You're right, quality of instruction is all across the board. I don't have an answer for it except to do my best to keep turning out new glider pilots and flying with as many students as I can. Of course I, like you, assume that I'm one of the good ones.

I'm guessing if you took a survey about 80-90% of CFI's would say they are above average.

On Monday, May 14, 2012 11:04:40 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
I'm going to risk the wrath of the crowd (US, specifically) and make the following personal observation.

Glider instruction in the US sucks. Period.

It is haphazard, unstructured, and shallow. We get a new pilot to the point where they can steer a 2-33 around the field and slip it to a landing, then bless them and turn them loose.

Some of these new pilots recognize that they are now just barely dangerous, and begin a lifelong quest to learn everything about flying gliders - and if they stick to it they can become self-taught excellent pilots.

But many others just smile when they get their nice new certificate and muddle along, safe in the knowledge that their great instructor taught them all they need to know.

I could talk about many areas where the lack of knowledge is scary (AOA, anybody?) but lets just look at landings - since we apparently aren't very good at them:

Enter the pattern at 1000' over the farm, fly downwind nice and slow to the pond and a nice easy turn to base, half spoilers and a nice long final, aiming to touchdown just past the fence to save having to drag the glider back to the launch point. In the flare, level off, and let the glider settle on the nice big main wheel, then forward stick to pin the nosewheel and brake to a stop.

Sound familiar? You see it everyday at any gliderport, in everything from 1-26s to Grob-103s.

And if you didn't cringe when you read that paragraph - or worse, nodded "yeah, sounds about right", you need some serious remedial training!

Try this - in a modern 2-seater with a good instructor in the back: Enter downwind at about 500' and stop looking at the altimeter. Fly a fast, tight pattern (triangle plus 10 for a start), make steep turns, and setup a final to an aimpoint one third of the way down the runway. On short final, slow to triangle (plus wind) and then set your spoilers and concentrate on a low energy, tail and main (or tail slightly first) landing. Hold the stick all the way back and steer out of the way clear of the active, if possible..

Then go up, and when you pull your spoilers on downwind to check them, have your instructor hold them all the way out. Land. On the airfield.

Do it again until you can land where you want, not where the glider wants..

Go up and setup a nice nose high slip (this works great in a K-21). Smoothly feed in full rudder until it locks over and you feel like you are going sideways. Take you feet off the rudder pedals to prove that the rudder is really locked over. Then recover. It's fun.

Have your towpilot simulate an engine failure and rock you off (prebrief, of course). See how long it takes you to recognize that you are no longer climbing and to SEE that the towplane is rocking his wings.

This is all BASIC AIRMANSHIP, guys! If our instructors won't teach us this stuff, then you need to teach yourself.

You get the idea. I realize I'm making a huge generalization, but the stats seem to back me up, unfortunately.

Okay, you guys are cleared in hot on me.

Pushing it up and takin' it down!

Kirk
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