Astronomy Picture of the Day

**jmc96** · 13-06-09, 11:23 PM

Moyes Mars, that brings back some memories. Sigh, my first hang glider, I did less than 100 hours before moving on to a trike. Spent most of my flying days powered. Bit off topic, but have you seen these? There's a couple of these at the local helimuster camp, actually this same model:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usycKA64jS0]YouTube - super new Wieland helicopter range[/ame]

**nomeat** · 14-06-09, 01:46 AM

Now that's something for couch potatoes, bloody brilliant.
I think I did see something like that on the last Coffs Harbour Airshow but not in action. I'll have to look for the photos.

Thanks Trash for your inspiring post.
I would love to get into sail planes one day again, no physical stress, no noise, nothing blowing in your face and just relax in the skies with an almost never ending glide ratio.
The wife won't let me get in anything but when the kids are out of the house and I am retired I won't care what she says any more.

**trash** · 14-06-09, 10:12 PM

Sailplanes, If you've got the money, they basic single seat gliders are reasonably cheap. The cheapest in this month's magazine is $4500, though most are $10k to $20k, the top shelf ones with self launching jet engines etc, can be ~$100k.
They have obscene glide ratios like 180:1

The nearest clubs to you are probably Grafton, Williamtown and Tamworth.
I've also seen gliders flying near Byron Bay.

The clubs have their own gliders, the issue is having people on the ground to launch. It takes about 3 people on the ground for a standard tug launch.
Doing ground time is very a social activity and some clubs work on a points system. That way if you do a lot of ground time, it translates into saving cash. Even if you don't fly, doing lots of ground time will clock up some lessons from club instructors.

Some clubs have such dwindling numbers that they have merged air activities.
They now have ultra lights, which also sometimes serve as tugs. People who want to keep their flying costs to a minimum do the dirty work like ground handling for flying days. Those members who don't want to sit on the ground, contribute more in cash, which pays for the aircraft to be purchased or repaired.

I know what it's like with a ball and chain... you have to figure in this as ballast when flying.

Paragliding is good because it's an aircraft in a bag.
I took mine out for a short glide today. Kids... they love to drive the car.
Yeah, that's it, low range 4WD, no need for the brakes, just follow the road down the hill and when you get to the bottom, turn the key and turn it off.
Dad's going to fly down

I wanted my little fella to drive the car down, he's a great driver, but Bridezilla said, "You are NOT letting a 2 year old drive that car !"
"Oh common, he's good at it ?"
"yeah, but you're always sitting beside him when he does !"
"Oh yeah... I forgot about that bit."
Bugger, I have to walk back up the hill !

It's only 3 hours across to Manilla ! Lots of paragliding there

If you want nomeat, I'll send ya some of the Skysailor mags. Or anybody else who wants a copy. I read them, and then often I leave them in doctors surgeries or other waiting rooms. Even my local take aways.

They cover Hang gliders, Paragliders, Trikes and other powered picolights, and gliders/sailplanes.

**nomeat** · 15-06-09, 02:42 PM

Hey, that's how it was with the glider clubs 35 years ago in central Germany too. Good to hear that the old school attitude still exists here
I got my free flights and lessons by doing ground work, but you really needed a lot of time. 6hrs on the ground would give you 30-40mins in the sky if you had a little luck with the thermals.

The planes were winched up into the sky in a steep attitude with the cable drum attached to the transmission of a very powerful truck engine mounted on another truck.
The winch starts were quite breath taking at first and is the most challenging part for the pilot, as he must ensure for every split second that the plane can never stall and he can safely pitch down if the cable breaks or the winch fails.
An old VW-Beetle was used to pull out the cable to the planes, which I was often allowed to drive.
The tiring bit was pushing the plane back to start position as there was only grass, sometimes assisted with the cable car if available, but this was all greatest fun for a 16y/o who grew up without computer games.
They also had a motor glider there which was powered by a modified VW engine.

Glide ratio of 180?... a single ascent of 3000m would get me non stop to Sydney!

Unfortunately in my case ATM, it is more like both feet cemented into a concrete slab, so I might have to wait another 15 years. I am way too busy anyhow but thanks for the hints

**trash** · 15-06-09, 08:52 PM

hehe, well you're always welcome here nomeat. I have a parasail for those who like to dream. It's a lot of fun as it will just fly straight if the passenger does nothing. It can be steered, but not too well. I think it's a good trainer for winch launches.
They do still winch launch gliders. I know the club at Central Mangrove still do it. Blue Mountains hang gliding club also have a static winch, but I think they've given it to the Northern Beaches club.
Static Line towing from a car is also common. I'm rated for it with the hang glider. Yes, you have to be on your toes all the way up.
1000ft of rope and it's a ride to heaven either way.
The worst case is if the rope breaks about 30ft from the ground. I saw this happen to a student pilot and his training was so good it reacted instinctively and put the glider on the ground like a pro.
I've had the tow break on me about 300ft. Ptwang ! Glider noses up and stalls if you don't pull it in instantly (stick forward in a glider). It's going to result in a stall, I got it over the hump without a stall and just flew into the lift band on a hill and kept flying. I had to fly back over the launch and throw them down the tow ring.

The launch requires very tiny corrections and they need to acted on before the glider gets even slightly off center. Eggs under the armpits they teach you to fly it. I hear lots of horror stories about "lockouts" but they are quite rare. Pilots are usually killed in lockouts.
The ride up is still a lot of fun. Foot launch you have to run like hell as the car drags you down the strip. When your feet can't keep up, the wing is usually flying and picks you up. Hold it in for a little and ease it out and you climb like a rocket. Just a little nose down and before you know it, it's time to release. It's not a space shuttle launch, but it's the cheapest alternative !

Another type of winch is a pay out winch. The glider sits on the back of a ute and the pilot flys it and the winch reels out at a specific tension and he just flies it to the end.
They also aerotow hang gliders behind ultralights and trikes like a sailplane and tug.

It's all good. I'm sure you'll find a way to get your feet out of those concrete boots and into the air. Flying is addictive... suck in the other members of the family, then there will be no complaints

**bambbbam** · 14-10-09, 11:42 AM

Recent pic of the day

Explanation: Sometimes, after your eyes adapt to the dark, a spectacular sky appears. In this case, a picturesque lake lies in front of you, beautiful green auroras flap high above you, brilliant stars shine far in the distance, and a brilliant moon shines just ahead of you.

This digitally fused panorama was captured earlier this month from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, and includes the Pleiades open cluster of stars just to the upper right of the Moon.

Since auroras are ultimately started by solar activity, this current flurry of auroras is somewhat surprising, given the historic lack of sunspots and other activity on the Sun over the past two years.

This time of year is known as aurora season, however, for noted average increases in auroras.

The reason for the yearly increase is not known for sure, but possibly relates to the tilt of the Earth creating a more easily traversable connection between the Earth's magnetic field and the magnetic field of the Sun's changing wind streams.

**trash** · 23-10-09, 05:34 PM

Some pictures of Saturn at equinox

**bambbbam** · 09-07-10, 09:20 AM

"A lumpy bubble of hot gas rises from a cauldron of glowing matter in a distant galaxy, as seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Galaxy NGC 3079, located 50 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, has a huge bubble in the centre of its disc, as seen in the image below. "