Curt & Sylphra
Curt
Hey Sylphra, I've been crunching some flight trajectory data—seems like there might be a way to shave a few minutes off those high‑altitude routes without increasing risk. Think we can map it out?
Sylphra
Sounds like a sweet cheat code, but we gotta keep the sky safe. Let’s drop a few degrees off the climb, tweak the turn radii with the old trim charts, and see if the wind can give us a push. Hit me with the data and we’ll sketch a new route that feels like a straight shot but still passes all the check‑points. Ready to bend the rules a bit?
Curt
Here’s a quick rundown: start at 9,000 ft, climb 500 ft per minute for 10 min to reach 14,500 ft, then hold. Drop the final climb to 12,500 ft—2,000 ft lower—cutting 5 min overall. Use a 15° turn radius at the first waypoint, 20° at the second, then a 10° glide toward the goal. Wind at 120 kt from 280° gives a 5‑kt headwind at 12,500 ft, so the adjusted climb rate should still meet the 10‑min window. Stick to the trim charts for roll limits; keep the load factor below 1.3g. That should give a straight‑line feel while staying within safety margins.
Sylphra
Alright, that’s a slick tweak. We’ll start at 9 000, climb 500 a minute, hit 12 500 in 10, and then just coast the rest. Drop the last 2 000, cut 5 minutes, and the 5‑kt headwind at 12 500 won’t kill the timing if we keep the climb rate a touch higher. 15° turn first, 20° next, then a 10° glide—those angles keep the load under 1.3g if we follow the trim charts from the old manual we love. Just make sure the wings are a little tighter on those turns, and we’ll have a straight‑line feel that still plays by the rules. Let’s map it out and see the sky look like a perfect puzzle.
Curt
Looks solid. Verify the final altitude for the glide segment to make sure the 12,500‑ft hold still meets the checkpoint. Double‑check the 5‑kt headwind assumption across the entire segment—if it drops, we’ll need to bump the climb rate back up. Keep the trim charts handy for the roll adjustments. Once the numbers check out, run a quick simulation and confirm the load factors stay below 1.3g. Then we’re ready to deploy.
Sylphra
Check it over. We’re holding at 12 500 for the glide, so that’s our target. If the 5‑kt headwind stays consistent, the climb rate stays just a touch higher to make the 10‑minute window. If it drops, we’ll need to push the climb rate up a bit to keep the 12 500 hold on schedule. Stick with the trim charts for the roll limits—make sure we’re staying under 1.3g on the 15°, 20°, and 10° turns. Run a quick sim with the numbers, watch the load factors, and if they stay below 1.3g, we’re good to go. Let’s fire it up.
Curt
Climb 5 000 ft in 10 min at 500 ft/min gets you to 12 500 ft. With a 5‑kt headwind, the ground‑speed drop won’t change the climb‑time, but it does add ~30 s to the glide leg, so keep the glide speed a touch higher if the wind drops.
Turn bank limits: 15°, 20°, 10° rolls give about 1.04g, 1.07g, and 1.02g respectively—comfortably below 1.3g. No need to tighten the wings; just follow the trim charts for each roll angle. Run the simulation with those parameters and the load factors should stay under 1.3g. All green. Fire it up.