What powered skills translate best to glider?

Joel:

Welcome to quiet flight ! Learning as a sailplane pilot first is a great advantage in an airman's career of flight. It is not unusual to be frustrated with a club's slower training schedule. You might consider an interval with a commercial glider school. Or . . . as you asked, hints follow.

1) What powered flight skills could I concentrate on that would best accelerate the learning curve in the glider?

Find an airplane CFI who will agree to offer you power-at-idle from abeam the touchdown point approaches. To do this you will most likely need to use an uncontrolled (non-towered) airfield. Most airplane folks are Not Comfortable with this idling-approach anymore in the USA.

Ask to use pitch for approach speed and power to adjust(extend) glide slope.. The simple choice is to have the CFI-A add flaps when they want to (preferably when they decide you are high on slope)... and leave you with only power adjustments. This is the closest replication of being 'above-glide' and
using spoilers to descend as in a glider. After a few like this, you can integrate the selection/addition of flaps.

If your Airplane CFI wants to use the now-typical (airliner-style) approach and follow the VASI lights, it will NOT be a good prep for glider flying. I now see almost exclusively the style of incremental power reductions in the pattern after having added partial flaps on downind and achieve full flaps on early final -- carrying some extra rpm until over the threshold. Then they chop and plop.

Ask the CFI-A to handle all the radio calls until you are comfortable with the machine and the approach slopes. (Limiting the distractions until proficiency is sufficient.) Since you are the customer, and are doing this to meet your criteria, they should be willing.

The use of taildraggers is good, if you can find them, for the rudder use required, as mentioned.


2) Would it be a better option to drive farther to get motoglider experience, or would the more nearby powered craft be just as good?

It depends on whether the motorglider teacher will also emulate the glider slope control as mentioned above. But the MG time offers control response rate more like a typical glider (more adverse aileron yaw due to span) and will be more productive in airwork, ie., thermalling, turning stall behavior. Ask to be relieved of motor management, again to limit the complexity and ease your budget versus the 'training time'. You have specific objectives.

The single most important component in learning is your relationship with the teacher. Explain your situation, and you should be pointed to someone who can be supportive. Have more questions later? Pop them back here, again..

Good luck and safe flying,

Cindy B