first glider lesson
Charles T. Young
Hello glider fans:
I had my first glider lesson last week. I have been wanting to
do this since I was a kid about 45 years ago. I am presently
a student pilot with a few hours to go before my check ride.
The glider was a Schweitzer from the 1960s. Construction is
tubing and fabric, wing is metal covered. It looks quite
awkward compared to the sleek beauties they make today, but the
instructor says it is good in thermals.
I told the instructor I wanted to fly the glider as much as
possible, so he let me take off. I did the usual dumb thing
of taking off before the tow plane and getting high. The trees
at the end of the runway looked awful close. I found it hard and
stressful to follow the towplane. Half of this was because I
did not have a feel for the controls yet. The controls feel
a lot different than the Cherokee I am used to flying.
Most of the activity on a short glider ride is hunting for lift
and trying to stay in it. I didn't realize that we would start
to stall and I should put the nose down, to compensate for the
different angle of relative wind.
Well, the lesson was much more stressful than I had anticipated.
But since I have been anticipating this event for most of my
life I think I will go up again in due time.
How were other people's first lessons?
Chuck Young
MGRINAGER
It has always been my belief that glider pilots make better power pilots not
vice versa. Try to relax and enjoy the experience. Try to forget about the
cherokee, flying a sailplane you have to be cleaner in the air, and you really
will learn to fly by the seat of your pants! After getting my rating 14 years
ago I still have no urge to get a power rating. My first lesson went a lot
better since I had no other small aircraft experience other than helios in the
Army. It was lesson five before I took the 2-33 off the ground (had to pick the
wing up too!). I also was flying about 2 times a week. And I also think I had
one of the best instructors, Mac Greene.
Fred Anderson Jr.
In article <6npgho$2nr$2...@campus1.mtu.edu>, cty...@mtu.edu (Charles T. Young) wrote:
>Hello glider fans:
>Well, the lesson was much more stressful than I had anticipated.
>But since I have been anticipating this event for most of my
>life I think I will go up again in due time.
>
>How were other people's first lessons?
>
>Chuck Young
>
I think it would have been less "stressful" if you had let the instructor do
what he's there for, instruct.
THe impression I get from your letter is that because you have a power rating
you thought knew a lot more than you did. Read some BASIC sailplane books and
memorize key points, then go back and FOLLOW the instructor. That's what he's
there for. Do you want him to sit in the front too? :-)
Arthur Zards
In article <6npgho$2nr$2...@campus1.mtu.edu>, cty...@mtu.edu (Charles T. Young) wrote:
>Hello glider fans:
>
>do this since I was a kid about 45 years ago. I am presently
>a student pilot with a few hours to go before my check ride.
>
>The glider was a Schweitzer from the 1960s. Construction is
>tubing and fabric, wing is metal covered. It looks quite
>awkward compared to the sleek beauties they make today, but the
>instructor says it is good in thermals.
>
>I told the instructor I wanted to fly the glider as much as
>possible, so he let me take off. I did the usual dumb thing
>of taking off before the tow plane and getting high. The trees
>at the end of the runway looked awful close. I found it hard and
>stressful to follow the towplane. Half of this was because I
>did not have a feel for the controls yet. The controls feel
>a lot different than the Cherokee I am used to flying.
>
>Most of the activity on a short glider ride is hunting for lift
>and trying to stay in it. I didn't realize that we would start
>to stall and I should put the nose down, to compensate for the
>different angle of relative wind.
>
>But since I have been anticipating this event for most of my
>life I think I will go up again in due time.
>
>How were other people's first lessons?
>
>Chuck Young
>
My lessons on the new Katana Extreme, so the instructor takes off and lands. I
did my first straight and stable flight lesson. So Im here, stick in hand,
rudders on feet. trying to maintain a certian airspeed, altitude, keep the
plane straight, keep my eyes on the sky so I dont hit anything, and looking
the the instructor who is trying to show me how to read an arial map that
shows all the local airports. Yoinks!
Art
rob...@stones.com
In article <199807061615...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
mgri...@aol.com (MGRINAGER) wrote:
>
> It has always been my belief that glider pilots make better power pilots not
> vice versa.
I read somewhere that during WW2 the RAF tried to make up for lack of training
aircraft by giving some students initial training in gliders. They found that
it was a lot harder to train glider pilots to fly Spitfires than complete
novices.
From my own experience I know that when I took a trial lesson in a Cessna 172
I scared the sh*t out of my instructor when I hauled it round in a tight 180
and aimed it at the threshold! I am also unable to land in Flight Simulator
unless I switch off the engine and dive in from 500 ft :)
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less...@aol.com
FA...@epix.net (Fred Anderson Jr.) wrote:
>
> In article <6npgho$2nr$2...@campus1.mtu.edu>, cty...@mtu.edu (Charles T. Young) wrote:
> >Hello glider fans:
>
> >But since I have been anticipating this event for most of my
> >life I think I will go up again in due time.
> >
> >How were other people's first lessons?
> >
> >Chuck Young
> >
>
> what he's there for, instruct.
