Today I had a couple more instructional flights in the Grob. I needed to practice energy management during the approach, so we did pattern tows. My speed control was much better than last time - when it crept up a little bit I brought it back down within seconds. My landings were right at the beginning of the box, where they should be. A brisk wind helped stop the ship just at the end of the second box... without a wind, the Grob just rolls and rolls.
On the second tow, there was a bit of turbulence and I got a rather big loop of slack in the line. I yawed the ship away from the center of the turn and pulled it out very smoothly, and lined back up perfectly with absolutely no recoil or overshoot. Instructor B was very impressed.
One surprising thing about the Grob is the abrupt effect of the spoilers. Once you crack them out of the locked position, there's a very noticable drop. Then extending them is pretty linear... but that first increment is really big. Even though I was rather high, I never really extended them to the recommended halfway position during the base leg (the wind probably helped). The good news is that closing them and opening them actively after the flare really gave me good control of the float, allowing me to set it down right where I wanted (because my speed was well under control).
After the second flight the instructor said he didn't need to see anything further, and signed me off to fly the ship.
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