Advice for a New Pilot?

Hi all,
I've seen a lot of interesting discussion on this group
improving skills and safety, so I thought I'd ask this he I'm
currently training for my private pilot glider ticket, starting from
zero. I have about 12hrs in my logbook over 43 flights, about a third
of which are solo. I did initial training in a 2-33 and my instructor
recently checked me out in the 1-26, which I'm loving. I have a great
instructor, insofar as I'm capable of judging such things, and I'm not
worried about passing the practical, but here's the question:

Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction,
what recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical? I'm
almost certainly going to continue training, start learning what I
need to know to fly XC, and work on the SSA badges. I've seen what
looks like some good advice in some recent threads, and I'm certainly
looking for more. I know my CFIG is the first and best point of
contact for all these things, but I'm always in favor of getting more
information when possible. So what are the things you wish you'd
known at this point in your soaring career?

Also, I've searched for the Knauff books on Amazon, and they appear to
be out of print. Is this correct? If so, is my best bet to purchase
them through Amazon used, or are there other vendors that are
preferred?

Ryan,

Why not buy them from Knauff himself and provide support to him instead
of a bunch of middlemen? http://www.eglider.org/

Of course, there are some very good middlemen on here, such as Paul
Remde at http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/, or Tim Mara at
http://www.wingsandwheels.com/
I'd bet that either of those have them all, as well.

Good luck,
Ed
Ryan Spicer wrote:
Hi all,
I've seen a lot of interesting discussion on this group
improving skills and safety, so I thought I'd ask this he I'm
currently training for my private pilot glider ticket, starting from
zero. I have about 12hrs in my logbook over 43 flights, about a third
of which are solo. I did initial training in a 2-33 and my instructor
recently checked me out in the 1-26, which I'm loving. I have a great
instructor, insofar as I'm capable of judging such things, and I'm not
worried about passing the practical, but here's the question:

Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction,
what recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical? I'm
almost certainly going to continue training, start learning what I
need to know to fly XC, and work on the SSA badges. I've seen what
looks like some good advice in some recent threads, and I'm certainly
looking for more. I know my CFIG is the first and best point of
contact for all these things, but I'm always in favor of getting more
information when possible. So what are the things you wish you'd
known at this point in your soaring career?

Also, I've searched for the Knauff books on Amazon, and they appear to
be out of print. Is this correct? If so, is my best bet to purchase
them through Amazon used, or are there other vendors that are
preferred?

On Jun 30, 11:52*am, Ryan Spicer wrote:
Hi all,
snip

Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction,
what recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical?

snip

My advice is to fly often (weekly) so you remain not only current, but
proficient. Sorry if it sounds too logical but it works for me.

/Adam

Ryan -

Along with what the others have said (flying regularly and buying
Knauff's books), I encourage you to check out different authors and
different sources of gliding knowledge. There are many books by good
authors (inlcuding Reichmann, Wander, and others) that are excellent,
and its always good to get different perspectives on flying
technique.

Hanging out around glider operations (even if you aren't flying) is a
good idea. Wing-run and check out various takeoff techniques. Note
what seems to work and what things tend to get people in trouble.
Hang out with the pilots in your club that go cross-country. They'll
have lots of experience, and even if they aren't good teachers you
will learn some things just by osmosis. Never stop asking questions,
and never stop trying to think ahead to "what can I work on, to get
better today?"

Take care,

--Noel

On Jun 30, 9:52*am, Ryan Spicer wrote:
Hi all,
* I've seen a lot of interesting discussion on this group
improving skills and safety, so I thought I'd ask this he I'm
currently training for my private pilot glider ticket, starting from
zero. *I have about 12hrs in my logbook over 43 flights, about a third
of which are solo. I did initial training in a 2-33 and my instructor
recently checked me out in the 1-26, which I'm loving. *I have a great
instructor, insofar as I'm capable of judging such things, and I'm not
worried about passing the practical, but here's the question:

Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction,
what recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical? I'm
almost certainly going to continue training, *start learning what I
need to know to fly XC, and work on the SSA badges. I've seen what
looks like some good advice in some recent threads, and I'm certainly
looking for more. I know my CFIG is the first and best point of
contact for all these things, but I'm always in favor of getting more
information when possible. *So what are the things you wish you'd
known at this point in your soaring career?

Also, I've searched for the Knauff books on Amazon, and they appear to
be out of print. Is this correct? If so, is my best bet to purchase
them through Amazon used, or are there other vendors that are
preferred?

Find a XC mentor or maybe two, this may not be your CFIG. If you are
in a club your club may have a mentoring/XC training program. Look
around the club/operation where you fly and look for people who fly
cross country and do what you are interested in, ask people who've
started doing this in the last few years and find out who mentored
them. You CFIG should also be able to recommend folks to consider. I
would try to start with the best XC pilots available locally and see
if they have the inclination/interest/teaching skills to mentor.
Sanity check candidates with other pilots to see if they are
considered a safe pilot and good mentor.

See what books (and later on things like flight analysis software,
GPS, loggers, etc.) they recommend. There is a lot out there and
depends on what you want to cover. If you have a technical background
I'd recommend Reichman's Cross Country Soaring, meteorology seems to
be often underlooked, things like Bradbury A Pilot's Guide to Weather
and several other weather books are good reading. Don't sweat too much
on the study part, use a mentor to help you balance what you should
study. Your biggest job right now is to get your license, but I know
thinking about XC soaring may help motivate you.

