Soaring Schools

On Sunday, December 24, 2017 at 8:32:25 PM UTC-7, Tim Taylor wrote:
Sorry, I don't know who Lee is. He seems to be spreading misinformation about a site he has never flown at. Anyone who has flown at Logan would know that all the valleys have many landable fields. If you have watched Bruno's videos you can see valleys along all the ridges we fly. As with any mountain site you should respect the area, but with a good briefing you should be able to fly some of the most outstanding alpine soaring in the world with thousands of square miles of alfalfa fields as well as many airports to land on. We are always glad to work with visiting pilots to share local knowledge and allow them to gain confidence in ridge and mountain soaring.

TT

Once I have my glider pilot's license, I may have to come pay you guys a few visits down in Logan. Watching you fly those mountain ridges is so inspiring!

I find it interesting how many twists and turns this thread has taken. A closely related question the comes to mind. What texts are recommended for the book work? Anything online? I seem to remember someone mentioning the FAA had a good educational text online on soaring.

For starters, the FAA Glider Flying Handbook. Airsailing sent me the Burch Practical Test Guide as that's what they use; and he likes the SSA Soaring Flight Manual, it is out of print but obtainable used. I have a handful of Bob Wander's booklets all of them real good; Thermaling, Speed to Fly, and Breaking Apron Strings, and of course his practical test guides. Landing Out was ok if you like Mr. Spock, I understand what he was getting at about discipline, but I didn't warm up to it. Thomas Knauff's book didn't have the continuity I like. Welch and Irving go in to a lot of depth to say the least; it would be good to know some calculus. Beyond Gliding Distance is not a huuuge book but concise. And the real piece of art is Advance Soaring Made Easy, by Bernard Eckey, with editing by Tony Burton.

A large part of my study program included going through the SSA Soaring Safety Foundation's Training Programs. Tow Pilot, Wing Runner and the Bronze Badge Study Guide. The Study guide has 290 multiple choice questions in blocks of 20 and I would go through them to find out what I didn't know and it gives references. It was indispensable, I think during the three months leading up to my going down to Airsailing I went through it 3 or 4 times; and I needed it, with all the airspace questions it was a learning experience. A lot of good calculation problems, just a lot about a lot of stuff, it was good; and, after that, I was set up to take the Bronze Badge written test the day after I obtained the rating.

Happy Learning,

Robert
Condor SE3