worth learning to fly gliders?

Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.

Emily wrote:
Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.

Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I might turn the question around:
Is it worth learning to fly Cessnas?

I have had a glider rating for 12 years, logged well over 2000 hours,
and hardly ever been tempted to get my SEL. Admittedly, I fly a motor
glider so I've been able to fly from my home base in the SF Bay Area to
the Grand Canyon, the Tetons, Santa Fe and other distant points. But
each flight is interesting from takeoff to landing.

There are no autopilots or other boredom inducing devices. I'm
constantly playing the air currents (even with the engine on), flying
close to stall (in thermals), close to Vne (in strong sink), etc.
Flying so much of the ship's envelope on a constant basis is not only
fun, it enhances pilot performance since you become intimately
acquainted with flight in those regimes seldom visited by power pilots.
All power pilots I know who also are glider rated feel that their
glider experience has made them better power pilots as well.

Turning to your question of clubs and work load, there are a number of
commercial glider operations where, at the end of the flight you say
"Thanks" and walk away with no work to do. Admittedly it's more
expensive than the clubs, but still a lot cheaper than power flying. To
find an operation near you, go to www.ssa.org and click on "Find Where
to Fly" on the
RHS. Or the direct link to that page is

http://www.ssa.org/sport/wheretofly.asp

With all your power experience you should be able to get a glider
rating in just a few days of concentrated work. If you have the
vacation time and a few bucks, make a reservation at a place like Soar
Minden and get your rating. The views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, not to mention the generally reliable lift in the
summer will make it a memorable experience. If you have a family, they
can tour the lake and other attractions while you learn to soar.

If you can stand up for what you're willing to do (e.g., instruct) and
not do (e.g., maintenance), then even a club can work. Though I can see
why a club would salivate at getting a CFI (and hopefully a soon to be
CFIG) and an A&P member. Just be firm!

If you need more info, send me a private email and I'd be happy to
help.

Martin

wrote:

Emily wrote:

Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.


Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I might turn the question around:
Is it worth learning to fly Cessnas?

I can't imagine anything that isn't worth learning to fly! It is just a
matter of available time and money. I even think balloons would be fun.

Matt

Matt Whiting wrote:
wrote:

Emily wrote:

Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.


Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I might turn the question around:
Is it worth learning to fly Cessnas?

I can't imagine anything that isn't worth learning to fly! It is just a
matter of available time and money. I even think balloons would be fun.

Matt
Eh, I'm terrified of heights, so I'll be staying out of balloons until I
die. :-)

wrote:
Emily wrote:
\snip

If you can stand up for what you're willing to do (e.g., instruct) and
not do (e.g., maintenance), then even a club can work. Though I can see
why a club would salivate at getting a CFI (and hopefully a soon to be
CFIG) and an A&P member. Just be firm!

If you need more info, send me a private email and I'd be happy to
help.

Martin


Thank you for all the info! I'm pretty much stuck at home for a while,
since we're short of help at the office. I'll be doing this local. I
recently moved, and haven't checked out glider operations in north
Texas, but it's on the list of things to do.

Emily.. I'll agree with Martin..
clubs are the way to go, but most clubs that are small need help...
you just have to agree with what you will and will not do..
we had a member that treated his club like a commercial operation..
and expected the gliders to be ready on the line when he showed up to fly..
needless to say he is not in the club any more.

We do have members that come, fly and go home, but they also help launch,
get the gliders out in the morning, and put them away at night, if they are
the first or last to fly. We don't see them on "annual inspection" days, or
club clean up days.. and we don't expect to see them.

If you are in the SW, look us up.

BT
LVVSA


wrote in message
ups.com...
Emily wrote:
Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.

Obviously it's a matter of taste, but I might turn the question around:
Is it worth learning to fly Cessnas?

I have had a glider rating for 12 years, logged well over 2000 hours,
and hardly ever been tempted to get my SEL. Admittedly, I fly a motor
glider so I've been able to fly from my home base in the SF Bay Area to
the Grand Canyon, the Tetons, Santa Fe and other distant points. But
each flight is interesting from takeoff to landing.

There are no autopilots or other boredom inducing devices. I'm
constantly playing the air currents (even with the engine on), flying
close to stall (in thermals), close to Vne (in strong sink), etc.
Flying so much of the ship's envelope on a constant basis is not only
fun, it enhances pilot performance since you become intimately
acquainted with flight in those regimes seldom visited by power pilots.
All power pilots I know who also are glider rated feel that their
glider experience has made them better power pilots as well.

Turning to your question of clubs and work load, there are a number of
commercial glider operations where, at the end of the flight you say
"Thanks" and walk away with no work to do. Admittedly it's more
expensive than the clubs, but still a lot cheaper than power flying. To
find an operation near you, go to www.ssa.org and click on "Find Where
to Fly" on the
RHS. Or the direct link to that page is

http://www.ssa.org/sport/wheretofly.asp

With all your power experience you should be able to get a glider
rating in just a few days of concentrated work. If you have the
vacation time and a few bucks, make a reservation at a place like Soar
Minden and get your rating. The views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, not to mention the generally reliable lift in the
summer will make it a memorable experience. If you have a family, they
can tour the lake and other attractions while you learn to soar.

If you can stand up for what you're willing to do (e.g., instruct) and
not do (e.g., maintenance), then even a club can work. Though I can see
why a club would salivate at getting a CFI (and hopefully a soon to be
CFIG) and an A&P member. Just be firm!

If you need more info, send me a private email and I'd be happy to
help.

Martin

I should ask... have you posted to rec.aviation.soaring?
BT

"Emily" wrote in message
. ..
Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've talked
to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft, something
I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders? I kind of
just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about "working" at
the airfield.

BTIZ wrote:
I should ask... have you posted to rec.aviation.soaring?

I didn't know there was such a group. I've lurked here for something
like seven years, and occasionally post. I'll check that out!

Emily schrieb:

Is it worth it?

If you just want to add another rating to your collection to show off to
the girls, no. If you're really looking for the experience of soaring,
definitely yes.

But soaring isn't just "go there, do my lesson and go home". Soaring
takes the better part of a day, and the need of friends which help to
rig the glider in the morning, de-rig in the evening and possibly
retrieve from an outlanding. (And a very tolerant wife!)

There are clubs and there are commercial operations. As always: Clubs
are cheaper money-wise but make this up by voluntary work. There's no
free lunch.

At http://www.ssa.org you'll find a list of clubs as well as commercial
operations. Pick your choice. You can also look into rec.aviation.soaring.

A last word: You should definitely look for an operation (club or
commercial) which a) has a modern fleet and b) encourages cross country
flying. Otherwise you'll miss the best part of the joy of soaring.

Stefan

On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 19:39:09 -0500, Emily
wrote:

Haven't actually flown VFR much for years, except while instructing. I
really only fly to go somewhere, but have been toying with the idea of a
glider rating for a while. Is it worth it? The glider clubs I've
talked to find out I'm an A&P and want me to maintain their aircraft,
something I'm not willing to do. Are clubs the only way to fly gliders?
I kind of just want to do my lesson and go home, and not worry about
"working" at the airfield.

One of the best decisions I made after getting my CFI was to get a
glider rating instead of multi-engine. Flying gliders really
reinforces the concept of flying the wing, coordination, planning
ahead and energy management. Along with being very educational, it
was an absolute BLAST and I would highly recommend it.

I learned from a club. I helped where I could, but there was never
any pressure to do more than offered. A&Ps help save a club a bunch
of money if they volunteer in a maintenance capacity, but I'd think
you could pass on being the club A&P without too much problem.

Good luck on your quest.
z