Polling threads

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By Roadrunner
#359678
Hi Guys:

I am wondering about some thing here. Just how many of you have flown with Ballast? I for one have flown with 70 LBS of water Ballast. It has been my experience that when I competed in speed gliding carrying 70 lbs of water ballast. Ues, I say load my Predator up and haul the Mail.

I wonder if when it come's to flying fast. Will my Predator 158 will still dominate speed gliding against other King-Posted gliders like it used to?

Guy's I want to fly again SO Bad, I can just Taste it.

Good By The BIG Guy
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By mrcc
#359684
NO JOKING
I have a permanent ballast around gut.
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By GerryP
#359686
For ballast, lead is 10x higher density than water.
Water = 1,000 Kg/m3
Dry Sand = 1,602 Kg/m3
Steel = 8,000 Kg/m3
Lead = 11,389 Kg/m3
Steel is close - an idea for ballast is a removable flat steel bar contoured to the backplate? You could get 10-20lb without adding bulk.
Image
PS: BG - no idea about kingpost best speeds, but I'd bet on the Litesport. Unless it was against you.
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By CHassan
#359689
But it gets hard to jettison lead and steel. Throwing a bunch of sand in the face of any bystander is probably not a good idea. (Scratched corneas hurt like hell)
Dropping water is by far the safest...............as long as you let it out of the container first!
By Roadrunner
#359717
Yes Guys: I used water. Regardless of what type of Ballast you have flown with. Question: Has anyone flown carrying a 100 pounds of Ballast, or maybe more?

Good By The Big Guy
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By kukailimoku
#359732
There was a run at the Steeplechase way back when where the pilot had bags of nicosleeves in his harness. I don't know if it ever got weighed, but I remember it was seriously heavy.

Performance didn't seem to suffer, he blew away the old record.
By Roadrunner
#359746
I feel that I should re-propose my question, tighten it up a bite. Has any one here on the Dot-Org personally played around with adding ballast and then has some first-Person comments as to the effect of adding Ballast.

Yes, I am looking to hear some First Person accounts of adding Ballast to one's Glider.

Thanks: The BIG Guy