Great Planes Spirit 100 Sailplane Kit - GPMA0550 - Manual (Page 51)

adjust the trims on your transmitter (a little at a time) until the
plane will fly straight and level with the transmitter sticks in their
neutral positions It can be very hard for a beginner to fly a plane
straight towards him as he would have to do if the plane were
down wind and every mistake takes the plane a li ttle farther down-
wind When it is time to land just continue performing the gentle
S-turns upwind and let the plane glide onto the ground Don't
worry about where the plane lands, just miss any trees, etc
Practice flying directly into the wind (upwind of yourself)
without letting the plane get off course and then turn and come
downwind until the plane is even with you and try it again When
you are comfortable with flying directly into the wind, start letting
the plane go behind you (downwind) a little before you start back
upwind Continue this until you can fly directly towards you from
downwind without getting disoriented At this point you can start
to establish a "landing pattern ' and bring the sailplane in for a
landing from downwind This enables the plane to be flown as
slowly (ground speed) as possible for accurate landings
FLAPS/CAMBER
CHANGING AND CROW
If this is your first plane with flaps and ailerons you're in for
a treat Even if your radio doesn't have mixing capabilities you
can still take advantage of these surfaces
The flaps and ailerons are extremely effective on the SPIRIT
100 and can be used in a variety of situations
LAUNCHING The flaps should lower approximately three
times as much as the ailerons A good place to start is about
15 degrees of flap and 5 degrees of aileron drop This auto-
matically puts some washout in the wing which adds stability
for arrow straight launches If you don't have a switch for
launch camber, just use the flaps for launch You will want to
experiment with the amounts and percentages until you get the
best launch Keep in mind several factors including towhook
position, CG, winch or hi-start strength and of course weather
conditions, will affect the launch
FLYING The camber is usually controlled by either a 3-
position switch or a side lever We prefer the 3-position switch
because it always moves the surfaces to the same position every
time eliminating possible trim problems and allowing you to
become familiar with those flying characteristics There are
several ways of setting up this switch and they are dependant on
the weather conditions and the type of flying being done that day
Below are the two ways we usually program the switch
The traditional way of setting this switch is to have the
middle position set to neutral camber, one direction for reflex (the
entire TE raises about 1/16 ) and the other direction for positive
camber (the entire TE drops about 3/32 ) This way of program-
ming the switch is great (or good thermal days or days with a lot
of wind where you might need the reflex capability for coming
up wind
The other way we set this switch is to have the "back"position
(if the radio allows) for neutral camber, the middle position for a
slight amount of positive camber (1/32"-1/16"), and the forward
position for more positive camber (3/32"- 1/8") The middle
position can be used once good air is located or when trying to
gain a few extra seconds of air time Normally the L/D will not
be as great as neutral camber but the sailplane will float belter
The forward position is the "panic" position When the sailplane
is low and encounters lift, don't panic, just hit the switch The
SPIRIT 100 will really slow up and will thermal "on a dime" This
is where the polyhedral really comes into play No other aileron
sailplane can thermal as tight and efficiently, allowing you to take
advantage of the small thermals most others miss This set-up is
great for duration type flying without a lot of wind
CROW or full flaps can be used to lose altitude very quickly
In a contest, this allows you to stay higher (and safer) longer, then
drop the flaps and point the nose at the ground and come straight
down if you desire The plane will lose altitude very quickly but
will not build up excessive speed, but its a good idea to pull the
nose up before you pull the flaps up or you could gain speed
quickly
LANDING: Landings are a pleasure with flaps and ailerons If
your radio has CROW capabilities you will enjoy the ultimate in
sailplane control Be sure to use plenty of aileron differential in
the CROW mixing because the ailerons become less effective at
very high angles of deflection Also use plenty (maximum)
rudder coupling at full CROW If you don t have CROW
capabilities just use your flaps and make sure you have f u l l rudder
throw when the flaps start coming down It is a good idea to get
lined up on the spot before dropping the flaps very much because
the rudder is slow in turning the plane with the flaps down at slow
speeds
THERMAL FLYING
Thermal soaring is one of the most intriguing of all aspects of
flying and the SPIRIT 100 was designed to excel at thermal
soaring even in the hands of a novice It can be hard for the
average person to understand how a plane can fly for hours and
gain altitude without a motor!
FACTS ABOUT THERMALS
Thermals are a natural phenomenon that happen outside, by
the millions, every single day of the year Thermals are respon-
sible for many things including forming several types of clouds,
creating breezes, and distributing plant seeds and pollen If you
have ever seen a dust devil (which is nothing more than a thermal
that has picked up dust), you have seen a thermal in action Their
swirling action is very similar to that of a tornado's but of course
much gentler Most thermals have updrafts rising in the 200-700
feel per minute range but they have been known to produce
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