot cruise speed. When, inevitably, it is time to land, this glider has very effective airbrakes that emerge from the top surface of the wing and are operated by pulling on an oversize, blue-coloured handle on the left-hand side, just below the canopy edge. Lowering the wheel is straightforward – a twist to release and a sharp pull on the undercarriage handle – and you're set to land. The way to land a glider accurately is to aim for a touchdown point just short of the threshold and then adjust your rate of sink with the powerful airbrakes. Sitting so low, it's easy to round out on landing a little too high, but it's not a problem if you do: Hold the attitude, or ease forward a touch if you're very high, descend again, and when about a foot from the ground, reselect the landing attitude, and the glider will sink gently onto the main wheel as the wing finally loses lift. The well­sprung main wheel bumps and thumps across the grass without discomfort and you can lower a wing to the ground just before or as you come to a halt.

Silence. lt leaves you trembling with excitement from the experience. This is a different sort of excitement from powered flight, more subtle and sensitive, more refined one might say. It's an experience that will linger with you.

 

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