Piloting (dashing maneuver), Glider flight, Club Planeadores Bariloche, Nahuel Huapi Aerodrome, Argentina.
Image by ER’s Eyes – Our planet is so beautiful.
Cerro Carmen de Villegas at 1,451 m (4,760 ft) MSL.
***
It takes sensitivity and keen instinct to fly a glider. The movements are always very delicate, as well as the aircraft’s reactions. The instrument panel has only basic aviation instruments: compass, speedometers, altimeter, ascent and descent rate indicator and a crucial item for gliders, a kind of updraft detector (Airspeed Indicator) and the intensity of these phenomena.
Control of the aircraft is by lever and pedals and the only extra command is the lever to activate the wing deflectors, which act as aerodynamic brakes to reduce speed. The glider has only one electronic device: the radio.
Designed for long flights, which can take three hours or more, the interior of the glider is very comfortable. The seat accommodates the whole body and ventilation is not a problem: there is an air duct right next to the seat and small windows that can be opened during the flight.
Vultures are also a good “tool” in sailing. The huge birds have a special “sense” for finding updrafts, which take them to high altitudes without even needing to flap their wings. Therefore, where there is a vulture there is a great chance of finding a thermal where the glider can gain altitude.
***
Cerro Villegas, located about 18 km from the center of the city of Bariloche to the northeast, is located within the Patagonian Steppe and very close to Dina Huapi.
Coirones, neneos, colapiche, among other plants and fauna of the steppe are the protagonists of this extreme steppe landscape.
