The real answer to that you'll have to find out for yourself. And you're only going to find out by leaving your home airfield well behind.

For me a big thing is the sense of accomplishment, eg, out-thinking Mother Nature for once and flying a task I've set for myself. But there's adventure, too - as Sebastian Kawa says, each glider flight is a trip into the unknown. And on a difficult flight, you'll really learn something about yourself. So the difference between an XC flight of 1.5 hours and 4.0 hours for me is that the latter is a lot more of the three points above.

-John, Q3


On Friday, March 8, 2013 8:42:39 AM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:
As someone with zero XC experience, this seems an impressive feat of endurance.

I have a general question and it is not meant as criticism or negativity.

I just don't understand WHY someone would want to spend 4 hours in a glider let alone 11. What does it feel like to do this? What is the attraction? Do you get into a euphoric state after the first two hours or so? Is the euphoria related to mild hypoxia?

My longest flight in a glider has been about 100 minutes and I came down because my bladder was full (no having made anticipated the need). So I really have no idea why people like to stay up that longer than that. What is the difference between a 1.5 hour flight and a 4 hour flight?