Pretty good skills here. I'd say above average.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/0QuFsbIRv_U[/youtube]

Looks like an average winter day anywhere in North Dakota.

Can't imagine that long winged glider in that wind. Looked like he was standing still on final. Wind shear to boot

Heck a ND native who is a neighbor now says he never flew when the winds were less than 15kts, or they'd never fly. He is 86' now and still has his 3rd class. Only person at a local ultra light base that flys when there is any surface wind at all . Everyone else is parked.

One of his stories was about a snow storm that kicked up unexpectedly when he was on the way home from dropping his daughter at college. Nah I'm not telling this one. He is an amazing stick. No cell towers back then.....

It still amazes me what some did in the past without GPS etc. and all the SA devices available to us today.

I was getting training in a C195 in western KS last week. Oh my, winds every day. Squirrelly to say the least on roll out, whew...

...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv1RBJzQsDw

When I was flying hang gliders this was the type of glider I had. This is called a top landing where you land in the same spot you take off from. Don't drift back to far or you will we rotor trash.

Vince

if i know i'm filming in windy conditions, i'm going to bring a muff for the microphone

I thought I was pretty hot $hit last Father's Day when I was one of the few who braved gusting 27 for a pancake breakfast, that is until my hangar neighbor showed up in his cub.
I waited for him back at home, great landing. But had I to hold the wing on his plane while he got out, it almost wanted to take off in the swirling wind between the hangars.
As for ND, my highest GS ever happened on a run back to MN from Gwinner ND. +240kts.

Greg

Im not even leaving the Chalet on that day... let alone flying lol.

You really need to lead those Pheasants if they turn downwind.

It does stink to be flying backwards at best L/D. Pretty easy to do in a S2-33 trainer when it is high winds. High performance gliders are easy to manage in high winds, you just don't want to stray too far downwind from the airport as the nearest empty soccer field always invites unwanted friends after landing....

I does not look like a motor glider. The landing would be nothing compared to the tow. How did they get into the air?

Vince

The description says that's at Kebnekaise Wave camp. They're already in the mountains and looking for strong winds for the good wave soaring.

Other videos of the camp show they do aerotow with Pawnees. I suspect they're just used to it. These are extreme guys looking for extreme winds to get extreme waves to do extremely long flights.

I'm not sure its even that extreme, the sock is out straight, but that may only indicate 15kts.
The noise and blowing snow make it look and sound extreme, but the landing rollout looked pretty long for winds to be much more than 15kts.
I took my 75yr old Mother for a introductory flight at a local glider field, wind was gusting to 25kts. I thought for sure it was a wasted trip, but away they went.
She loved it.

Greg

The description in the video says the ASI was indicating 80 kmh sitting on the ground. That's 50 mph, and I believe the gusts were that high. The steady state was probably 25 knots or so. Aircraft just don't behave like that in 15 knot winds.

I'm sure it was somewhat more than 15kts. But as mentioned above, 25kts is normal ops all over here in the flatlands.
I don't know anything about glider operations. Would a typical glider have that much forward speed landing in level attitude with spoilers out in a 50kt headwind?

Greg

Normal landing speeds for that model is probably in the range of 45 knots + 1/2 the wind speed. That pilot was probably trying to maintain a speed of about 60 knots. So, yeah, wind penetration would be about what it looks like.