Book recommendations

[mdmartin]

I just recently completed my add on, and am looking for some recommendations of good books to read over the winter about soaring. Something to help build on what I read in the Glider flying handbook. I have seen the list on the SSA website, any of those good buys?

[Rakel]

Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche

[R]

Since your rating was a add on and you mentioned Soaring and not how to turn an airplane…
Helmet Reichmann Cross Country Soaring (Amazon $44) is the top banana. Even if you don’t fly Cross Country,
you still have to soar around the airport locating lift.
Read thru it once avoiding the math parts then go back, read, and pick two things to work on. Then add more as you progress. From intermediate to advance soaring, I found no book better.
R

[Dave Nadler]

Recently revised edition: https://understandingthesky.com/

[Richard Livingston]

I found the G. Dale books very informative, although a bit pricey. I also liked Advanced Soaring Made Easy" by Bernard Eckey.

Rich L.

[Dan Marotta]

If you have any sort of engineering or scientific background, do not
skip the math parts. They are wonderfully enlightening!

Dan
5J

[Tango Eight]

On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 6:08:05 PM UTC-5, mdmartin wrote:
> I just recently completed my add on, and am looking for some recommendations of good books to read over the winter about soaring. Something to help build on what I read in the Glider flying handbook. I have seen the list on the SSA website, any of those good buys?

Anything by Gren Siebels.

Avoid Reichmann.

T8

[youngbl...@gmail.com]

The best of the books, as R states just ignore all the equations and concentrate on the soaring information contained within. OBTP

[2G]

Besides Reichmann (who is a classic) I highly recommend Winning On The Wind by George Moffat (if you can find it).

Tom

[Martin Gregorie]

And there's "Stick and Rudder" by Wolfgang Langewiesche - not strictly
about gliding, but I found its insights about control effects useful and
its advice to "fly the wing" is sound.


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

[Hank Nixon]

On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 6:08:05 PM UTC-5, mdmartin wrote:

> I just recently completed my add on, and am looking for some recommendations of good books to read over the winter about soaring. Something to help build on what I read in the Glider flying handbook. I have seen the list on the SSA website, any of those good buys?

Competing in Gliders by Ricardo and Leo Brigliadori is excellent once you get past some translation stumbles. May be hard to find.
UH

[Dgtarmichael]

On Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 7:53:44 AM UTC-6, Hank Nixon wrote:
> On Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 6:08:05 PM UTC-5, mdmartin wrote:

> > I just recently completed my add on, and am looking for some recommendatisons of good books to read over the winter about soaring. Something to help build on what I read in the Glider flying handbook. I have seen the list on the SSA website, any of those good buys?

> Competing in Gliders by Ricardo and Leo Brigliadori is excellent once you get past some translation stumbles. May be hard to find.
> UH

I found my copy of Competing in Gliders from a friend after asking on here. I also wrote to Ricardo and he said he would try to send more stateside and was considering a third addition.
To the original poster, what are your goals? Some of the recommendations here are a bit beyond new-to-gliding pilots. The books offered by Bob Wander are the best for beginners. They focus on single topics, are easy to follow and are cheap! One of his series is written by authors other than Bob, but produced by him. A good place to start is the one about Thermals, and then the Bronze badge for Beginners book. These will help you in your transition from a glider pilot who stays in the pattern to a real soaring pilot capable of short cross country flights. Once you have some footing under you as an intermediate soaring pilot you will have more of a feel what your areas of study are. I recommend G. Dale's books highly, as well as Eckey's book next. They go into considerable detail that will be lost on newer pilots. Reichman is largely considered the authority on our topic but the book is getting dated in some areas. Because he was the first to write a modern soaring book (1970's?) most new authors have to quote him anyway, and all follow his format. Once you have the facts about how soaring is done, Moffett and the Brigliadoris as well as Kawa can help you wade into the mental game as an advanced pilot, but not until you have a few seasons under your belt and a contest or two.
Aside from books, Wings and Wheels has a great news letter with back issues on their website. Read up & sign up! It's free. If you are on Facebook there are many well known clubs and soaring pilots who post frequently and offer advice. I like Adam Woolley and Pure Glide. Pure Glide has an EXCELLENT YouTube channel. Go over there and watch his videos this winter! The Soaring Safety Foundation Website has some good info on many topics that require review. If you're feeling really depraved one of the best pilots in the country now is an economics professor named John Cochrane who has some highly technical papers on his professional website, Google can help you find them. Warning, maths ahead!
I applaud you for looking to study up on our subject. Too many don't. Reading and then experimenting inflight is a great way to learn when you don't have a mentor with XC experience.

Doug Tarmichael
W24

[Moshe Braner]

Some years ago I found Reichmann's book online as a PDF, free. So you
can "try before you buy". Eventually I found a used hardcopy.
Certainly a classic, albeit somewhat dated now.

