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New Student Advice



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 28th 16, 03:28 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Reuben Bakker
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Default New Student Advice

I'm beginning my soaring journey. Have visited the gliderport twice (Bermuda High Soaring in Jefferson, South Carolina). Supposed to go up this Saturday for the first time if the weather cooperates.

I did ground school and a few hours in a 172 about 6 years ago, and I've been up in a glider once about 15 years ago. I'm 35 now. Aviation has always been a passion of mine but life has kept me busy and I haven't been able to fulfill my dreams... Hoping to change that now. Goal is to get my glider license and become the best pilot I can be, continuing on to powered planes and hopefully a commercial rating (and beyond). The more I learn about gliders though the more I can see sticking with it long term, as well as the many benefits of learning to fly via this route.

Just wanted to say hi, and if you have any advice or things you wish you had known when you were starting out, let me know!
  #2  
Old March 28th 16, 03:33 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Go to the field every weekend and fly 2-3 flights per weekend if possible. Doing this will allow you to keep your skills up between lessons, create the muscle memory, and give you much quicker results. Only doing 1 or 2 flights per month will at least double the time it takes to solo.

Good luck!

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 9:28:21 AM UTC-5, Reuben Bakker wrote:
I'm beginning my soaring journey. Have visited the gliderport twice (Bermuda High Soaring in Jefferson, South Carolina). Supposed to go up this Saturday for the first time if the weather cooperates.

I did ground school and a few hours in a 172 about 6 years ago, and I've been up in a glider once about 15 years ago. I'm 35 now. Aviation has always been a passion of mine but life has kept me busy and I haven't been able to fulfill my dreams... Hoping to change that now. Goal is to get my glider license and become the best pilot I can be, continuing on to powered planes and hopefully a commercial rating (and beyond). The more I learn about gliders though the more I can see sticking with it long term, as well as the many benefits of learning to fly via this route.

Just wanted to say hi, and if you have any advice or things you wish you had known when you were starting out, let me know!


  #3  
Old March 28th 16, 03:35 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Posts: 173
Default New Student Advice

I should have said, Only doing 1 or 2 flights per month will at least double the *number of flights* it will take to solo.

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 9:34:00 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Go to the field every weekend and fly 2-3 flights per weekend if possible.. Doing this will allow you to keep your skills up between lessons, create the muscle memory, and give you much quicker results. Only doing 1 or 2 flights per month will at least double the time it takes to solo.

Good luck!

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 9:28:21 AM UTC-5, Reuben Bakker wrote:
I'm beginning my soaring journey. Have visited the gliderport twice (Bermuda High Soaring in Jefferson, South Carolina). Supposed to go up this Saturday for the first time if the weather cooperates.

I did ground school and a few hours in a 172 about 6 years ago, and I've been up in a glider once about 15 years ago. I'm 35 now. Aviation has always been a passion of mine but life has kept me busy and I haven't been able to fulfill my dreams... Hoping to change that now. Goal is to get my glider license and become the best pilot I can be, continuing on to powered planes and hopefully a commercial rating (and beyond). The more I learn about gliders though the more I can see sticking with it long term, as well as the many benefits of learning to fly via this route.

Just wanted to say hi, and if you have any advice or things you wish you had known when you were starting out, let me know!


  #4  
Old March 28th 16, 04:06 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Bruce Hoult
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Default New Student Advice

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 5:28:21 PM UTC+3, Reuben Bakker wrote:
Just wanted to say hi, and if you have any advice or things you wish you had known when you were starting out, let me know!


If they'll let you, do your training in the Duo Discus, not the 2-33. In reality, it's not any harder to fly, and it's far more representative of other gliders you'll fly later. If you learn in the 2-33 then you'll have a big conversion process later.

Even if it costs more per hour, your training flights will be a lot longer on average, so you'll spend less on the tow plane.

For about the last ten years my club has done all training in DG1000, which is the direct competitor to the Duo Discus. The DG has a sprung undercarriage which makes it more tolerant of bad student landings, but there's very little difference other than that. (we also use the DG in 18m wingspan configuration vs the fixed 20m for the Duo, but that's not a huge deal) Before the DG, we used late 70's Grob Twin Astirs, which are also a big heavy fiberglass glider.

Get a copy of Condor Soaring simulator and use it with a gaming joystick such as Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro or Logitech Extreme 3D. Set the twist to be rudder, the throttle lever on the base as airbrakes, and a pair of buttons on the top of the stick under your thumb as elevator trim up/down. I also like to make left and right on the hat be "glance" left and right.

This sim can vastly decrease the amount of expensive air time needed to understand from basic concepts of the aerotow, flght and landing right up to cross country flying. Spend some early time with an experienced glider pilot to guide you into good habits.

Unfortunately this program is Windows only, but it runs fine in virtual machines such as the free VMWare Player (I use this), and I believe also in CodeWeavers CrossOver.
  #5  
Old March 28th 16, 06:11 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Paul Agnew
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Posts: 306
Default New Student Advice

I'm intrigued by the computer simulator-based training program being developed on www.gliderCFI.com . The presentation at the SSA convention was very encourging as they're figuring out how to use Condor to teach basic glider skills with a very organized and logical syllabus. Nothing beats real stick time, but I believe some fundamentals can be be learned this way and the cost of certification decreased somewhat.

  #6  
Old March 28th 16, 08:33 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Vaughn Simon[_2_]
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Default New Student Advice

There is already lots of good advice here. I just want to point out
that glider school schedules tend to be rather vague and fluid. You're
not going to the doctor's office to be "seen" so that you can quickly
leave. Make it a habit to arrive early so that you can watch others and
learn. Don't allow yourself to become upset if your lesson doesn't
happen precisely when it is scheduled. Talk to people, make friends,
learn from them! Once you learn the ropes and can safely do so, make
yourself useful.

