Nsconductor
Pre-takeoff checklist
Just started learning to fly gliders. It's an entirely different world from helicopters, as you can imagine, but what fun! Just curious if there are any glider pilots on the board?
Just started learning to fly gliders. It's an entirely different world from helicopters, as you can imagine, but what fun! Just curious if there are any glider pilots on the board?
yep. where you flying? MGSA? Chilhowee?
Awesome! I learned to fly in gliders when I first started and wouldn't have had it any other way.
What kind of glider are you flying?
Great flight Sunday in the Blanik. Flying on tow has gotten much better. Learned to Box the Wake. Good conditions at the field. First time I had to land because time was up versus running out of altitude. Tow to 3K and found lift. What a ball. Heading back to the IP and still climbing. Full spoilers to get us down to pattern atlitude. Was high when I turned final and slipped to get down lower. Kept airspeed up on landing and greased it. great Day! Flying again next Saturday. Then have to travel for business on Sunday and a little vacation with my wife through the next weekend. I think the consistency has helped a lot.
Glider transitions from power planes is interesting. First, you feel like you've never been in an aircraft before, then something all of a sudden "clicks" in your brain and you get it.
2 more flights today in the 2-33. Overall it went well. Flew the takeoff and tows unassisted. Did some thermaling and continued to learn to center the thermal. Conditions weren't great as I flew at 10:00am but at least we found some lift. Coordination in turns continues to improve. Patterns were fine and the first landing was fine. Second landing I let my airspeed bleed off after I was over my aiming point and that one was rough. Now I really understand the importance of keeping the airspeed up in the landing. I understood it from a conceptual standpoint, but that little exercise in slamming into the ground brought it home. I think is is really negative habit transfer from flying helicopters and naturally wanting to come to a 3 foot hover. Lesson learned, nothing was broke and no one was worse for the wear. I will just have to keep an eye on myself. Flying again tomorrow and I'll report back.