I do miss Gliding

[PAUL161]

I don't know if this will work, hopefully.

(3) Paul Jennings Glider Aerobatics Oneida Tennessee Air Show 2010 www glideraerobatics org - YouTube

(3) Paul Jennings 4 Min Free US Nationals - YouTube

He received a standing ovation for his 4 min. free from the crowd and Red Bull pilots for this demonstration at the awards dinner.

Ok I'm done, that's all I can show, thanks for watching.

 

[Bob McElwee]

Wow, very, very impressive. Thanks, Paul

 

[DavidApp]

Thank you for sharing the videos.

Very impressive display.

What is he flying?

David

 

[Basil]

Remarkable skill!

 

[PAUL161]

Thank you for sharing the videos.

Very impressive display.

What is he flying?

David

A Polish Swift S-1. During the National 4 min. freestyle the rocking of the wings before starting tells the judges he's ready to be judged, the rocking after tells them his routine is over.

 

[DavidApp]

Thank you.

Am not familiar with the Swift.
I did get a chance to fly the Pilatus B4 and a Salto but I preferred my 18M Cirrus.

David

 

[PAUL161]

Thank you.

Am not familiar with the Swift.
I did get a chance to fly the Pilatus B4 and a Salto but I preferred my 18M Cirrus.

David

David, The Swift is the most aerobatic glider in the world, problem with them is, they quit manufacturing them about 15 years ago or longer, I don't know why. It is nearly impossible to find one for sale and when one does go up for sale, the bidding can get vicious from a world wide market. They were designed for strength, maneuverability and speed, which tops out at 178 mph. PJ

 

[DavidApp]

I see it has almost fighter type G limits and still has good glide performance.

I have been out of gliding as a pilot for more than 30 years. Work kept me away for months so I got out of practice then I drifted away. Still miss the quiet and views. It also focuses your decision making as you can't go around again if you mess up the approach.

David

 

[Gliderman8]

I had a tow pilot take me far away from the gliderport. I was flying the club Schweizer 2-33 trainer without a radio. When I realized that the tow pilot wasn't turning back towards the gliderport I moved my position to the far port side while still on tow hoping to "nudge" him to turn back. He just kept on heading further AWAY. I finally pulled the release and was carping my pants as I knew getting back was going to be a challenge in a trainer with limited capabilities.
I had to make a downwind landing and barely made the runway.
After I had time to cool down I found the tow pilot and asked him why he took me so far away from the gliderport. He admitted to me that he was not paying attention and thought he was towing a higher performance fiberglass glider and not a trainer.

 

[pdplot]

I flew only one time in a glider. Flew from Bridgeport up to Wurtsboro, NY where an ex-fighter pilot took me up in a glider. I learned fast what adverse yaw was. You had to lead into a turn with rudder. At one point, I followed a red-Tailed Hawk into a thermal and started circling behind him. My friend said "They don't like that". The hawk kept looking back with a decidedly ******-off expression, and he finally dove away and left me alone. Coming in for a landing, he had me at the controls and I was alternately dropping and ballooning on final until he took over and put her down on the numbers. Afterwards, I got on the back of his BMW motorcycle and we motored off down the road for a hamburger. Flying back to Bridgeport, the Cherokee felt like a sports car.

 

[Gliderman8]

I made many landings at Wurtzboro both powered and non-powered. Brings back memories.

 

[DavidApp]

My wife's cousin worked for the FAA for years. He did check flights and training for airline pilots. He had to learn to fly gliders so he could add that to his list of responsibilities. Commented that he had never had to do so much rudder work before.

If you get into a steep enough bank in a thermal the rudder starts to be used to keep the nose up. That often happened in stubble fire thermals as they were so tight.

David

 

[PAUL161]

I've always said that every pilot should have a few hours of glider training, it will sharpen up your handling of a dead stick landing in a powered aircraft should the unwanted ocasion occur. Plus, there is nothing as quiet and peaceful as glider flight, if your lucky enough to have a thermal day, you can be up there for a long time. Now of course they have gliders with retractable electric and gas motors to extend your flight, some are powerful enough to launch without a tow rope.

