Description
Total energy compensation for the Vario in the GPS Logger 2/3 and in the MicroVario!
The TEK nozzle is the ideal addition to our GPS logger 2/3 and the MicroVario . These have a TEK connection on the Vario and, together with the TEK nozzle, enable a Vario experience like that of man-carrying glider pilots.
Our TEK nozzle works according to the “Braunschweiger nozzle” principle. Today, man-carrying aviation uses this type almost exclusively. Although the construction is more complex than the simple curved Nicks nozzle, it is unsurpassed in terms of compensation and also delivers perfect results in model flying.
The nozzle is made entirely of stainless steel and brazed.
The nozzle head is on a scale of 1:2. That sounds bigger than it is because the nozzles in the original are very small. The nozzle appears to be correctly sized on models of virtually any size.
The 2.5 mm diameter tube is approximately 240 mm long and 40 mm high for the angled version for installation in the vertical stabilizer. In the original this length is around 750 mm, so our nozzle has the correct length for a 1:3 model. On smaller models the tube can be shortened slightly, on larger models it could be lengthened and stiffened with a carbon fiber tube.
The straight version for installation on the back of the fuselage is approximately 120 mm long.
What is TEK anyway?
TEK simply means ignoring the “stick thermals” by taking the model’s travel into account. This is achieved by connecting a TEK nozzle to the Variosensor.
For slow models that fly at a constant speed, the simple Vario without TEK is often sufficient. Here the errors caused by controlled height changes are not that big and you can clearly see the thermals through the vario. The cleaner you fly and the smaller the speed changes, the better the Vario works without a TEK nozzle .
However, with dynamic models or even if the flight style is not perfect, there are always Vario outputs that do not show the real climb and descent of the model, but only a controlled change in speed or altitude, the “stick thermals”. In fact, when searching for thermals, you are only interested in whether you are flying in rising, falling or neutral air mass. As independently as possible of how the aircraft is currently moving.
This is exactly the behavior you can achieve by using a TEK nozzle on the variometer. This nozzle creates a negative pressure that is dependent on the journey and thus simulates climbing as the speed increases, which compensates for the loss of altitude. So you push, the altitude decreases and the Vario without TEK would show sinking. The TEK nozzle compensates for this by displaying rising speed as the pressure increases. With the TEK nozzle, the conversion of height (potential energy) into speed (kinetic energy) is no longer incorrectly interpreted as sinking or climbing.
Ideally, with complete compensation, the Vario always shows the current descent of the aircraft in absolutely calm air. Of course, this is not a constant value, but depends on speed, buoyancy and other factors.
The connection between the TEK nozzle and the GPS logger 2/3 or MicroVario is made using the separately available nozzle holder, order no. 2785, and the hoses contained there.