I have just heard that the SSA is no longer going to supply "The Joy of Soaring". This is the book that I have recommended to ab initio students and it has been well accepted. What are other instructors recommending to their ab initio students? Thanks. Carl

I am working on the turnpoint file for a contest in the US that will be run to IGC rules instead of US/SSA rules. I could use some help with this request. "The Landing Zone must show up in the AirSpace file, so people don't have to guess where it is, and the limit of it is officially defined....

Hi all, this is the the most recent update to my learning to fly diary www.learningtoflydiary.com

I have spent a few days on Google looking for a description of what "N" means on Constant Pressure Charts. The best I have found is that "N" identifies an area of little or no vorticity. Is this right?

If you're interested in OLC-style flights on Condor and cooperative flying, join us at www.teamxc.us . We're flying quite a few different sceneries, usually M and Fri evenings.

"On Silent Wings", an article on Sailplane Grand Prix Racing by Charles Petersen, "Charlie Papa", with photography by Maria Szemplinska, appears in the August 2017 AOPA Pilot Magazine. The Soaring Society of America and its members would like to thank AOPA and the author of this article, Mr....

Wouldn't it be nice to collectively (amongst all the soaring clubs in the country) to develop a soaring curriculum aimed at passing the FAA glider rating writtens (much like King Schools do now for FAA airplane/ helicopter ratings)? We could assign topics to different clubs and post them to you...

So, what do you call an outlanding? If you land at an established airport/airfield is this an "Outlanding"? Or is it an uncompleted flight into an airport. I have read a lot of club SOP's that recommend a "planned" outlanding into an airport as training for a real outlanding! Not the same thing. Is...

To recap, one of the SparrowHawks built for Mississippi State University broke up in flight Oct 18. The pilot parachuted safely. I just finished talking to Greg Cole, designer of the SparrowHawk. The program manager from MSU visited him Monday to discuss the data from the flight and pictures of...

Noel wrote (in another thread, which I will not hijack): "Instead I'll take on ~2 students at a time and focus on *making pilots* out of them, before taking on any more." Noel, thanks for bringing this up. I've been thinking about this, too. Our club uses the "platoon" system. That is just as...

Hey guys, I need your help. Someone asked me if there was a video on the internet that would show them a little about the sport of Soaring . Guys, I need your input….and thanks in advance. I honestly do not surf the you tube site and don’t know of any off hand. I have seen the one with the...

Is there a state-side parts source for LS gliders? I need a new landing gear "pnuematic spring". TIA

Region 10 South Contest Website First Week in August Soaring Club of Houston https://sites.google.com/site/soaringclubofhouston/overview/region-10-contest-august-2013 Jamie Shore

We own an LS6a. During annual inspection our A&P noticed that one of the rubber bellows on a sliding link in the landing gear assy has split and needs to be replaced. Anyone know of a replacement part? Rich L

Hi everyone, maybe some of you remember my posting about the digital magazine "segelfliegen INTERNATIONAL" and our search for additional authors. The good news is: The newest edition is online, and this is what you will find on 50+ pages among several other stories: - WGC2012: To the moon and...

A newsgroup may well be one of the worst imaginable venues for 'selling safety' (other than Twitter, of course...) but the recent threads focusing on it set me to musing. Don't look for any pithy snippets of panacea wisdom in what follows, but if some of it gets a reader or two to cogitating on...

A winter reading suggestion: I've just finished "Soaring, Beyond The Basics" by Dale Masters & enthusiastically recommend it. It's all about developing airmanship, sensitivity to the terrain & interpreting clues to lift. Dale's dry humor & clear writing style make this book an enjoyable page turner...

In 30 something years, I have yet to hear a "pleasing" audio. Why designers and manufactures insist on duplicating sounds heard in, God forbid, a Level 1 trauma ER is beyond me. Audios should enhance your soaring day and not spoil it with rude and irritating responses. Having been tortured by the...

I am a flight enthusiast who has a penchant for lifting bodies. I don't know if you are familiar with "The Boy that Soared with Condors" but it came out in 1967 on The Wonderful world of Disney. As well as being a story about two kids learning to fly sailplanes, there is a sequence of the M2-F1...

Any "organization" can call themselves a University and offer any "degree' they desire. Any person who expects to enhance their resume with an "Engineering Degree" had better be sure that the ciriculum that grants the degree is accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Enginering and...