 

[Basil]

I've always said that every pilot should have a few hours of glider training, it will sharpen up your handling of a dead stick landing in a powered aircraft should the unwanted ocasion occur. Plus, there is nothing as quiet and peaceful as glider flight, if your lucky enough to have a thermal day, you can be up there for a long time. Now of course they have gliders with retractable electric and gas motors to extend your flight, some are powerful enough to launch without a tow rope.

My oldest son, who few KC-135 Tankers in the Air Force and now flies commercially, got his start flying gliders in Civil Air Patrol. Back when he was in High School, and a CAP cadet, the New Mexico CAP held their first ever "glider encampment" down in Hobbs, NM (Where the HQ for the Soaring Society of America is located). Shaun was among a handful of cadets who went to the 2 week (I think) encampment. All the cadets who attended soloed. Shaun continued his glider training when the encampment was over and he eventually obtained his glider license. When he was flying out at Moriarty Airport for his license, his instructor, who eventually signed off for Shaun's license, was an old guy named Al Santilli. What was neat about Al was that he had his original glider license signed by Orville Wright

 

[PAUL161]

My oldest son, who few KC-135 Tankers in the Air Force and now flies commercially, got his start flying gliders in Civil Air Patrol. Back when he was in High School, and a CAP cadet, the New Mexico CAP held their first ever "glider encampment" down in Hobbs, NM (Where the HQ for the Soaring Society of America is located). Shaun was among a handful of cadets who went to the 2 week (I think) encampment. All the cadets who attended soloed. Shaun continued his glider training when the encampment was over and he eventually obtained his glider license. When he was flying out at Moriarty Airport for his license, his instructor, who eventually signed off for Shaun's license, was an old guy named Al Santilli. What was neat about Al was that he had his original glider license signed by Orville Wright

WOW, now isn't THAT cool!

Like the story of Mr. Santilli also, really nice.

 

[DavidApp]

In the UK we did not get a Licence we got a certificate of achievement. As far as I know it is still that way there.

The badges or certificates are dictated by the FAI. Gliding Commission.
Your first Solo circuit got you the "A" certificate. There was a "B" for 2 or 3 more solo circuits.
Then the "C" or I think we called the Silver C. You had to do a 5 hour flight, 1000 Meter/3000" gain in altitude and a 50K cross country flight.
Goes on to Gold and Diamond.

David

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAI_Gliding_Commission#Badges

 

[NutmegCT]

Hi David - as a totally non-glider pilot, I have to ask ... how do you do a 5 hour flight in a glider?

Didn't think that was even possible!
Thanks.
Tom M.

 

[donbmw]

Where I got my glider rate (Shreveport La.) one of the club members had a Lark. He would leave out at noon and we wouldn’t see him until almost sun down. Good days of thermals for lift. Where you have mountains will get ridge lift and mountain waves. And of course having experience for being able to stay up for long periods. My best was 1.5 hours almost to 6000 ft release from tow at 1500 ft.

 

[Gliderman8]

We had an open pit rock quarry not too far from the gliderport. I would tow out later in the morning to give time for the rocks to heat up. Release from tow and head to the quarry and you were guaranteed lift.

 

[DavidApp]

Hello Tom

My first 5 hour flight was on the ridge they where bungee launching on in the You Tube video earlier in this thread. When the wind is blowing at about 90 degrees to the ridge you can stay up all day by just flying parallel to the ridge.
You can also stay up using thermals (rising areas of air often under cumulus clouds) I had a 9 hour flight that way ending up in a field when I could not make it back to the airfield with my level of safety margin.
There is also wave lift which is similar to ridge lift but this is a ripple set up in the air when the wind hits a mountain. This ripple continues for some distance down wind of the mountain and can go to great heights depending on the atmospheric conditions. In a similar fashion to water continuing to ripple long after it has passed over a stone. Wave lift is very smooth air when you are flying in it but it is what commercial flights call clear air turbulence. I got to over 24,000 feet in wave one afternoon while flying in Scotland. It was very cold up there in an unheated glider.

This is the current world height record in a glider. They are flying where few others fly.

David

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE792Y9hyww

Hi David - as a totally non-glider pilot, I have to ask ... how do you do a 5 hour flight in a glider?

Didn't think that was even possible!
Thanks.
Tom M.