Timeline for Can you fly a glider in a cloud on primary instruments?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
13 events
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| Nov 11, 2023 at 16:02 | comment | added | quiet flyer | But would never dare try this intentionally in thermic turbulent air without some sort of actual turn rate indicator to fall back on in the case of accidentally entering the beginning of a spiral dive-- compass will be useless in such an event. | |
| Nov 11, 2023 at 16:01 | comment | added | quiet flyer | But, due to the necessity of maintaining a southerly course, this technique would not have allowed thermalling. Continuing on the same theme, once I flew a hang glider up into a cloud using a primitive home-made turn rate indicator (piezoelectric, no moving parts), which worked ok, but when it came time to hold a straight-line course to exit the cloud (because my glasses were starting to ice up) I found that my magnetic compass was actually more useful than my turn rate indicator or my GPS-based heading indicator (GPS-based heading isn't useful when groundspeed is near zero). | |
| Nov 11, 2023 at 15:58 | comment | added | quiet flyer | @MikeSowsun -- re "If you could manage to keep your spirit compass on a constant heading and keep the yarn straight, your wings would be level." -- I have done exactly that in a Cessna 120 in stratus cloud. Actually I didn't worry about the slip-skid ball (gives same info as yaw string), in fact I used the rudder not the yoke for steering, so the ball was often a bit off center. Key was to choose a heading with a large southerly component, so compass errors worked for me (made compass extra-sensitive to bank) rather than against me (giving a wrong-way indication as started to bank). | |
| Jan 28, 2019 at 8:37 | comment | added | Wayne Conrad | @Sean Not normally, as far as I know. Maintaining attitude in IMC is normally done with an artificial horizon, or if that fails, a combination of turn/bank indicator and ASI. The gyrocompass is used for maintaining heading, of course. But I don't know how many gliders have any gyro instruments at all. Things might have changed, but they used to be kind of power hungry instruments, and gliders didn't used to have much of an electrical system. | |
| Jan 28, 2019 at 4:05 | comment | added | Vikki | @WayneConrad: Isn't that the sort of thing gyrocompasses are for? | |
| Jan 31, 2018 at 9:48 | comment | added | Wayne Conrad | @ycc_swe The magnetic compass isn't that steady an instrument. I can't imagine a pilot being able to prevent a spiral dive using only the magnetic compass and yaw string. Even with a gyro compass, that seems like a tall order. | |
| Apr 11, 2016 at 18:58 | comment | added | cvr | Why would it be so different to read the compass instead of the turn-speed-indicator? We are not discussing precision here, just flying within safe limits. Mostly flying straight forward or making slow turns. / I am absolutely not advising anyone to try. I haven't tried myself. We are discussing if you can save your life/glider in an emergency, even if it naturally is better and very possible never to enter a cloud under these premises. | |
| Apr 11, 2016 at 8:15 | comment | added | GdD | Although @ycc_swe is right up to a point, I would not include that in your answer. Those instruments don't give a pilot enough information to correct problems. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 15:05 | history | edited | Simon | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 14:53 | history | edited | Mike Sowsun | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 10, 2016 at 14:44 | comment | added | Mike Sowsun | Good point. I hadn't thought of that. I think I will need to edit my answer. | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 14:40 | comment | added | cvr | "none of those basic instruments give you any information on your angle of bank" / If yarn is straight and compass heading fixed, wings are level | |
| Apr 10, 2016 at 14:36 | history | answered | Mike Sowsun | CC BY-SA 3.0 |