Other books mentioned in this thread are good too. I'll add one more:
the slim and unassuming self-published book by Dale Masters. There is a
lot of condensed wisdom within. It's available via some web sites, or
directly from the author.

[Frank Whiteley]

Dated but one of my favorites remains New Soaring PIlot.

[2G]

You can get it here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/461592118/Cross-Country-Soaring-Reichmann-1978#

Tom

[R]

You boys up there in VT stop giving our new member bad advice using words like ‘avoid’ and ‘dated’.
Quit smoking dope and go boil off 50 gallons of Maple.



R

[Tango Eight]

_Cross Country Soaring_ is a fine reference for many things, but it isn't very helpful for learning "Cross Country Soaring".

Books that might be helpful would be The Soaring Engine vol 1, Understanding the Sky, Winning II, Pilot's Choice. One's emphasis ought to be much more on where to point the nose -- for the best air -- instead of how fast to fly through all the sink you should have avoided.

I've never landed out because I chose the wrong MC setting. I've landed out because I chose a crummy path.

T8

[mdmartin]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I have ordered Cross country soaring by Reichmann, but am having trouble locating anything by Bob Wander, as they sound like they would be good reads for me. I am still trying to learn what I don’t know. I have been trying to get some others together at my local airport to start a club, but it is proving difficult and unlikely, so I may only get up infrequently when I happen to be on trips for work near a place I can rent.

[Eric Greenwell]

On 1/12/2023 9:44 AM, mdmartin wrote:
> On Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 9:57:35 AM UTC-5, Dgtarmichael wrote:

...

> Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I have ordered Cross country soaring by Reichmann, but am having trouble locating anything by Bob Wander, as they sound like they would be good reads for me. I am still trying to learn what I don’t know. I have been trying to get some others together at my local airport to start a club, but it is proving difficult and unlikely, so I may only get up infrequently when I happen to be on trips for work near a place I can rent.

Bob Wander's books are offered on Wings&Wheels, Cumulus Soaring, and might be contacted
through this website:

http://www.bobwander.com/Aboutbob.html

--
Eric Greenwell - USA
- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

[Tango Eight]

On Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 12:44:43 PM UTC-5, mdmartin wrote:

> Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I have ordered Cross country soaring by Reichmann, but am having trouble locating anything by Bob Wander, as they sound like they would be good reads for me. I am still trying to learn what I don’t know. I have been trying to get some others together at my local airport to start a club, but it is proving difficult and unlikely, so I may only get up infrequently when I happen to be on trips for work near a place I can rent.

Where's this local airport?

T8

[mdmartin]

I would like to get something together at Reigle airport, 58N (Palmyra, PA, east of Harrisburg). However, having trouble finding enough people interested and willing to split the cost of a motor glider or tow plane and glider.

[Charlie M. (UH, Pi & 002 owner/pilot)]

From there, maybe look at PSU at University park, or Mifflin.

[Burt Compton - Marfa Gliders, west Texas]

On Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 2:25:59 PM UTC-6, tango...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 12:44:43 PM UTC-5, mdmartin wrote:
having trouble locating anything by Bob Wander, as they sound like they would be good reads for me.

Bob Wander's books are relatively short, easy to read (and re-read), inexpensive and found at www.soarbooks.com
You'll even find a book on flying the towplane, "The Towpilot Manual" in 7th printing. Apparently popular, the only book in the USA on towing procedures (FAR 91.309) and managing the risks of being a towpilot for the initial FAA 61.69 training and the logbook endorsement and for the 24 month mandatory towpilot re-currency options.

Regarding Helmut Reichmann (R.I.P. - died in a glider as I recall) his better book for you may be the more basic "Flying Sailplanes" - out of print but one of the best. Search the used book sites on the web like ABEbooks.com
I have a huge collection of vintage soaring books for sale. Ask for my book list at marfagliders at Am On Line dotty comm
Robert Kronfeld, Wolf Hirth, Derek Piggott, Phillip Wills, Ann Welch, several rare translated German books, British books and US authors, 1930's to 1990's. Every SOARING magazine since the first. Located in my dry and high (5,000' msl) Marfa Gliders Soaring Center in southwest Texas.

[gfon...@xtra.co.nz]

The book is out of print but someone has taken the time to scan the whole book into a PDF file.
I agree that it is one of the best books for intermediate to advance soaring and I am going to print
a copy of the non maths part as my basic reference manual

Gary

[Nicholas Kennedy]

Competing in Gliders by Ricardo and Leo Brigliadori is excellent once you get past some translation stumbles. May be hard to find.

The above book is well worth it for the pictures alone.
Super techy and detailed, one of the finest IMHO.
Would make a good coffee table book, the pictures are so good.
Nick
T

[Frank Whiteley]

PM sent.