Dynon SkyView Glide Ring display?

[Batjac]

In the documentation that I got when I bought my plane back in January, there was not a SkyView manual included.  I learned the basics from my instructor during my transition time, and figured out a few more on my own and by watching the Dynon SkyView seminar videos.  But I finally downloaded the operations manual from the Dynon website and am going through it.  Lots of neat features that I'll never use.  But an interesting feature I see is the Glide Ring function.  Has anyone set this feature up on their SkyView and used it?

 

Mark

[Ken]

I have a different EFB and I use it as a default. I test it out every now and then and adjust the glide ratio accordingly. 

[shiny.ice]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

I have a different EFB and I use it as a default. I test it out every now and then and adjust the glide ratio accordingly. 

Same, I use Foreflight, its glide ring is much more dynamic (for wind and terrain).

[Jim Meade]

I set it up look at it now and then.

[FlyingMonkey]

I have the glide ring going in Garmin Pilot.  IIRC I have the glide ratio set to 9 to 1.  It's probably conservative but I'd rather have a smaller ring than a false sense of what I can get to.  Most of my local flying is at 1500ft AGL or less, so my glide ring basically just says "whatever if right below you is where you're going".

[Batjac]

Andy,  I didn't know I had that feature on Garmin Pilot.  I'll have to figure that one out.

 

Mark

[shiny.ice]

1 hour ago, Batjac said:

Andy,  I didn't know I had that feature on Garmin Pilot.  I'll have to figure that one out.

Strangely Sporty's just posted about using it in GP today: https://ipadpilotnews.com/2024/07/three-quick-garmin-pilot-tips/

[Jim Meade]

You may remember I took my CTSW to 10,000 feet and shut the engine off a few years ago.  Stopped the prop.  Set 15degree flap and pitched for 63 knots.  Descended to 4,000 feet.  The glide slope worked out to about 9:1.

[FlyingMonkey]

On 7/9/2024 at 3:52 PM, shiny.ice said:

Strangely Sporty's just posted about using it in GP today: https://ipadpilotnews.com/2024/07/three-quick-garmin-pilot-tips/

This forum is nothing if not timely! 

[FlyingMonkey]

On 7/9/2024 at 11:06 PM, Jim Meade said:

You may remember I took my CTSW to 10,000 feet and shut the engine off a few years ago.  Stopped the prop.  Set 15degree flap and pitched for 63 knots.  Descended to 4,000 feet.  The glide slope worked out to about 9:1.

Good to know.  Was that in calm winds?  I wonder if the glide would be better at 0° or -6° since the drag would be significantly lower.  When I did some testing a while back I remember noting that at -6° and 78-80kt the airplane glided a *long* way from ~5000ft.

[Eddie Cesnalis]

22 minutes ago, FlyingMonkey said:

Good to know.  Was that in calm winds?  I wonder if the glide would be better at 0° or -6° since the drag would be significantly lower.  When I did some testing a while back I remember noting that at -6° and 78-80kt the airplane glided a *long* way from ~5000ft.

reflex flaps give best glide by far. It is evident by finding glide speed and then seeing how much glide you gain or lose by changing flap settings.  The early days publications of both flaps/speed as well as glide ratio where way off.  

For me reflex flaps and a slip at least until runway is assured.  I can take out the slip if its too much too soon.  My other favorite is remaining fuel in one wing with a slip keeping it visible.  This allows stretching the last fraction of a gallon and maybe making a field that I would have not made with remaining fuel balanced in both tanks.

[Ulmo133]

Excuse my vocabulary : what do you mean by reflex flap ? 
All of the CT in US have -6° ? Just asking because mine as -12°

[FlyingMonkey]

17 minutes ago, Ulmo133 said:

Excuse my vocabulary : what do you mean by reflex flap ? 
All of the CT in US have -6° ? Just asking because mine as -12°

Any flaps setting in a minus range less than zero, -6° or -12°, is referred to aerodynamically as a "reflex" flap setting.

