Gucci Pilot
Pattern Altitude
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2014
- Messages
- 2,066
- Display Name
Display name:
Gucci Pilot
Decided to do this based on LDJones recommendation, their location, and the fact I could knock out the seaplane rating all in one trip. Tried to do it Mar. 15 but that is when they have their annual senior racing championship and the whole glider port is devoted to that for a week. Plus, I went through upgrade training at work so I decided to put myself on the schedule for Sept. 7(they are closed Mon. & Tues.) Was advised to study up on the glider knowledge. They didn’t care what book/video I used, as long as I didn’t come there completely clueless. Which I think should be expected in an accelerated program. I got the Sporty’s So You Want To Fly Seaplanes app for the seaplane rating so I just decided to do the same here and got the glider one. The material I purchased/read included:
The glider rentals are per hour as follows:
Since the nearest hotels (a Days Inn and Holiday Inn Express) were 20 min away, I just decided to stay in one of their rooms on the Glider port. A twin bed with a mini-fridge, shower, microwave, Wi-Fi, and a pool overlooking the glider port for $30/night. Pretty much a bargain. They also can accommodate you if you would like to fly in.
They told me I could come down on the day they are closed and they would leave the room door unlocked with my name on the door. So I showed up the day I had planned with all the room doors locked and saw two names on two of the room doors, neither of which was mine. I also only had the number for the office (which was closed up). So I drove up to Clermont and stayed in the Holiday Inn up there. Showed up the next morning when they opened. Manager was quite apologetic for the room mix-up and got me a room key. I’d compare the rooms to a seasonal lake home in the Midwest. Definitely nothing fancy, but I’ve stayed in worse in the desert.
Met my instructor Steve and we got right to work. We talked a little bit about our experience, he showed me around the glider port, then we talked a little about what we were gonna be doing flight wise. Went out and did about 4 flights, then took a break, then went back at it again for 5 more flights. Half of the flights that day were a combination of pattern tows with a couple simulated rope breaks. He gave me a thumb drive with a ton of files to study up for the oral then we called it a day.
Showed up the 2nd day and we got right to it again. We flew 2 rope breaks and 3 pattern tows. Then Steve got out and I did 15 pattern tows and 5 area tows to knock out the required solo flights for the commercial. That was a lot of flying in one day.
The 3rd day we basically did ground prep for the oral. Which basically consisted of me sitting there studying the material and sample oral guides Steve gave me. Also going out and helping launch a few gliders.
4th day we flew a mock check ride and Steve said I should have no problem. Then I studied some more of the oral prep stuff.
Checkride day I showed up and helped launch the other checkride that was going before me. I didn’t bother sitting around cramming the day of. You either know the material or you don’t. Then it was my turn. Went into the office with the examiner and he was very professional. All the questions he asked me were pretty much straight from the oral question guides Steve gave me. Halfway through the examiner even said, “Now I’m just killing time since you were rapid fire on those questions.”
Went out and did the pre-flight and got right to the flights. He told me we were required to do 3 and one would be an area tow to knock out the maneuvers, a rope break, and if everything was good, the last one would just be a normal pattern tow. First flight was the planned area tow. Then about 500 ft. AGL he pulled the rope release. Guess he decided this was gonna be the rope break. After we landed he said as we were climbing through 400 ft he decided we might as well do the rope break now to get it out of the way since there were about 4 gliders getting ready to launch and it would be a pain and inconvenience to do it 30 minutes later with all of them going.
Next flight was the area tow to about 2,400 AGL. He had me box the wake then after the release, I did a couple clearing turns. Then a straight ahead stall, then two 360 degree steep turns. Then we just flew around the entry point to the pattern at min sink speed waiting for a glider to get airborne. Did a normal landing then set up for the pattern tow. He told me to do a forward slip at some point in the pattern. Did that, landed normally and got a congratulations. Didn’t have anything to debrief me on and thought I flew a very nice glider. Then I did the paperwork, gave all the materials Steve let me borrow back to him. Then decided to hang around and help get gliders airborne and shoot the **** since I really didn’t have anything to do the rest of the day.
