British Gliding Association Motor Glider Handbook Author: Andy Miller BGA Senior Regional Examiner (Motor Gliders) Published by: The British Gliding Association Kimberley House •Vaughan Way • Leicester LE1 4SE 1st edition May 2007 Motor Glider Handbook BGA CAA British Gliding Association Civil Aviation Authority CFI DCFI Chief Flying Instructor Deputy Chief Flying Instructor LASORS Licensing, Administration, and Standardisation; Operating Requirements and Safety – CAA Handbook for pilots MG SLMG TMG Motor Glider Self-Launching Motor Glider Touring Motor Glider Published by The British Gliding Association, Kimberley House, Vaughan Way, Leicester, LE1 4SE Tel: 0116 253 1051 email: office@gliding.co.uk www.gliding.co.uk © 2007, British Gliding Association Limited First Edition Page 2 Motor Glider Handbook THE BRITISH GLIDING ASSOCIATION................................................................................................ 4 PREFACE AND USE OF THIS DOCUMENT ......................................................................................... 4 PART 1 CLUB ORGANISTION........................................................................ 5 1 Responsible Official ..................................................................................................................... 5 2 Qualifications ................................................................................................................................ 5 3 Authorisation................................................................................................................................. 5 4 Supervision ................................................................................................................................... 5 5 Resources...................................................................................................................................... 5 6 Record Keeping ............................................................................................................................ 5 PART 2 FLIGHT PROCEDURES ..................................................................... 6 7 Wind Limits.................................................................................................................................... 6 8 Performence .................................................................................................................................. 6 9 Glider Launching Cables ............................................................................................................. 6 10 Cooling & Engine Handling ......................................................................................................... 6 11 Card Heat ....................................................................................................................................... 6 12 Noise .............................................................................................................................................. 7 13 Go Arounds ................................................................................................................................... 7 14 Fuel Gauging ................................................................................................................................. 7 15 On The Ground.............................................................................................................................. 7 First Edition Page 3 Motor Glider Handbook THE BRITISH GLIDING ASSOCIATION The BGA is the national authority for sporting gliding in the United Kingdom under delegation from the Royal Aero Club which in turn is a member of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). The BGA operates through an elected Executive Committee, specialist sub-committees and a small professional staff. PREFACE AND USE OF THIS DOCUMENT This handbook is for the guidance of the BGA clubs that have motor gliders (MGs) operating from their sites and for the pilots and owners of these MGs. There are two comprehensive reference documents: LASORS, published by the CAA and updated annually; and the BGA’s Laws & Rules, published by the Association and updated as required. Both are available as either hard copy or from the web. Both documents, together with the appropriate Flight Manuals, must be readily available to Club management, owners and pilots alike. LASORS includes the definitions of SLMG and TMG. The BGA accepts no responsibility for any of the suggested practices contained in this document. Flying motor gliders is subject to the Air Navigation Order and other aviation law. The notes are intended as a general guide to motor glider operations. Each club has its operating environment and problems and should adapt these suggestions to suit their own needs. Each motor glider pilot should carry a degree of responsibility. Motor gliding is potentially expensive, can create noise and has hazards associated with it. These factors have a bearing on the very existence of gliding and it is therefore essential that motor gliding be carried out safely, efficiently and thoughtfully, paying particular regard to our neighbours. Motor gliding should be carried out in accordance with British Gliding Association (BGA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) procedures and in conjunction with club flying rules. Pilots in command of aircraft are ultimately responsible for the safe conduct of the flight and the actions that they choose to take. •Inclusions and alterations made in future editions will be marked Gender: All references in the text to “he/him/his” shall mean “she/her/hers” where applicable. First Edition Page 4 Motor Glider Handbook PART 1 CLUB ORGANISTION 1 RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL There should be a single Club official, reporting to the CFI, responsible for the arrangements for MG flying. This could be the Tugmaster, perhaps a “DCFI Power Flying” or even the CFI himself (should he wish to add this to his already onerous list of responsibilities). 