Tommy (aka Tomster the Monster), my 11-year-old son, got to fly in a glider yesterday, and so (by the way) did I!
We have stopped for fun, several times, at Caddo Mills (7F3 http://www.airnav.com/airport/7F3 ), a nice old airport near the miniscule town of Caddo Mills, east of Dallas. It is, like so many airports across this part of the country, and old auxiliary Army Air Force Base, a satellite to the old Majors Field at Greenville (now, KGVT).
When there, we watch gliders from Southwest Soaring, which is by far the busiest thing on the field, and Tommy expressed an interest in flying without benefit of engine, and I had told him, "one of these days..." I sdet it up a couple of weeks ago, but did not tell Tommy.
This time, it was funny, because I told Tommy I wanted him to go flying with me, and was all casual about it and said he did not want to go. I reminded him that it was time he started paying more attention to the process of flying so he could become a more involved co-pilot and begin to learn to fly. So anyway, he came around to agreeing to go fly, and asked where we were going to go, and I suggested perhaps Caddo Mills to watch the gliders. He said, "Dad, remember you said I could have a glider ride some day!" and I told him "maybe someday Tommy, you know it is not cheap." Grinned inside.
WX was cruddy in the morning, I was worrying about it, but once ceilings were above 3,500, I figured we were cool; in any evet, by noon (when we launched from ADS), it was essentially clear. But 15G22 from the north.
Anyway, we flew on over there (0.3 start and taxi, 0.2 flight time, or so it seemed), when I called up Caddo Mills traffic, got a call from the jump plane from the skydive operation there, said he was making an engine-out landing and could I stand off for a minute, which (of course) I did. Don't know what that was about, but he landed and did so such that he had adequate momentum to roll out and onto his own ramp, no muss, no fuss, and Tommy and I landed in the gusty winds (good one, too, if I do say so myself). Fair x-wind, b/c the runway that is almost aligned with the wind is the one they use for glider ops.
Went on into the office, gave them a "shhh" sign so they would not talk about it with Tommy listening, waited for the (always running late) time for Tommy's ride, and wandered out to the runway where the Grob awaited. The guys there (Nick, instructor, and Zach, line guy) were great, playing up the whole "let's take a look at the glider" thing, and Tommy did not even ask why they wanted to know how much he weighed. Asked if he wanted to sit in the front seat to see what it was like there, then Nick fastened the harness, telling him, "This is how we would tighten it up if you were going to go fly," then explained to him all about the instrument panel (Tommy had a reasonable number of "I know what that is"), and then he said, "I tell you what Tommy, why don't we just go fly!"
Tommy: (GRIN!).
I paid for "mile high" (they actually release at 5,000 agl, but who's counting?), and they were up there for a good while, and when they landed (rolled out at perfect location, no brakes), Tommy's smile was so big I think it hurt *my* cheeks. (And it was not until after we got home that I finally convinced him that it was really a planned surprise). I call it a success. Turns out Nick, after asking Tommy if he wanted some fun, did some aerobatics, so Tommy told Celia "I pulled some G's, Mom!"
Oh yeah, I flew next, and (you know this of course) it was a blast. It is such a different experience, first of all launching under tow (L-19, nice power there), then the release with the dive left by the tow plane and the right turn, some basic explanations then he gave me the stick. Very, very different and I was all over the place on the yaw string, felt sorta silly. Not used to using my right hand to fly, don't know now why I did not just use my left other than me deciding that I needed to fly right-handed b/c the spoilers and trim are on the left. Still, I had a really great time and, despite the high winds, we did find a little bit of lift, enough to spiral around and pick up a few hundred feet. So cool.
So all in all, it was a big hit, with son and father.
For those in the area, Southwest Soaring is a great outfit, nice people and what appears to me to be well-maintained equipment. Spike says, "Check it out!"
We have stopped for fun, several times, at Caddo Mills (7F3 http://www.airnav.com/airport/7F3 ), a nice old airport near the miniscule town of Caddo Mills, east of Dallas. It is, like so many airports across this part of the country, and old auxiliary Army Air Force Base, a satellite to the old Majors Field at Greenville (now, KGVT).
When there, we watch gliders from Southwest Soaring, which is by far the busiest thing on the field, and Tommy expressed an interest in flying without benefit of engine, and I had told him, "one of these days..." I sdet it up a couple of weeks ago, but did not tell Tommy.
This time, it was funny, because I told Tommy I wanted him to go flying with me, and was all casual about it and said he did not want to go. I reminded him that it was time he started paying more attention to the process of flying so he could become a more involved co-pilot and begin to learn to fly. So anyway, he came around to agreeing to go fly, and asked where we were going to go, and I suggested perhaps Caddo Mills to watch the gliders. He said, "Dad, remember you said I could have a glider ride some day!" and I told him "maybe someday Tommy, you know it is not cheap." Grinned inside.
WX was cruddy in the morning, I was worrying about it, but once ceilings were above 3,500, I figured we were cool; in any evet, by noon (when we launched from ADS), it was essentially clear. But 15G22 from the north.
Anyway, we flew on over there (0.3 start and taxi, 0.2 flight time, or so it seemed), when I called up Caddo Mills traffic, got a call from the jump plane from the skydive operation there, said he was making an engine-out landing and could I stand off for a minute, which (of course) I did. Don't know what that was about, but he landed and did so such that he had adequate momentum to roll out and onto his own ramp, no muss, no fuss, and Tommy and I landed in the gusty winds (good one, too, if I do say so myself). Fair x-wind, b/c the runway that is almost aligned with the wind is the one they use for glider ops.
Went on into the office, gave them a "shhh" sign so they would not talk about it with Tommy listening, waited for the (always running late) time for Tommy's ride, and wandered out to the runway where the Grob awaited. The guys there (Nick, instructor, and Zach, line guy) were great, playing up the whole "let's take a look at the glider" thing, and Tommy did not even ask why they wanted to know how much he weighed. Asked if he wanted to sit in the front seat to see what it was like there, then Nick fastened the harness, telling him, "This is how we would tighten it up if you were going to go fly," then explained to him all about the instrument panel (Tommy had a reasonable number of "I know what that is"), and then he said, "I tell you what Tommy, why don't we just go fly!"
Tommy: (GRIN!).
I paid for "mile high" (they actually release at 5,000 agl, but who's counting?), and they were up there for a good while, and when they landed (rolled out at perfect location, no brakes), Tommy's smile was so big I think it hurt *my* cheeks. (And it was not until after we got home that I finally convinced him that it was really a planned surprise). I call it a success. Turns out Nick, after asking Tommy if he wanted some fun, did some aerobatics, so Tommy told Celia "I pulled some G's, Mom!"
Oh yeah, I flew next, and (you know this of course) it was a blast. It is such a different experience, first of all launching under tow (L-19, nice power there), then the release with the dive left by the tow plane and the right turn, some basic explanations then he gave me the stick. Very, very different and I was all over the place on the yaw string, felt sorta silly. Not used to using my right hand to fly, don't know now why I did not just use my left other than me deciding that I needed to fly right-handed b/c the spoilers and trim are on the left. Still, I had a really great time and, despite the high winds, we did find a little bit of lift, enough to spiral around and pick up a few hundred feet. So cool.
So all in all, it was a big hit, with son and father.
For those in the area, Southwest Soaring is a great outfit, nice people and what appears to me to be well-maintained equipment. Spike says, "Check it out!"
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The OP said he flew with Southwest Soaring at Caddo Mills. There was an article last winter of Caddo Mills closing and selling off the equipment.
read the date on the post.. 
