Hello. New member here.

Originally Posted by Paul Agnew

Hi JJ!

You can download the latest version of the Glider Flying Handbook for free. (Google it.) There are some who will argue that it's not 100% accurate (it isn't), but nobody will disagree that it's a great resource for students to start working on their knowledge about soaring.

Paul Agnew
Jupiter, FL

I started reading this fairly quickly, with the intention of getting a rapid review of the whole subject (which I already studied in detail, but 40 years ago), and with the idea to then re-read it slowly and in depth. I've sort of changed my mind about that. On first quick reading, I'm finding it to be rather superficial and perfunctory. So yes, it's a good overview for beginners. But thereafter, for the detailed studying, I'm going to look for other sources.

The most probable source I expect to turn to for really detailed study will probably be the Russell Holtz books at http://www.gliderbooks.com/books.html -- everyone raves about how excellent and comprehensive these are. This web site includes the full tables of contents of these books and the first several pages of each chapter, as well as other merchandise. I want to get the sweatshirt and bumper sticker with the glider and "Question Gravity" on them!

-- J. J.
=====================

My two posts above lead me to another question I'd like to ask of you more experienced folks --

Can anyone point me to any on-line resources where I can find a good discussion and explanation of the FAR's that are relevant for glider pilots? I have the full text of Parts 61 and 91, which are full of stuff that doesn't much apply to us, besides being nigh incomprehensible. There ought to be some textbook-style write-up of this good for studying.

Here's one page I found that seems to be the sort of thing I'm looking for -- although I might be looking for something more extensive, but along these lines.
http://studysoaring.stlsoar.org/regs.htm

(I've seen a few other discussions kicking around here and there on aviation stackexchange too, but those are piecemeal of course. Like, for instance, that apparently well-known discussion of the privileges, and limitations, of having a Commercial rating.)

-- J. J.
======================

JJJ wrote on 10/20/2016 8:41 AM:


(@JS, I wanted my user-name to be just JJ but the platform I'm using,
vBulletin, doesn't allow two-letter names.)

There is another JJ in the sport, so maybe JJJ is good choice ;^)

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"

https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

On Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 6:43:08 AM UTC-6, JJJ wrote:
Hello, all. I just discovered this site a few hours ago, spent a few
hours poking around here, and joined right up. Permit me to introduce
myself, if I may.

I took sailplane lessons 40 years ago at Sky Sailing, Fremont, to the
point of getting about 4 solo hours in a 2-33, but other things happened
in life, and I got away from it. Of all the stupid choices I've made in
life, I then spent 40 years kicking myself in the butt over that one.
Now at a ripe old age, I've decided to dive right back into it (about 2
months ago), essentially starting over as if a near--ab-initio- beginner
(almost). In my newly re-incarnated experience, I have about 8 hours
dual instruction by now. Hey, I can almost keep a glider behind a tow
plane already! (ETA: That wasn't true just two weeks ago!)

Poking around this site just in the last couple hours, I already notice
two user names who appear to be people I know! (Hi, *Buzz*! Hi,
*Ramy*!)

As a novice (effectively) student pilot, I expect I'll probably do a lot
more reading than writing on this forum for the near foreseeable future.
I'll contribute more later, perhaps, once, y'know, I actually know
something.
-- J.J.
===================================




--
JJJ

http://www.gliderbooks.com/

http://academy.gliderbooks.com/courses/intro

Russell has been putting a lot of effort into this. Perhaps someone has taken his course and can comment.

Frank Whiteley

Originally Posted by Frank Whiteley

http://www.gliderbooks.com/

http://academy.gliderbooks.com/courses/intro

Russell has been putting a lot of effort into this. Perhaps someone has taken his course and can comment.

Frank Whiteley

I don't know anything about his on-line courses, other than that they exist. But I've certainly heard good recommendations, from many people, about the books. One of the FBO owners at Hollister told me these books contain EVERYTHING you need to know to pass the tests and much more. These are the textbooks they use for their students.

-- J. J.
================

On Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 8:43:08 PM UTC-4, JJJ wrote:
Bruce Hoult;930688 Wrote:
What are you training in now? The same 2-33?

son_of_flubber;930692 Wrote:
I've heard that soloing at an early age makes it easier to take up the
sport later in life. It will be interesting to hear how that works out
for you.

40 years ago, I flew at Sky Sailing, Fremont. That operation is long
gone from Fremont, now operating out of 'Warner Springs'
(https://www.skysailing.com/) in SoCal. I was -this close- ---||--- to
graduating to the SGS 1-26.