2 QUALIFICATIONS A current, valid licence is essential but, by itself, insufficient. Best practice is to require, in addition, a gliding qualification such as Silver C and to establish limits for recency. Most pilots will have gained a Silver badge en-route to their licence. Clubs will normally require that pilots are members and should have a policy on membership for MG passengers. 3 AUTHORISATION A policy is required on who may self authorise and what authorisation is required for other pilots. It should not be difficult to get in touch with an authoriser. 4 SUPERVISION Supervision, an integral part of normal, safe, gliding operations can be one of the principle differences found by a pilot from a conventional power-flying club. Although low experience MG pilots are best supervised by an MG instructor, most MG flying can be well supervised by a normal gliding supervisor. When “non-power” gliding supervisors are required, they should be briefed on the differences between MG and gliding operations. 5 RESOURCES In addition to LASORS, Laws & Rules and Flight Manual, there must be ready access to weather and Notam briefs. These generally require internet access on site plus guides on how to use them. There must be a guide for accident procedures. 6 RECORD KEEPING There must be a suitable system for recording flight details and pilot’s intentions (for search & rescue purposes) together with the normal booking in and out system as found at power-flying clubs. This can sit well with the authorisation details. First Edition Page 5 Motor Glider Handbook PART 2 FLIGHT PROCEDURES 7 WIND LIMITS Standard general aviation advice on taxiing in strong winds is particularly important for MGs; wing walkers/rudder holders can even be needed. A maximum surface wind speed of 25kts is normally suitable but other issues such as turbulence and crosswind require further consideration. 8 PERFORMENCE Many MGs in current use are less powerful than conventional light aircraft & have worse gliding performance than average gliders. Suitable allowances must be made at every stage of flight. 9 GLIDER LAUNCHING CABLES On the face of it, taxiing over inert launching cables can seem an innocuous process. A number of fatal accidents over the years have shown, instead, that it is astonishingly easy for the cable to be picked up, perhaps by a wheel brake lever, with disastrous consequences. There should be robust procedures for keeping MGs apart from cables, both those lying on the ground as well as those in the air; pilots should follow them meticulously. 10 COOLING & ENGINE HANDLING With almost all motor glider engines being, one way or another, air cooled, care needs to be taken to keep temperatures within limits. Appropriate use must be made of cowl flaps & the time spent in both the high power/ low airspeed and low power/ high airspeed regimes should be minimised. Manufacturer’s figures for climb speeds should be treated with caution. The indicated airspeed that gives an impressive rate of climb for the brochure may leave little margin for keeping the engine cooling within limits. A small increase in speed may be appropriate. 11 CARD HEAT The use of carb heat and training for it is a big issue. Many of the Falkes in current use will suffer serious power loss if the carb heat is not used correctly (these aircraft enjoy little spare power in the first place); there are other MGs where its use is less critical. Training can be difficult: the Rotax versions that are now increasingly used in this role have no carb heat at all. The CAA’s advice on piston engine icing is good (Section 14B of LASORS). First Edition Page 6 Motor Glider Handbook 12 NOISE Although most MGs are quieter than most powered aircraft, they are not insulated from noise issues. Repetitively flown patterns sometimes give rise to complaints. Neighbours driven to distraction by noisier flying (tugs perhaps) can fail to distinguish between aircraft types when complaining. Information about local sensitive areas should be easily available and pilots should be meticulous about avoiding them. Adjusting flying to minimise noise can be a tedious business, but less so than reacting to noise complaints. 13 GO AROUNDS Go arounds cause particular problems for MGs: while being tricky in any aircraft, it is even more difficult to get hands in the right place. 14 FUEL GAUGING During the 30 odd years that motor gliders have been operated with British gliding, engines and avionics have made astonishing improvements in reliability. Fuel gauges, however, have not and so must always be treated with suspicion. 15 ON THE GROUND Propellers and people do not mix. Unlike power flying organisations, which strive to keep aircraft separate from people and vehicles, gliding operations involve a mixture of all three. Clubs should establish procedures that achieve as much separation as possible. Pilots have a particular responsibility to avoid conflicts whenever taxiing or ground running an engine. The life of the propeller itself can be prolonged by avoiding operations on lose surfaces. Suggestions for improvements to this handbook are actively sought. The current editor is Andy Miller, the BGA’s Senior Regional Examiner (Motor Gliders). andy@asmiller.freeserve.co.uk or 01249 821 031 or 07977 095 914 First Edition Page 7