I wouldn’t say Steve and I had the best student/instructor chemistry I have ever had. He is one that can tend to raise his voice quite a bit when you are screwing up. But hey, I can pretty much tolerate anyone so it wasn’t that bad, but I could see others probably having a problem with it. Also he is 75 so he probably just doesn’t have the patience anymore. But he was pretty nice other times and very knowledgeable. I recommend bringing long pants, and long shirts or using bug spray. It is kind of out in the country and you will get eaten alive by mosquitos. Bring a hat and make sure it isn’t a ball cap with a button on the top. They don’t allow those since they can crack the canopy. Bring lots of water. It gets super hot and you can get dehydrated being out in the sun all day. Also recommend packing a lunch because there is really no place to get food within 20 minutes of the glider port. They have a pretty decent pool at the glider port so feel free to pack some swim trunks. I brought my own towels, pillow, and blanket since I didn’t feel like using theirs. But they wash the towels, sheets, and pillows every time someone stays in one of the rooms. The nearest restaurant is the Red Wing Restaurant about 15 minutes away. Actually pretty good. Went there on all you can eat fried shrimp night. Quail is one of their specialties. Staying at the glider port is convenient since the nearest hotel is in Clermont 20 minutes away but remember, the nearest restaurant/grocery store is also in Clermont. I ended up buying about a week’s worth of produce and stuff to eat during the day at Publix and went out to eat most nights.
All said and done I spent $120 for the room, $2,480 for all the glider flights/instruction, and $400 for the DPE. They kept a running tab and I just paid one big sum when we finished. They have a 3% processing charge for credit cards so I just paid by check. I kept pretty accurate records of all the flights on an excel sheet for prices and somehow the total I came up with was about $300 more than I paid. I haven’t analyzed the list of flights yet, but from a quick glance it looks like they charged a few of our dual flights as solos. I’m not complaining since it worked out in my favor. But it can be pretty difficult keeping accurate records of all the glider flights. I recommend just paying as you go. You could definitely get your license cheaper at a glider club, but a commercial operation like this, you will definitely get it done faster. Everyone I met there was just as nice and hospitable as the folks at Jack Browns. If I could do it over again, I would still go here.
While I did purchase all of those books, I think I would have been just fine going through the glider flying handbook and using Steves materials that he gave me. The majority of the oral questions were pretty basic private pilot stuff that someone with a private pilot airplane rating could easily answer. The Commercial Glider Checkride guide by Bob Wander I feel is more geared towards someone with a private glider license upgrading to the commercial. They had a copy of the private glider checkride guide and I felt it had a lot more useful information for someone adding on a commercial license.
- Transition to Gliders by Thomas Knauff
- The Glider Flying Handbook (free from the FAA)
- Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride…Made Easy! by Bob Wander
- Glider Polars and Speed-To-Fly…Made Easy! by Bob Wander
- The Art of Thermaling…Made Easy! By Bob Wander
- Power Pilot’s Guide to Soaring by Murray Shain
The glider rentals are per hour as follows:
- Each flight above 2,000 is charged a minimum of 20 minutes.
- $40 SGS1-34 (one seat)
- $50 Blanik L23 (two seat)
- $55 Grob 103 (two seat)
- $70 PW-6 (two seat)
- Tows are $45 for the first 2,000 feet; $15 per each additional 1,000
- Instruction is $60 per hour in flight; $50 per hour ground.
- Pattern tows and simulated rope breaks costs are combined (rental, tow and instructor):
- $55 per dual pattern tow
- $50 solo pattern tow
- $45 per simulated rope break (dual only)
Since the nearest hotels (a Days Inn and Holiday Inn Express) were 20 min away, I just decided to stay in one of their rooms on the Glider port. A twin bed with a mini-fridge, shower, microwave, Wi-Fi, and a pool overlooking the glider port for $30/night. Pretty much a bargain. They also can accommodate you if you would like to fly in.
They told me I could come down on the day they are closed and they would leave the room door unlocked with my name on the door. So I showed up the day I had planned with all the room doors locked and saw two names on two of the room doors, neither of which was mine. I also only had the number for the office (which was closed up). So I drove up to Clermont and stayed in the Holiday Inn up there. Showed up the next morning when they opened. Manager was quite apologetic for the room mix-up and got me a room key. I’d compare the rooms to a seasonal lake home in the Midwest. Definitely nothing fancy, but I’ve stayed in worse in the desert.
Met my instructor Steve and we got right to work. We talked a little bit about our experience, he showed me around the glider port, then we talked a little about what we were gonna be doing flight wise. Went out and did about 4 flights, then took a break, then went back at it again for 5 more flights. Half of the flights that day were a combination of pattern tows with a couple simulated rope breaks. He gave me a thumb drive with a ton of files to study up for the oral then we called it a day.
Showed up the 2nd day and we got right to it again. We flew 2 rope breaks and 3 pattern tows. Then Steve got out and I did 15 pattern tows and 5 area tows to knock out the required solo flights for the commercial. That was a lot of flying in one day.
