thing wrote:
Very sorry to hear that. I thought modern high performance gliders were unspinnable?
Far from it. Although some training gliders as mentioned above are reluctant to spin this is not true for most modern single seat gliders and they will, if provoked enough, spin. I'm no lightweight but all the glass/carbon fibre single seat gliders I've flown will spin - and also recover if the correct recovery procedure is followed and c of g within limits. I know because I've done it deliberately.
For performance reasons a lot of single seat gliders are flown near aft c of g. For some glider types, when ordered from the factory, you can specify the weight of the lightest pilot and they will add weights in the tail to put the c of g near the aft limit for that pilot. For heavier pilots it will be further forward. Frequently gliders also have water ballast tanks in the tail so that the pilot can add further weight to put the c of g where he wants it.
My glider has a brass tail wheel fitted (they are usually plastic or alloy) with lead weights inside it to manage the c of G, plus an 8 litre water tank in the tail that can be filled in 1 litre increments.
Get the sums wrong and it might not recover from an inadvertent spin!