[FlyingMonkey]

48 minutes ago, Eddie Cesnalis said:

reflex flaps give best glide by far. It is evident by finding glide speed and then seeing how much glide you gain or lose by changing flap settings.  The early days publications of both flaps/speed as well as glide ratio where way off.  

For me reflex flaps and a slip at least until runway is assured.  I can take out the slip if its too much too soon.  My other favorite is remaining fuel in one wing with a slip keeping it visible.  This allows stretching the last fraction of a gallon and maybe making a field that I would have not made with remaining fuel balanced in both tanks.

Sounds like we're on the same page.  Reflexed flaps have you flying fast, but the glide is pretty great.  I think the POH says best glide at 15° and ~62kt because they don't want pilots to go into an off-airport landing fast with a higher risk of injury to man and machine.

My plan is always -6° until the landing zone is made, then add flaps and/or slip as needed.

You must run your tanks pretty low if you need a slip to maintain fuel!

[Eddie Cesnalis]

9 minutes ago, FlyingMonkey said:

You must run your tanks pretty low if you need a slip to maintain fuel!

The slip is to maintain a visual on the remaining.

I used to live in Eastern California and had many off field landings.  There I have stretched / tested the method of keeping remaining fuel visible in one site tube into the last 2 gallons. It worked because there were continuous landing opportunities.

Now in Oregon I am far more cautious.  The forests in western Oregon are not friendly places to land at all.  

[shiny.ice]

I'm still not confident in speeds and flap settings (0 vs -6) for best glide, but here are some numbers from the last time I tested various glide speeds in the CTLS.

I pull data from the Dynon for accuracy and do 2-3000ft "runs" at each speed. I use TAS*time to determine distance, as it's nearly impossible to control for wind by using ground distance.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

1 hour ago, shiny.ice said:

I'm still not confident in speeds and flap settings (0 vs -6) for best glide, but here are some numbers from the last time I tested various glide speeds in the CTLS.

The best glide will always be where the best lift/drag ratio is.  There is no way that 15° has the best L/D ratio, the drag is just too high and the speed over the ground too low.  It *is* possible that the best setting is at 0°...at the -6° setting the lower drag might be more than offset by reduced lift.  I have not done as much testing at 0°, if anybody has that data or wants to investigate it, that would be helpful.  Correlating that idea with the chart you posted, it's possible that something like 0° flaps and 70-74kt would be the best glide for the CTs.

[Eddie Cesnalis]

Comparing the lift and drag curves at zero and reflex would determine that reflex wins.  Cycle between these 2 flap positions at idle and see the dramatic change in you aiming point.  

[Eddie Cesnalis]

Do I remember 30:1 in 2006?

Here's Plane and Pilot 8 years ago claiming 14:1 for a CTSW https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/flight-design-ct-best-of-the-lsas/  

Google CTSW glide ratio today and you get 8.5:1 from Flight Design.

Numbers have been on a downward trend.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

47 minutes ago, Eddie Cesnalis said:

Do I remember 30:1 in 2006?

Here's Plane and Pilot 8 years ago claiming 14:1 for a CTSW https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/flight-design-ct-best-of-the-lsas/  

Google CTSW glide ratio today and you get 8.5:1 from Flight Design.

Numbers have been on a downward trend.

 

I thought I had seen 14-1 at some point, thanks for the reference.  Yup, that is...optimistic.

[Jim Meade]

Remember to add a little speed if you are gliding into a headwind and reduce speed just a little if you are soaring with a tailwind.  Not at gross?  A little less speed.  If you run into bad sink, speed up to get out of it.  Likewise, if you find extraordinary lift, you can pitch up a little bit.  I went out on a good lift one day and tried to soar in my CTSW at idle alongside my friend in his DG 800A.  He helped me a bit because he could tell the lift and sink much better than it.  But the CTSW is no glider.

 

[shiny.ice]

On 7/11/2024 at 11:40 AM, Eddie Cesnalis said:

Comparing the lift and drag curves at zero and reflex would determine that reflex wins.  Cycle between these 2 flap positions at idle and see the dramatic change in you aiming point.  

Starting a new thread rather than putting it here, but not seeing a "dramatic" difference in the two settings.