I'm training in Grob G-103a's now. I'm finding it a harder plane to fly
than I remember the 2-33's being. I'm wondering if that's really true
or if it's just me. I see evidence that it's BOTH. On the one hand,
I'm 40 years older now, which is known to induce geriatric drag on one's
proficiency acquisition velocity. AND I see training videos on U-tube
showing students on their 1st, 2nd, 3rd lessons seemingly doing better
that I am after approx. 8 hours and 25 flights -- even some videos at MY
club with the same instructors I'm flying with now!

OTOH, a whole lot of people do seem to agree that the Grob 103 is just
harder to learn to fly. The rudder is way stiff, and I'm still getting
a handle on that. (I did get to fly our Grob 103 Acro last week, which
I thought handled rather easier.) I'm just getting the knack of staying
behind the tow plane, whereas 40 years ago I was wake-boxing by flight
#3. (Yes, I still have my old log book!)

I still remember a fair amount from 40 years ago, but as for the
"muscle-memory" for flying, I feel I'm starting from scratch -- probably
for the better, as the Grob handles so differently from the 2-33.

My longer-term fantasies are
1. Fly our 1-26, which I came so close to flying way back then;
2. Fly a 2-32, in which I had my first glider ride as a teen-ager at
Dillingham, Oahu, Hawaii. (There's one at nearby Hollister; also
Williams and Crazy Creek);
3. Fly the ASK-21, of which I've only heard and read good things
(Hollister and Williams have them);
4. Maybe even try getting into glider aerobatics, the better to feed my
growing adrenaline junkie addiction!

-- J. J.
=============================




--
JJJ

First- welcome back. I see a lot of lapsed pilots returning. It is a vast untapped market for our sport.
Second- Try not to be too wrapped up in how fast you progress. Example- If you are not doing air work with good results like consistent roll rates and bank angles with good coordination, you are not likely to fly tow well.
There can be a tendency to try to do everything right away to try to speed up progress, and maybe save time an/or money. Very commonly this results in negative progress. You can't possibly try to master all aspects on each flight because there is too much to absorb.
Third- Try harder! That is a sure way to slow your progress. Just relax and enjoy and don't compare to 40 years ago. You probably were not as good as you thought then.
It will come- have fun!
UH

Originally Posted by

First- welcome back. I see a lot of lapsed pilots returning. It is a vast untapped market for our sport.
Second- Try not to be too wrapped up in how fast you progress. Example- If you are not doing air work with good results like consistent roll rates and bank angles with good coordination, you are not likely to fly tow well.
There can be a tendency to try to do everything right away to try to speed up progress, and maybe save time an/or money. Very commonly this results in negative progress. You can't possibly try to master all aspects on each flight because there is too much to absorb.
Third- Try harder! That is a sure way to slow your progress. Just relax and enjoy and don't compare to 40 years ago. You probably were not as good as you thought then.
It will come- have fun!
UH

Yes, fersure, in the two months I've been at it (flying nearly every Saturday and Sunday mostly) everything is going substantially just as you say. True, I'm a bit concerned about costs (as I'm living on a tight budget). It is going slower than I expect, but hey, I'm having fun like you say and I'm in no big hurry. One of these days I'll get around to applying for my student cert. I'm not likely to be ready to solo for a while. (When I do, they damn well better cut the back of my shirt off! We didn't do that when I soloed at Fremont 40 years ago.)

Yeah, I was getting a little frustrated with tow flying, but just recently I've begun to get the hang of it so I'm not all over the sky any more, and I think I'm on the verge of getting the knack of doing medium-bank turns well.

One of my four instructors is really good at pushing my skill and comfort-zone envelopes just about right, and I really like that. He's the only one having me do stalls (straight and turning) and slow MCA flight so far, and lately he's pushing me into doing steeper turns.

The other three I think are moving me forward a little too slowly. One of them, though, is focusing a bit more on landing, which I can't really do well yet. A typical lesson on one day consists of two high-tows and maybe a pattern.

We have a young kid here (well, he's actually a senior at Stanford now) who's been flying here since he was 14, who just got his commercial a couple weeks ago. (He's also ASEL IFR rated too.) I felt honored to be his ground crew for his exam (mainly because I showed up). This kid is SHARP. The day he gets his CFI-G (and I assume he will), I'll be first in line to be his student. In the meantime, he takes me flying with him sometimes if I pay for the tow. Good deal! It's like a flying lesson in effect, even if I can't log it. (Golly, I hope he isn't reading this!)