Ideally try to arrange some dual XC flights with the mentor/CFIG in a
two place XC ship as well as doing some initial buddy XC flying/
mentoring in (hopefully similar performance) single place ships - this
initially should not just be following somebody else along but you and
the mentor should have prepared together, discussed planning etc. (the
mentor should be willing to land out with you if needed), etc. SSA and
FAI badges give you some steps to aim at/structure and I think are a
good thing. Make life as easy as possible for any mentor, be prepared/
organized, pay for dual rentals/tow, buy them lots of beers, etc. The
main thing is to get in with a bunch of folks who fly XC and are
willing to help you learn.

Darryl

Is there a regional contest held near you? Several of the X-C gurus
will offer to fly dual with you for a modest donation to the U.S.
soaring team. I did this at the Seniors last march and learned an
awful lot about soaring in two hours, mostly watching from the back
seat.

I'd also like to echo whoever said to "fly regularly". Almost
immediately after earning my PPG I began working on a power ticket.
Totally different type of flying. I went back to refresh a couple of
weeks ago- you'll be surprised how quickly your skills deteriorate.
Flying is indeed a perishable skill.

On Jun 30, 12:47*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:
Ryan -

Along with what the others have said (flying regularly and buying
Knauff's books), I encourage you to check out different authors and
different sources of gliding knowledge. *There are many books by good
authors (inlcuding Reichmann, Wander, and others) that are excellent,
and its always good to get different perspectives on flying
technique.

Hanging out around glider operations (even if you aren't flying) is a
good idea. *Wing-run and check out various takeoff techniques. *Note
what seems to work and what things tend to get people in trouble.
Hang out with the pilots in your club that go cross-country. *They'll
have lots of experience, and even if they aren't good teachers you
will learn some things just by osmosis. *Never stop asking questions,
and never stop trying to think ahead to "what can I work on, to get
better today?"

Take care,

--Noel

Hang out and watch and assess downwind, base, final, and landings. It
never gets old and is the second most important part of flying XC.

At 19:29 30 June 2008, Frank Whiteley wrote:
On Jun 30, 12:47=A0pm, "noel.wade" wrote:
Ryan -

Along with what the others have said (flying regularly and buying
Knauff's books), I encourage you to check out different authors and
different sources of gliding knowledge. =A0There are many books by
good
authors (inlcuding Reichmann, Wander, and others) that are excellent,
and its always good to get different perspectives on flying
technique.

Hanging out around glider operations (even if you aren't flying) is a
good idea. =A0Wing-run and check out various takeoff techniques.
=A0Note
what seems to work and what things tend to get people in trouble.
Hang out with the pilots in your club that go cross-country.
=A0They'll
have lots of experience, and even if they aren't good teachers you
will learn some things just by osmosis. =A0Never stop asking
questions,
and never stop trying to think ahead to "what can I work on, to get
better today?"

Take care,

--Noel

Hang out and watch and assess downwind, base, final, and landings. It
never gets old and is the second most important part of flying XC.

Might even be the first; this is the part you have to get right.

At 16:52 30 June 2008, Ryan Spicer wrote:
Hi all,
I've seen a lot of interesting discussion on this group
improving skills and safety, so I thought I'd ask this he
Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction, what
recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical?

1. Every time you fly, try to spot fields that you think are landable.
When you drive home, drive by and evaluate your choices. After a while it
becomes second nature and you'll find yourself analyzing fields
everywhere you drive.

2. Realize that on any flight, you might not be able to make it back to
the home field. Rain, gust fronts, altitude etc. can make a landout a
necessity. Sometimes it is better to accept a landout than to try and
stretch it back to the field or land IFR in rain. This becomes no big deal
if you practice #1 every time you fly.

3. Realize that things can happen that scare the $hit out of you when you
are new to flying. Turning base and coming head on to a tow plane, not
seeing that other glider on down wind until you are way too close, looking
back at the field and having it obscured by a rain shower, going out a few
miles and not being able to find the field ... and so many others all
qualify. Sometimes this will cause what is called adrenaline dump. Your
mind becomes numb, you get tunnel vision and you feel paralized. Breath in
and out slowly on the count of 4. This will clear the head. If you find
yourself scared, do the breathing and get that mind working. As long as
you can think, you can work your way back out of any of these situations.

Brian

On Jun 30, 9:52*am, Ryan Spicer wrote:
Beyond reading the Knauff books and seeking continuing instruction,
what recommendations does the group have for continuing to improve
skills and be better, safer pilot after I pass the practical?

I have four safety related articles on my web site at

http://www-ee.stanford.edu/~hellman/soaring/safety.html

As noted in the last of them, be particularly careful in imitating
more experienced pilots' exploits such as outlandings, close-in ridge
soaring, and low passes. Depending on your threshold for risk (we all
take some risk or we wouldn't soar!), these can be done with
acceptable risk. But I've heard some experienced pilots talk of (or
demonstrate) these maneuvers without adequately mentioning the risk
and that they shouldn't be performed by newer pilots without proper
training and experience.

And, even experience pilots can get killed doing them. I've received
two requests to reprint that article from clubs which lost experienced
pilots in the kinds of situations discussed there.

Another good source of information is the NTSB accident database

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp

Search on gliders and fatal accidents. Not that getting paralyzed is
to be sneezed at, but the fatal accidents will really get your
attention.

Hoping this helps, and welcome to soaring!

Martin