The 3rd day we basically did ground prep for the oral. Which basically consisted of me sitting there studying the material and sample oral guides Steve gave me. Also going out and helping launch a few gliders.
4th day we flew a mock check ride and Steve said I should have no problem. Then I studied some more of the oral prep stuff.
Checkride day I showed up and helped launch the other checkride that was going before me. I didn’t bother sitting around cramming the day of. You either know the material or you don’t. Then it was my turn. Went into the office with the examiner and he was very professional. All the questions he asked me were pretty much straight from the oral question guides Steve gave me. Halfway through the examiner even said, “Now I’m just killing time since you were rapid fire on those questions.”
Went out and did the pre-flight and got right to the flights. He told me we were required to do 3 and one would be an area tow to knock out the maneuvers, a rope break, and if everything was good, the last one would just be a normal pattern tow. First flight was the planned area tow. Then about 500 ft. AGL he pulled the rope release. Guess he decided this was gonna be the rope break. After we landed he said as we were climbing through 400 ft he decided we might as well do the rope break now to get it out of the way since there were about 4 gliders getting ready to launch and it would be a pain and inconvenience to do it 30 minutes later with all of them going.
Next flight was the area tow to about 2,400 AGL. He had me box the wake then after the release, I did a couple clearing turns. Then a straight ahead stall, then two 360 degree steep turns. Then we just flew around the entry point to the pattern at min sink speed waiting for a glider to get airborne. Did a normal landing then set up for the pattern tow. He told me to do a forward slip at some point in the pattern. Did that, landed normally and got a congratulations. Didn’t have anything to debrief me on and thought I flew a very nice glider. Then I did the paperwork, gave all the materials Steve let me borrow back to him. Then decided to hang around and help get gliders airborne and shoot the **** since I really didn’t have anything to do the rest of the day.
I wouldn’t say Steve and I had the best student/instructor chemistry I have ever had. He is one that can tend to raise his voice quite a bit when you are screwing up. But hey, I can pretty much tolerate anyone so it wasn’t that bad, but I could see others probably having a problem with it. Also he is 75 so he probably just doesn’t have the patience anymore. But he was pretty nice other times and very knowledgeable. I recommend bringing long pants, and long shirts or using bug spray. It is kind of out in the country and you will get eaten alive by mosquitos. Bring a hat and make sure it isn’t a ball cap with a button on the top. They don’t allow those since they can crack the canopy. Bring lots of water. It gets super hot and you can get dehydrated being out in the sun all day. Also recommend packing a lunch because there is really no place to get food within 20 minutes of the glider port. They have a pretty decent pool at the glider port so feel free to pack some swim trunks. I brought my own towels, pillow, and blanket since I didn’t feel like using theirs. But they wash the towels, sheets, and pillows every time someone stays in one of the rooms. The nearest restaurant is the Red Wing Restaurant about 15 minutes away. Actually pretty good. Went there on all you can eat fried shrimp night. Quail is one of their specialties. Staying at the glider port is convenient since the nearest hotel is in Clermont 20 minutes away but remember, the nearest restaurant/grocery store is also in Clermont. I ended up buying about a week’s worth of produce and stuff to eat during the day at Publix and went out to eat most nights.
All said and done I spent $120 for the room, $2,480 for all the glider flights/instruction, and $400 for the DPE. They kept a running tab and I just paid one big sum when we finished. They have a 3% processing charge for credit cards so I just paid by check. I kept pretty accurate records of all the flights on an excel sheet for prices and somehow the total I came up with was about $300 more than I paid. I haven’t analyzed the list of flights yet, but from a quick glance it looks like they charged a few of our dual flights as solos. I’m not complaining since it worked out in my favor. But it can be pretty difficult keeping accurate records of all the glider flights. I recommend just paying as you go. You could definitely get your license cheaper at a glider club, but a commercial operation like this, you will definitely get it done faster. Everyone I met there was just as nice and hospitable as the folks at Jack Browns. If I could do it over again, I would still go here.
While I did purchase all of those books, I think I would have been just fine going through the glider flying handbook and using Steves materials that he gave me. The majority of the oral questions were pretty basic private pilot stuff that someone with a private pilot airplane rating could easily answer. The Commercial Glider Checkride guide by Bob Wander I feel is more geared towards someone with a private glider license upgrading to the commercial. They had a copy of the private glider checkride guide and I felt it had a lot more useful information for someone adding on a commercial license.
Last edited:
