Gliding Supplement

applies to all Virus SW series aircraft, from serial

number 313 VSW 100 onwards, that are registered
as an S-LSA glider or an experimental glider

This supplement must be used in conjuction

with the aircraft POH/AOI

REV. A00
(3rd October, 2019)

Aircraft Registration Number:

Aircraft Serial Number:

WARNING! This manual MUST be present inside the cockpit at all times!
Should you be selling the aircraft make sure this manual is handed over to the new owner.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part thereof is
not permitted, except with the prior and express written permission of Pipistrel Group’s R&D division,
Pipistrel Vertical Solutions d.o.o., which is authorized to publish technical documentation for Pipistrel
Group’s subsidiaries.
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Index of revisions
Enter and sign the list of revised pages in the manual into the spaces provided below. All revised pages
should be clearly designated in the upper right corner of the page, also, any changes in page content
should be clearly visible (e.g. marked with a bold black vertical line).

Name of Reason for Revision no., Affected

Issuer
revision Revision: date: pages:

Rev.0 Initial Pipistrel Vertical

Original / /
3rd October, 2019 release Solutions d.o.o.

Visit Pipistrel’s technical publication portal to view/download all applicable user manuals and service
documents. Access it by going to www.pipistrel-aircraft.com, clicking on SUPPORT, then TECHNICAL
DOCUMENTATION and logging in using the following credentials:

Username: owner1
Password: ab2008
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List of valid pages

This manual contains 17 original and revised pages listed below. Pages that were revised since
the last document release are highlighted in bold.

Page Page revision

Cover -
Index of revisions 3 0
List of valid pages 4 0
Table of contents 5 0
General 7 0
8 0
Emergency procedures 9 0
10 0
Normal procedures 11 0
12 0
13 0
Performance 15 0
16 0
17 0

CAUTION!
This manual is valid only if it contains all of the original and revised pages listed above.

Each page to be revised must be removed, shredded and later replaced with the new, revised page in
the exact same place in the manual.
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Table of contents
General

Emergency procedures

Normal procedures

Performance

Description of Aircraft & Systems*

* Note: in certain POH/AOIs this chapter is called:

“Aircraft and systems on board”
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General
Introduction

Notes and remarks

Technical data
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Introduction
This manual contains all information needed for appropriate and safe use of the aircraft when oper-
ated as a glider, also including information for flight after an intentional in-flight engine shut-down.
Each chapter of this supplement adds or replaces content in the corresponding chapter of the air-
craft POH/AOI.

IT IS MANDATORY TO CAREFULLY STUDY THIS MANUAL PRIOR TO USE

OF AIRCRAFT

In case of aircraft damage or people injury resulting form disobeying instructions in the manual
PIPISTREL denies all responsibility.

All text, design, layout and graphics are owned by PIPISTREL. Therefore this manual and any of its
contents may not be copied or distributed in any manner (electronic, web or printed) without the
prior consent of PIPISTREL.

Notes and remarks

Safety definitions used in the manual:

WARNING! Disregarding the following instructions leads to severe deterioration of flight

safety and hazardous situations, including such resulting in injury and loss of life.

CAUTION! Disregarding the following instructions leads to serious deterioration of flight

safety.

Note: Draws the attention to any special item not directly or immediately related to safety but
which is important or unusual.

Technical data
All the technical data in the original aircraft POH/AOI are applicable.
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Emergency procedures
Introduction

Engine restart failure

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Introduction
All the emergency procedures described in the aircraft POH/AOI apply. This section only provides ad-
ditional information and emergency cases.

Engine restart failure

(after intentional in-flight shut down)

If the engine refuses to re-start in flight, after an unpowered flight phase, the glide must be contin-
ued, while respecting the normal gliding flight parameters.

Should the engine become inoperative in flight, as a result of either intended or unintended actions,
and it cannot be restarted, react as follows:

Establish wings-level flight at the speed providing best lift over drag ratio (VG) if you desire to
glide the greatest distance from a given altitude.

Establish wings-level flight at speed providing minimum sink rate (VMS) if you desire to stay air-
borne the longest. This may come in handy in case you will be forced to give way to other aircraft or
if you simply need time to determine the most appropriate site to land out on.

Note: the speeds mentioned above and performance during unpowered flight are described in
“Performance” chapter of this supplement.

If time/altitude permits, perform “Engine failure” procedure (see aircraft “Emergency procedures” in
applicable POH/AOI) to attempt a new engine start-up sequence.

If the failure happens above the airfield, it is possible to land the aircraft as a glider (see “Normal pro-
cedures”).

If the failure occurs far away from the airfield or the runway is not within gliding range and re-start-
ing attempts fail, prepare to perform “Emergency landing/Landing out” or “Emergency Landing /
Landing off airport” procedure (see “Emergency procedures” in applicable POH/AOI).
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Normal procedures
Introduction

Self launch takeoff

Shutting down the engine

in flight

Restarting the engine in

flight

Landing with the engine off

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Introduction
This section:
- provides additional procedures that apply to the use of the aircraft as glider or motor-
glider, provided they are not found in the original POH/AOI.
- replaces corresponding sections in the aircraft original POH/AOI in case the following sections/
paragraphs are present.

All the other normal procedures described in the aircraft POH apply and are still valid.

Self launch takeoff

This procedure is the same as the “Takeoff” procedure found in the applicable POH/AOI.

Shutting down the engine in flight

The following is the procedure for initiating an unpowered flight phase:

- Set aircraft speed, attitude and configuration to best efficiency parameters (VG - Flap setting). See
“Performance” section of this supplement.

- Apply normal engine shut down procedure* (see applicable POH/AOI) and, once the engine is OFF,
either feather the propeller or set it to COARSE pitch, if equipped with an adjustable pitch propel-
ler**.

CAUTION! during a long gliding flight, all non-essential electrical equipment should be
switched off, so as to ensure that the battery will not be discharged. A discharged battery will
result in inability to restart the engine. Monitor battery voltage accordingly.

Perform “Restarting the engine in flight” procedure when the gliding phase is completed.

CAUTION! Always fly in such a manner that you are able to reach at least one landing-out
site every moment of the flight. This especially applies to unpowered flight as ignition, engine
and/or propeller malfunction may prevent you from restarting the engine and by that resum-
ing normal flight.
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Restarting the engine in flight

This procedure only applies when restarting the engine following an intentional unpowered flight.

Apply normal engine start-up procedure*:

Propeller UNFEATHER/SET TO FINE PITCH

Throttle IDLE
MASTER Switch ON
Magnetos ON
Starter ENGAGE

Should the engine cool down during unpowered flight, apply choke. Always start the engine at idle
throttle and at minimum propeller pitch setting.

CAUTION! Do not add full power while the engine is still cool (oil and water temperatures
must be above 50°C/122°F - See POH/AOI Chapter “General” and “Limitations”).
Fly at lower airspeeds and low power engine settings to warm it up before applying power
(e.g. 60 kts (111 km/h) at 3000 RPM).

CAUTION! Before you activate the starter make sure the propeller is not feathered but set to
FINE pitch**.

Landing with the engine off

The aircraft can be landed with engine off respecting the applicable operating speeds. There is no
significant change in general flight characteristics.

The rate of descent and descent glide path is adjusted using the air brakes (if installed).

See applicable POH/AOI for normal landing procedure, airbrake-related information and other air-
speed limitations.

*Note: for Rotax iS injected engine equipped aircraft, please apply normal engine start up/shut
down procedure described in the applicable supplement.

**Note: see applicable propeller manual for propeller pitch adjustment procedures. Aerodynamic
forces may automatically set the pitch of some propellers to FINE once the engine stops running.
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Performance
Introduction

Descent
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Introduction
This chapter replaces the content of the corresponding section in the aircraft POH/AOI.

All the data in the original aircraft POH/AOI describing other flight phases are still valid, except for
minimum sink rates, minimum sink speeds and best lift-over-drag ratios in the “Additional technical
data” table.

Descent
The Glide
Gliding performances are described generally by two parameters:

L/Dmax or Best Glide Ratio: the best glide ratio is the maximum distance travelled in horizontal di-
rection compared with the vertical distance dropped during the glide. Maximum lift-to-drag ratio (L/
Dmax) occurs at one specific airspeed (Best glide speed VG) for a given aircraft weight.

The same aircraft, at higher weight, must fly faster to obtain its L/Dmax. L/Dmax is a characteristic of
the aircraft in a specific configuration (flap/airbrakes position etc). Every component, surface and/or
appendix, that adds drag to the aircraft, will reduce its L/Dmax value. Flying at the best glide speed
VG results in maximizing the distance covered vs altitude lost.

Sink rate: this indicates how fast the aircraft is reducing its altitude. At a given weight and aircraft
configuration, minimum sink rate is achieved at a specific speed (Minimum sink speed VMS). Flying
at minimum sink speed VMS minimizes altitude lost over time or maximizes altitude gain in lift (ther-
mals).

Usually, for a given aircraft and configuration, VG > VMS

Recommended flight settings: adjust the aircraft’s flap settings according to flight speed and to the
flight situation. The +1 flap setting is recommended for thermalling, while the neutral (0) setting is
recommended for transferring from thermal to thermal or gliding at higher speeds.
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Definitions and remarks

Maximum efficiency ve-

VG locity - Best glide speed
Speed for the best L/D ratio performance

Maximum distance travelled in horizontal direction com-

L/Dmax Best Glide Ratio
pared with the vertical distance dropped during the glide

VMS Minimum sink velocity This is the speed to be mantained for the minimum sink rate

Min. sink
Min. sink rate Indicates the minimum vertical speed during glide
rate

Note: the gliding performance table below refers to the following Virus SW aircraft configuration
and replaces any VG or speed polar diagram in the original POH/AOI:

Flaps: Neutral/ 0 position

Airbrakes (if installed): retracted
Propeller: COARSE pitch setting *

Aircraft type: VIRUS SW

L/Dmax 15 :1 (@VG)
Aircraft
weight: @ 550 kg @ 600 kg
VG
IAS 65 (120) 68 (126)
[KIAS (km/h)]

VMS
IAS 60 (111) 63 (117)
[KIAS (km/h)]

Min. sink
rate 405 (2.06) 425 (2.17)
[ft/min (m/s)]

* Note: Feathering the propeller will improve the gliding performance.

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