Untapped Records

[andy]

To Southside, and all the record chasers, I am in Branson Missouri for some continuing education, (not by choice, but by availability), and it is amazing to go out side and watch these vultures go on 5 mile glides that they don't lose anything and then hit some more lift and do a few circles and leave and go on another long no-sink glide. It looks just like Colombia here sans Mountains, ( except Ozarks, which seem to be rolling limestone hills) but depending on the LZ situation, with a tow rig I think someone could get some real distance here. Road trip anyone? I have a tow rig.

Also there does not seem to be a Missouri state record according to Southsides records?

Randall what do you think, Missouri state record?

Andy, reporting from Branson, home of everything KrispyKreme(sic)

[Tony de Groot]

Andy,
I really love watching those buzzards. I really want to get a video of them and watch it to learn what they are doing. I think they are flying lift lines. They fly perpendicular to the wind until they hit some lift and then turn in to the wind and fly the length of it until the lift runs out then some times they go back and forth and sometimes turn perpendicular and look for the next lift line. They hardly ever top out in lift. Why waste time thermaling when they can glide in zero or better. I think their sink rate is around 120 or 130 feet per minute. If you had the same sink rate couldn't you follow them and have a super long flight at a very low altitude. That would be so cool.........

[Don F]

Tony,
A couple of years ago, I went to the sailplane convention and sat in on a presentation describing a prototype glider that was being designed to exploit this lift. They called it "microlift." He spoke of the possibility of flying at low altitude over long distances in a type of zigzag pattern similar to the turkey vultures we see around here.

Don Frick

[andy]

Yeh Tony, the next day I was watching just what you described. I was trying to see if there was some correlation between the cloud location and the wind direction, and the lines they were taking, but did not seem to see anything except for the predictable flying on the windward side of the cloud and using the tailwind to quarter toward the next cloud, or go direct downwind to a formed but growing cloud. Cool to watch.

ps, I took care of your cousin Jacoby a couple of months ago, Andy

[Tony de Groot]

Gary Osaba has done a lot in the direction of flying microlift. Whether it can really work or not for our weight and wing size is up for debate. The following article talks about microlift sailplane type gliders etc.

http://www.fai.org/gliding/documents/microlift.pdf

It's interesting how they say that early in the morning and late evening are good times for this type of flying and in the middle of the day good thermal lift allows our normal flying style.
Personally, I would like to have a slow flying glider with a killer sink rate and a little air boost of some kind to give small shots of energy, ie the ability to flap, from time to time just like turkey vultures do and enjoy a long low flight.