Glider Time

flyingpilotman

flyingpilotman

Filing Flight Plan
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Mar 13, 2014
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flyingpilotman
Currently building my time! I have about 20 hours in gliders (1.8 Solo/PIC). Can I log those 20 hours toward my PPL? Can I log 1.8 PIC? Will airlines honor glider time?
 
Yes those hours count. Airlines will honor what they want to honor. But total time is total time.

Part 61 is your bible as far as how those hours may be used.
 
Yes the glider time will count toward your total time. As Greg said, look to part 61 for the minimum hours. I flew gliders first and although there are still minimum times in a SEL for your ASEL PPL, I found the glider experience to be very helpful.
 
Pursuing a glider rating has been on my list for several years. I'm probably going to start relatively soon because it's a much cheaper method of building hours towards the ATP rating.
 
ja_user said:
Building hrs in a glider?
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Come on out some day and help Ernst put his DG together. Anything less than 2 hrs he considers a waste of time. Typically, 3-4 hrs per flight is an average day for him.

So 6-8 hrs per weekend, wx permitting.

But, he isn't in the time-building bidness.
 
tlglenn said:
I'm probably going to start relatively soon because it's a much cheaper method of building hours towards the ATP rating.
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As long as you are in an area where you can get lift. If you are in an area where you get mostly sled rides, the tow costs add up.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
As long as you are in an area where you can get lift. If you are in an area where you get mostly sled rides, the tow costs add up.
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:yeahthat: on a per-hour basis, my glider time is some of the most expensive flying I've done!!

If you're lucky enough to be near good ridge soaring with a winch launch, THEN it might be some cheap hours!
 
i got about 40 hours of soaring this month.
 
Tucson gets some good lift. And the local gliderport is near relatively mountainous terrain. Looking at the online time log I see a lot of multi-hour flights.

I've met all of the ATP-ME time requirements except for total time and multiengine time.
 
tlglenn said:
Tucson gets some good lift. And the local gliderport is near relatively mountainous terrain. Looking at the online time log I see a lot of multi-hour flights.

I've met all of the ATP-ME time requirements except for total time and multiengine time.
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I have had my share of sled rides in Phoenix area. Haven't tried Tucson.

What ME requirements? Do you have your ME now?
 
I'm required to have 50 hours in class i.e. 50 multiengine hours (although up to 25 can come from a full flight simulator as part of an approved part 141 program). At the moment I have zero. I'm more worried about total time right now.
 
You're a smart man!

Building time in gliders is one of the most under utilized resources in the time building options for pilots.

If you look at every ace, astronaut, major record breaker, capt sulley, Gilmore glider, all of them have been glider pilots.

Any airline that would bust your butt for having a chunk of glider time isn't a airline I would want to fly for, or even fly on.

Of course you'll have to end up with XX of multi time, XX turbine etc, but having a good chunk of your initial hours outside from the standard IFR, multi, etc, being in a glider is a good thing IMO.
 
:D

Yep that's the one!
 
James331 said:
You're a smart man!

Building time in gliders is one of the most under utilized resources in the time building options for pilots.

If you look at every ace, astronaut, major record breaker, capt sulley, Gilmore glider, all of them have been glider pilots.

Any airline that would bust your butt for having a chunk of glider time isn't a airline I would want to fly for, or even fly on.

Of course you'll have to end up with XX of multi time, XX turbine etc, but having a good chunk of your initial hours outside from the standard IFR, multi, etc, being in a glider is a good thing IMO.
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I agree 110%. Thirty years ago when I was interviewing with one of the majors, the chief pilot zeroed in on my glider time. I actually attribute that glider time to getting hired. Times are no different nowadays, every applicant is pretty much a clone of every other one. They've all got at least a BS/MS degree, an ATP, and several times more than the posted minimum required times. Anything that can set you apart from the crowd certainly won't hurt you and might even help your cause. Not to mention that flying gliders will make you a better pilot.
 
Matthew said:
Yeah. It takes a lot of tows to build time at 0.2 per flight.
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Hey, my 0.4 hours dual in a glider were in a single flight with no lift. Got towed up to 4000 MSL, cut loose and had a ball on the way back down. I see how people get hooked on flying those things.
 
Glider hours made my ATP possible.
Probably helped out in my engine failure episode too. :D
 
only did 4.9 hours today. my first flight in the Cirrus this year that was under 5!
 
i mis-spoke, only 4.8 :(

Should be able to get over 5 tomorrow.
 
tlglenn said:
I went for my first glider flight yesterday. Two hours with the CFI.
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Two hours is a long first flight, but shows the possibilities of glider cross country.
All two hours in the air? Or does that include ground orientation time.
 
I heard about that Ted! You flew with Randy?
 
Yup, I flew with Randy. All two hours were in the air. Lots of good lift. We covered some basics when being towed, climbing in thermals, dolphin soaring, stall series, steep turns, and other things I can't remember right now. It was like drinking from a fire hose :)
 
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