Wills Wing Alpha 180 Owner's Service Manual page 28

Once established on a wings level short final, into the wind, body semi-upright and with both hands
on the downtubes, your final concern is the timing and execution of the landing flare. The goal is to
arrive on the ground, on your feet, under control with the glider settling on your shoulders. If the wind
is 15 mph or more, you will not really execute a flare at all; you will simply slow to minimum flying
speed, put a foot down, and step onto the ground. In lighter winds, you will want to use some combi-
nation of a final nose up flare, and running out your landing, in order to finish the flight on your feet
with the glider settling on your shoulders. The lighter the wind, the stronger should be both your flare
and your run.
The traditional method of landing in light or no wind calls for a sharp, aggressive flare at precisely
the correct moment. This technique works fine when done correctly, but it's not easy to get the timing
just right. Flare too early and you will climb, and then fall with the nose pitching down. Flare too late
and you won't get the nose up enough to stop your forward motion, and the glider may nose into the
ground as you run into it from behind.
The flare timing process is made much easier by using a combination of a "crescendo flare" and a run
out of the landing. As you bleed off speed on final, flying just above the ground, you are at first letting
the control bar out towards its trim position. As the glider reaches trim speed, which will normally
be one to three mph above stall speed, you begin to gently push the bar out to keep the glider from
settling. At this point it is almost time to flare. As the glider enters the "mushing" range of angles
of attack, it will begin to settle in spite of your continuing to ease the bar out. This should be hap-
pening well before your arms are significantly extended. At this point begin your flare by smoothly
accelerating the rate at which you push out on the bar. At the same time, draw one leg forward, put a
foot down, and start to run as hard as you can. This run should be very much like an aggressive take
off run – your body should be leaning forward into the run and you should be driving with your legs.
The difference here is that while you are leaning into your run and driving forward with your legs,
your arms are extending fully from your shoulders, pushing out, and what feels like upwards, on the
control bar in an accelerating, "crescendo" flare.
Done correctly, this type of flare / run combination will bring the glider quickly to a very nose high
attitude, producing a great deal of drag and quickly arresting all of your forward motion. You will feel
the glider pulling you from behind, resisting your attempt to run, and as you slow down the glider
will settle gently on your shoulders. Even in no wind, you should not have to take more than a few
steps. If your timing is a little early, and you feel the glider start to climb, simply stop pushing out
and resume the flare when the glider again begins to settle. If your timing is a little late, your feet will
touch down a little sooner, but as long as you're running and flaring at the same time, the glider will
stay over your head or behind you.
If you are landing in light or no wind in an area that does not allow you to run (rocks, sagebrush,
uneven ground) you will need to have mastered the full flare, zero ground speed in no wind technique.
This is a little different from the abrupt flare – it is a slightly slower, but still very effective flare that
starts a second (or less) earlier, before the glider has begin to settle. When properly executed, this
flare will result in the glider flying a curving flight path into a slight climb, with the nose very high,
and then settling near vertically to the ground. This flare requires a lot of precision in timing and
execution, and it's not a technique you are likely to need flying an Alpha and landing in most normal
landing areas, but it is worth learning for some future time when you might need it.
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