Bob,

Personally, I call landing at any place other than home-base a
landout, or off-field landing, or outlanding. It can be another
airport, or a field. My post-flight and in-flight preparation is the
same for all landings regardless of whether they are at home, or
somewhere else. By the way, always make every landing an accuracy
touchdown and accuracy stop.

Years ago, an instructor told me to make my first landout at a
familiar airport away from home. This would teach me many lessons.
Today as an instructor, I advocate the same thing. If one chooses to
do this, they will learn more than any classroom course can teach, and
learn it safely.

You should prepare for this by talking with positive and experienced
members in your club. Fact is that someone is going to have to
retrieve you. Enters a lesson: Buy them a nice steak dinner. Perhaps
you will plan an aero retrieve, or automobile retrieve. Enters another
lesson: Leave your car and trailer in combat readiness, for doing so
will make you a more desirable member to retrieve.

Bob wrote: Is this a recipe for trouble?

No, with preparation and discussion, an intentional first landout is a
safe maneuver.

New pilots have a natural and understandable fear to try cross-country
in a glider. Overcoming concerns of landing out is probably the
biggest reason some pilots never leave gliding range from home.
Practicing a landout under controlled conditions is superior to doing
your first one unplanned. As advised to me, my first landout was
intentional; I learned so many big lessons and little lissons (like
making sure my cell phone battery was charged, that I had a few
quarters for a pay phone, that I knew about landing lights, that
Saturdays are better than Sundays, etc.). My second landout was every
challenge imaginable all in one: rolling hills all around, fences,
small field, horses, 105 degree dry outside air temperature, thermal
on short-short final, downward sloping landing spot, only one head-
size rock in the entire beautiful field (which I avoided by one foot)
etc.

Thank goodness I already had a practice landout under my belt.

Raul Boerner
DM