Schweizer SGS 2–32 Flight Notes

Many factors affect flight planning and aircraft operation, including aircraft weight, weather, and runway surface. The recommended flight parameters listed below are intended to give approximations for flights at maximum takeoff or landing weight on a day with International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions.

 

Important: These instructions are intended for use with Flight Simulator only and are no substitute for using the actual aircraft manual for real-world flight. Note: As with all of the Flight Simulator aircraft, the V-speeds and checklists are located on the Kneeboard. To access the Kneeboard while flying, press F10, or select the Aircraft menu, and then choose Kneeboard. Note: All speeds given in Flight Notes are indicated airspeeds. If you're using these speeds as reference, be sure that you select "Display Indicated Airspeed" in the Realism Settings dialog box. Speeds listed in the specifications table are shown as true airspeeds.

Required Runway Length

Takeoff: Use the Slew feature (To learn more, see Positioning Your Aircraft.)
Landing: 1,000 feet (305 meters)

The length required for landing is a result of a number of factors, such as aircraft weight, ambient temperature, and altitude. The figures here assume:

Weight: maximum gross weight
Altitude: sea level
Wind: no headwind
Temperature: 15° C
Runway: hard surface

Lower altitudes, weights, and temperatures will result in better performance, as would a headwind component.

Engine Startup

The Schweizer 2–32 is a sailplane and has no engine, so it descends unless you fly into an area of rising air. By finding air that is rising as fast as (or faster than) the sailplane is descending, you can maintain (or gain) altitude. Finding rising air is challenging, and the duration of your flights depends on your skill.

Flight Simulator has three good soaring areas. You'll find ridge lift in the Munich, San Francisco, and Seattle scenery areas, where air is forced upward near mountains. You'll also find thermals—warm, rising air—near the San Francisco coast and near Lake Chelan on the opposite side of the Cascade Mountains (east side) from Seattle. Choose from several soaring Flights designed for the sailplane in the Select Flight dialog box (choose Select Flight on the Flights menu).

Taxiing

There is no taxiing in the 2–32.

Flaps

The 2–32 does not have wing flaps.

Takeoff

Use the Slew feature to raise the aircraft to altitude. Press Y to activate slewing, and press F4 to gain altitude. When you reach 3,000 to 4,000 feet, press Y to deactivate slewing. The aircraft will pitch down to gain flying speed. Use the spoilers (press the SLASH [ / ] key, or drag the spoiler lever) to control speed while recovering to soaring flight.

Alternatively, you can set your altitude and airspeed in the Map View dialog box. On the World menu, select Map View. Then, enter the altitude and airspeed in the appropriate boxes. Because you entered an airspeed, the aircraft won't pitch down when you turn off Slew mode and you won't need to use the spoilers.

Lower the spoilers once you level off (press the SLASH [ / ] key, or drag the spoiler lever). Keep in mind that the Schweizer is sensitive to pitch, so use a light touch on the stick.

Climb

Climbing in the 2–32 requires that you fly in an area of rising air. You must fly the sailplane near a ridge or in an area where the ground surface, heated by the sun, creates thermals. This can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of flying the sailplane—learning how to take advantage of currents of air to remain aloft or to climb. Pay attention to your variometer and altimeter when searching for areas of rising air.

When soaring in rising air, if you're trying to go for distance, fly at maximum L/D, which is approximately 66 mph indicated airspeed (IAS). The Schweizer airspeed indicator reads in miles per hour. If you're trying to stay in the lift and just increase altitude, fly at minimum sink, which is approximately 54 mph.

If you lose the lift, you'll want to increase your speed by lowering the nose and then finding rising air again. The amount of increase in airspeed should be about half of your headwind component. If you have a 10-knot headwind, for example, increase your speed by 6 mph.

One of the most challenging sources of lift for the sailplane pilot is a "thermal"—a rising current of warm air that is created in an area where the sun's rays generate more heat than in surrounding areas.

For example, desert areas or brown fields generate more heat than forests and green fields. These heated areas release heat into the atmosphere and create columns of rising air. These columns—thermals—can rise for thousands of feet and produce cumulus clouds if there is sufficient moisture in the air.

Cruise

Cruise is aided by finding areas of rising air. Without an engine, rising air is the only thing that will keep you from heading earthward.

When you can't find rising air, you have to keep in mind the glide ratio of the aircraft. The numbers to remember for the Schweizer are "34 to 1." For every one mile (1,609 meters) of altitude, the sailplane can travel 34 miles (54.7 kilometers) in distance.

That's if you have ideal conditions.

You need to include a safety margin for unfavorable winds and other factors; real-world soaring pilots use a safety margin of one-half or two-thirds of the aircraft's actual performance capability.

With that in mind, use "20 to 1" as a good measure for safety. If you slew the 2–32 up to one mile in altitude, you can glide about 20 miles of distance to soar before gravity returns you to terra firma.

Descent

You only get one shot at landing in a sailplane (except in Flight Simulator, where you can use the Slew feature to gain altitude). Therefore, you must plan your descent so that you arrive over the airport at pattern altitude. It will take some experimentation to learn how far from the airport you can fly and still make a safe landing.

Try using the formula discussed in the "Cruise" section. Use the Slew feature to gain one mile in altitude, and then slew 20 miles away from the airport (you can use the Global Positioning System [GPS] to be precise). See how well you do at getting back to the airport without having to slew again. You want to arrive back at the airport at around 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) above the airport elevation.

Approach

If you arrive in the airport vicinity with excess altitude, you can use the spoilers to increase your rate of descent (press the SLASH [ / ] key, or drag the spoiler handle). Fly a normal pattern at around 65 to 70 mph.

Landing

Remember that if you carry excess speed on final, the sailplane will want to keep flying longer than you want it to. If necessary, deploy the spoilers on final to allow you to slow the aircraft and increase your rate of descent.

As you cross the runway threshold, raise the nose slightly to slow to around 50 mph for landing. If you haven't already deployed the spoilers, do so just before touchdown. That will spoil any lift that threatens to keep the sailplane off the ground. Hold a level attitude close to the ground, and let the sailplane settle to a smooth, level touchdown. Do not flare, or you will jam the tailwheel onto the ground, resulting in a rough landing.

Once on the ground, use the rudder for directional control as you roll out (twist the joystick, press the right or left rudder pedal, or press 0 [left] or ENTER [right] on the numeric keypad).