> THe impression I get from your letter is that because you have a power rating
> you thought knew a lot more than you did. Read some BASIC sailplane books and
> memorize key points, then go back and FOLLOW the instructor. That's what he's
> there for. Do you want him to sit in the front too? :-)
>
I cannot say what Chuck thought or knew, but I can say I was a powered pilot
with several ratings when I took my first glider flight. I became interested
in aviation as a kid because I wanted to fly gliders. Since the opportunity
to fly gliders did not cross my path, I learned to fly powered planes first.
I thought flying was flying. Flying gliders would be no problem for an
aviator like myself. My instructor's first question was, "were you ever in
the military?" I replied no. He asked, "have you ever had any formation
flight training?" I replied no and thought to myself, "that was a stupid
question, I just told him I was never in the military." Well about 10
seconds into the flight, the pertinence of his questions became painfully
obvious. Yes, I could not fly tow to save my life. After getting off tow I
flew pretty well.
I agree that next time you should let the instructor instruct. Flying
gliders is different than flying powered planes. Some of what you learned
flying powered planes will transfer, but many new skills will have to be
learned.
Others have stated that learning to fly gliders will make you a better pilot
and flying gliders is so much fun you will no longer be interested in flying
powered planes. Well, I agree learning to fly gliders will make you a better
pilot, but not for the reasons many believe. Getting a glider add on rating
will require 10 or so hours of dual instruction. Ten hours of dual in
helicopters will also make you a better pilot. Ten hours of dual in powered
airplanes will make you a better pilot. There are many aspects of flying
gliders that will improve your overall piloting skills. Things like energy
management, thermal development and structure, and, as another poster pointed
out, flying by the seat of your pants.
Flying gliders is "for the fun of it" flying. The utility of a glider is
questionable, but utility is not what attacked most of us to gliders. It was
the FUN. I still enjoy flying powered airplanes too. There is nothing quite
like shooting an instrument approach to minimums and actually finding an
airport when you pop out of the clouds. Amazes me every time.
Les Sparks
less...@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/woodglider/
Robert Johnson
>
> In article <6npgho$2nr$2...@campus1.mtu.edu>, cty...@mtu.edu wrote...
>
> > How were other people's first lessons?
>
> logbook (my memory ain't that great), I flew with a fella named Ron
> Martlett, in a Schweitzer 2-32. I only flew a few times up there,
> before moving south, and flying a bit with Derek Johnson, an 'Englishman
> with an attitude'.
>
> The early lessons were *incredible* fun. The memorable experiences were
> the first-ever slip to landing (they oughta warn you before they fly
> sideways), and one day that Ron experimented with lift from a squall
> line (not recommended).
>
> Marriage and a new job sorta forced me financially out of soaring, and
> it wasn't until earlier this year that I had the means to restart my
> training (thanks to the divorce <hehe>). I've now soloed, and hope to
> get my license later this year.
The drill, in order:
A) Pick hobby(s)
B) Pick wife
--- Didn't seem to work for you 8>)
BJ 1F
dl...@my-dejanews.com
Robert Johnson <rob...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> The drill, in order:
>
> A) Pick hobby(s)
>
> B) Pick wife
>
> --- Didn't seem to work for you 8>)
>
> BJ 1F
>
I dragged my wife (then girlfriend) out from Ohio to Utah
in order to pursue my hang gliding dreams. When I quit
hang gliding my wife was sure it was only temporary. Either
that or I was experiencing some sort of mid-life crisis.
Well, she was right. I couldn't stay out of the sky for long.
I take the sailplane practical test in a week.
My first lesson was in June of last year. It felt like
a totally natural change from hang gliding. The principles
and many of the skills are essentially identical.
My instructor is Roy Johnson of Soar Utah. He taught power
planes and tail draggers for years. I like him. I'm not at
all sure what it would take to rile Roy. He just sits
quietly in the back.
Gene
Field on Oahu, Hawaii.
Stuck with it to my solo, just to prove I could do it. Business and laziness
(I guess) just sort of took over priority. But boy how I loved it.
I suppose its the same all over, but the lift you get off the side of the
Wainae Mountain Range next to Dillingham is or can be amazingly fast. Often
wondered how high you'd have to be towed to be able to cut loose and sail on
over to Kaui 70 something miles across the Pacific. The oceans not to
condusive to lift. Has anyone ever done it?
Anyway I loved every momement of it, except the tow. Other than that #@&%&
tow, it all seemed so natural and easy, even the landing. I was 50 years
old at the time of my first lesson. My instructor told me that I was
probably having trouble with the tow because of my age -- it really is
harder to teach old dogs new tricks.:-) But I can do it and I loved it.
Sure would like to get back at it. Happy and safe soaring to all. Gene
James Dezelle
172
> I scared the sh*t out of my instructor
>
In my case he had me do a stall in a Cherokee 140. After the plane stalled
I pushed the nose down rather steeply from instinct and then realizing I
had a motor I then proceeded to apply full throttle. Picked up speed
rather fast and the instructor stuck his arms straight out on the wheel to
insure I did not pull out too fast. After he calmed down we had a nice
flight.
Jim