Soaring is more than just a sterile skill to be mastered, it is a
culture and a worldwide community. So take the time to relax, to
listen, and to allow yourself to be steeped in it.

Vaughn
  #7  
Old March 28th 16, 10:22 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Bruce Hoult
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Default New Student Advice

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 8:11:41 PM UTC+3, Paul Agnew wrote:
I'm intrigued by the computer simulator-based training program being developed on www.gliderCFI.com . The presentation at the SSA convention was very encourging as they're figuring out how to use Condor to teach basic glider skills with a very organized and logical syllabus. Nothing beats real stick time, but I believe some fundamentals can be be learned this way and the cost of certification decreased somewhat.


At Wellington Gliding Club we've set up the forward fuselage from a written off Cirrus with the real controls connected to Condor, a huge TV discarded by a corporate, and a small LCD display (12" maybe?) for the instruments. When we have sufficient time and personnel we put even first time trial flight people into the sim for a few minutes. It saves time on the briefing on the field, and when you hand over controls in the air they have a much better idea what's going on, in particular for speed control via attitude control, and rudder coordination.

If I recall correctly, we usually have Condor set up using the ASW28 model as seeming the closest in handling and performance to our DG1000 training gliders.
  #8  
Old March 29th 16, 12:15 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Posts: 351
Default New Student Advice

Reuben welcome to flying! Lots of good advice here and I will throw a little more your way. As to what ship to train in, I'm not sure where your home is, but fly whatever you can get the most experience in for the money you have. Depending on yourclubs setup, it may make more flying sense to fly whatever trainer is cheaper. Dont worry about the transition to glass. If the 2-33 is available and less expensive then fly the heck out of it. Crossing the transition to glass is not the big deal many make of it as long as you are learning the correct basics, correctly. The thing you are learning that is the most important now and for the future is decision making skills. Knowing whats happening (example high on approach) and how to correct for it..
Also once you get soloed off and can fly on your own, be thinking about getting your own ship. If your funds are limited, there are still many relatively affordable ships out there that will teach you alot. You dont need the latest greatest. For example, schweizer 1-26's can be had for under 6k. When you can fly whenever you want for as long as you want, then your soaring horizons will really start to widen.
As was said before soaring and soaring clubs are rarely on a schedule. Best plan is to get out there early and often. Many times you will learn more from discussions with other pilots on the ground than you will from your flight.

As to moving on to power, soaring is the very best base to build an aviation career upon. I was fortunate to start in gliders as a 13 year old, and I didnt transition into power untill I turned 40. Ended up flying for a living, but the airmanship I learned soaring has saved my ass many tumes while flying power.
Welcome to the skies.
Dan
  #9  
Old March 29th 16, 02:02 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
BobW
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Default New Student Advice

On 3/28/2016 8:28 AM, Reuben Bakker wrote:
I'm beginning my soaring journey. Have visited the gliderport twice
(Bermuda High Soaring in Jefferson, South Carolina). Supposed to go up
this Saturday for the first time if the weather cooperates.

I did ground school and a few hours in a 172 about 6 years ago, and I've
been up in a glider once about 15 years ago. I'm 35 now. Aviation has
always been a passion of mine but life has kept me busy and I haven't been
able to fulfill my dreams... Hoping to change that now. Goal is to get my
glider license and become the best pilot I can be, continuing on to powered
planes and hopefully a commercial rating (and beyond). The more I learn
about gliders though the more I can see sticking with it long term, as well
as the many benefits of learning to fly via this route.

Just wanted to say hi, and if you have any advice or things you wish you
had known when you were starting out, let me know!


Congratulations on finding the sport, making a wise decision...and welcome!
Soaring: it'll change your life, and *you* get to control whether for the
better or not!

I haven't seen any dubious advice offered to-date, but I'd like to second
agcatflyr's sentiments. Stating what he's already advised you, but in a
different manner, "useful soaring performance" lies (far) less in the glider
you fly than it does inside your head, and anyone who tries to tell you
otherwise is really admitting they haven't learned a very basic truism of the
activity. You'll grow your soaring/flight skills most rapidly, safely and
"funly" by flying every opportunity you can, in whatever ship(s) are most
available and most affordable to you, L/D be hanged! Moreover, every single
one of the skills (judgment and mechanical) you learn from soaring
participation will carry directly over to future fixed-wing power flying,
while the reverse isn't true.

I'd also encourage you to join the Soaring Society of America (if you haven't
already - you're not yet present in their member database). Though disparaged
by some soaring nuts (not me!), its monthly magazine has been a font of
enjoyment and knowledge for me for (gasp) over 40 years. Membership also
offers you - among other things - electronic access to essentially all (but a
few recent years' worth) of back issues of "Soaring" magazine, a *tremendous*
resource!!!

My only wish when I began was that I'd learned of the sport earlier! (I was
just out of college.)

Just out of curiosity, how did you learn of RAS? You'll find that it
(presently) seems "inhabited" (in the routinely-posting sense of things)
mostly by "somewhat experienced" sailplane pilots, but I gather may be
relatively regularly visited by all skill levels of "lurkers." Feel free to
post bearing in mind the underlying principle that there isn't any such thing
as a silly/dumb question! Or, simply to exult in new-found joy...

Bob W.
  #10  
Old March 29th 16, 03:47 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Posts: 172
Default New Student Advice

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 6:02:34 PM UTC-7, BobW wrote:
Feel free to post bearing in mind the underlying principle that there isn't
any such thing as a silly/dumb question!


But beware the myriad dumb answers! ;-)

-Tom
 




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