Originally Posted by
jmmoric
Turn and slip indicator or turn coordinator is definately usefull, though I prefer the turn coordinator. An attitude indicator even better.
And don't call me NOBODY
(I did notice, and wrote it as well earlier)
And so you did. I apologise. It was disconcerting however to see so how many experienced pilots on this thread who missed this vital clue as to how these clowns got into that mess. I have flown twenty three types of glider in my career (now over) and never encountered one, all the way from T31 to ASK21, that was not equipped with a turn and slip. I thought perhaps I had missed it in my first scan of the panel - but no it wasn't there. I have to tell you that I would not have taken off in any glider not so equipped. I therefore never faced a decision about whether to enter cloud if it was necessary.
In my latter days of gliding I flew an Olympia 463 which (unusually for the time) was fitted with an HSI (why not just call it a horizon?) and while it was jolly useful in a cloud , should the battery have given out I still had the trusty steam driven T/S to save my bacon. Even when it seemed to be raining upwards in a cloud, a quick glance at the horizon made this unlilkely. The only thing a T/S could not tell you.