Meanwhile, I spend the weekdays reading all that on-line stuff I mentioned above, and watching glider videos on YouTube, in between the time I spend following all the (ahem) election entertainment. Once the election is over, I guess, it'll be All Gliders All The Time.

-- J. J.
======================

On Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 8:43:08 AM UTC-4, JJJ wrote:
Hello, all. I just discovered this site a few hours ago, spent a few
hours poking around here, and joined right up. Permit me to introduce
myself, if I may.

I took sailplane lessons 40 years ago at Sky Sailing, Fremont, to the
point of getting about 4 solo hours in a 2-33, but other things happened
in life, and I got away from it. Of all the stupid choices I've made in
life, I then spent 40 years kicking myself in the butt over that one.
Now at a ripe old age, I've decided to dive right back into it (about 2
months ago), essentially starting over as if a near--ab-initio- beginner
(almost). In my newly re-incarnated experience, I have about 8 hours
dual instruction by now. Hey, I can almost keep a glider behind a tow
plane already! (ETA: That wasn't true just two weeks ago!)

Poking around this site just in the last couple hours, I already notice
two user names who appear to be people I know! (Hi, *Buzz*! Hi,
*Ramy*!)

As a novice (effectively) student pilot, I expect I'll probably do a lot
more reading than writing on this forum for the near foreseeable future.
I'll contribute more later, perhaps, once, y'know, I actually know
something.
-- J.J.
===================================




--
JJJ

JJJ

Welcome back to soaring.

You may want to consider using computer-based glider flight simulation (a.k.a. Condor) to augment your training.

I would be happy to help you get started.

You can contact me via my website: gliderCFI.com

Cheers, SRM

Originally Posted by

JJJ

Welcome back to soaring.

You may want to consider using computer-based glider flight simulation (a.k.a. Condor) to augment your training.

I would be happy to help you get started.

You can contact me via my website: gliderCFI.com

Cheers, SRM

Okay, I spent a few minutes skimming your site. I imagine I'll take a more detailed look later. I also googled Condor and found some other stuff on it.

To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about how much one could accomplish sitting at home flying a sim -- however, I say that having exactly ZERO experience trying it. And several of the student pilots in my club have suggested it to me too. But, for example, can any amount of sim spin training prepare one for real live spin training in a real live aircraft?

-- J. J.
=======================

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 3:43:08 PM UTC+3, JJJ wrote:
;930909 Wrote:

JJJ

Welcome back to soaring.

You may want to consider using computer-based glider flight simulation
(a.k.a. Condor) to augment your training.

I would be happy to help you get started.

You can contact me via my website: gliderCFI.com

Cheers, SRM

Okay, I spent a few minutes skimming your site. I imagine I'll take a
more detailed look later. I also googled Condor and found some other
stuff on it.

To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about how much one could accomplish
sitting at home flying a sim -- however, I say that having exactly ZERO
experience trying it. And several of the student pilots in my club have
suggested it to me too. But, for example, can any amount of sim spin
training prepare one for real live spin training in a real live
aircraft?

Spins are one of the most aerodynamically complex situations to model and make realistic in an simulator. Condor maybe does a better job of it than many, but it's still not good.

I don't think that's what it's for.

Condor can definitely help aerotow and landing skills, including coping with cross-winds. Speed control, turns, use of the rudder. Finding and using thermals and ridge lift. Cross country flying and racing (including against other pilots online).

Minimum equipment is as large a screen as you have access to and a good joystick with twist control for rudder and sufficient buttons and/or levers for airbrakes, trim, quickly changing the direction of view. Optional: buttons for flaps/undercarriage. A lot of people (including me) use Logitech Extreme 3D Pro (about $35)

At my club we have an old Cirrus cockpit with all the standard controls (stick, rudder, trim, airbrakes, tow release, undercarriage) connected to Condor, a small LCD display as the instrument panel, and a huge corporate surplus projection TV for the scenery.

We find skills practised in Condor transfer well to the real glider. An hour in Condor is not as useful as an hour in the real glider, but it's a lot cheaper! Flying Condor should be done in a reasonably serious manner, and (for early students) under supervision of someone at least solo-rated.

When time and manpower permit we put trail flight people in the simulator while they're waiting for the glider to be available. Then they have a much better idea about the controls and instruments than can be absorbed from a normal quick briefing before takeoff, and they perform much better in the air.

We find the ASW28 settings in Condor give quite realistic handling and performance that seems to match our DG1000-18 training gliders quite well.