Best Soaring Book

On Friday, January 22, 2016 at 12:39:58 PM UTC-7, Casey wrote:
What is the best or most interesting soaring book you have read?

I will be choosing a new one out of these, so any recommendations?

On Quite Wings
The Art and Technique of Soaring
Cross-Country Soaring
The Joy of Soaring
Soaring Valley
America's Soaring Book
Soaring Cross Country
With Wings as Eagles
The Powerless Ones
The Soaring Pilot
Once Upon a Thermal
Glider Flying
Gliding A Handbook on Soaring Flight
New Soaring Pilot
On Being a Bird
Soar America
Winning
Advanced Soaring
Soar Sierra

Plenty of good reading there.

Once Upon A Thermal, read this at my local library about the time I took my first glider flight, soared for about an hour.

New Soaring Pilot, in a word, illuminating.

Most of the others followed.

Frank Whiteley

Many great books out there as mentioned in this thread. However my top two a

1. "The Art of Soaring Flight" by my Dad's friend, Wolf Hirth (1938.)

2. "Kronfeld On Gliding and Soaring"
subtitled "The Story of Motorless Human Flight" by Robert Kronfeld (1933.)

I'm told that only 500 copies of Robert Kronfeld's book were translated into english. I have two extra copies to sell someday, perhaps at the International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) on Harris Hill near Elmira, NY, July 9 - 16, 2016. I need to thin out my huge collection of vintage books and memorabilia. I'll probably publish an inventory sometime this year before auctioning on eBay.

There is something unique about the "old school" books. Soaring pilot-authors of the 1929-1969 era seemed in touch with the sky and very much one with the sailplane. They understood and shared the magic of soaring flight and how to read the sky. Indeed, the "Art" of soaring.

Later, pellet variometers and the "Memphis" rate of climb instrument were among the best available. One of those and a road map got you soaring cross-country. If you ever get a chance, smell a wooden sailplane and you will sense the magic. As one of the "soaring kids" of the 1960's I'm so glad that I saw the final decade of that era.

I see Wolf Hirth's The Art of Soaring Flight mentioned a number of times. If you are reading it in English it was translated by a Naomi Heron-Maxwell. It is a bit different from the German because of her input and Doc Slater. The book about her flying is called Naomi the Aviatrix. More chick flick than how to soar so if you don't like it, re-gift it to the wife! https://sites.google.com/site/naomitheaviatrix/

In addition to those already mentioned, here are a few I've enjoyed:

Sierra Sierra by John Joss
Exploring the Monster by Robert F. Whelan
Soaring Beyond the Clouds by Bertha Ryan
Soaring by Peter Dixon
Stalking the Mountain Wave by Ursula Weis

Another which was extremely educational and I cannot remember the title or find it on my shelf is the anthology of the Soaring Symposium lectures.

On Friday, January 22, 2016 at 12:39:58 PM UTC-7, Casey wrote:
What is the best or most interesting soaring book you have read?

I will be choosing a new one out of these, so any recommendations?

On Quite Wings
The Art and Technique of Soaring
Cross-Country Soaring
The Joy of Soaring
Soaring Valley
America's Soaring Book
Soaring Cross Country
With Wings as Eagles
The Powerless Ones
The Soaring Pilot
Once Upon a Thermal
Glider Flying
Gliding A Handbook on Soaring Flight
New Soaring Pilot
On Being a Bird
Soar America
Winning
Advanced Soaring
Soar Sierra

Soaring for Diamonds would be a favorite and the book by Old dog Walters, can't remember the name of it, but it was fun

There are PDF's available of some of these books from the UK based
Lakes Gliding Club website:

http://www.lakesgc.co.uk

Click on "archive" on the left

Then click on "Old Gliding Books"

Wolf Hirth's book is there, you can download the PDF onto your
computer. They also have quite a few PDF's of "Sailplane & Gliding"
and the VGC News there as well under the "Old Gliding Mags" tab.

Enjoy...!

Ryan





At 05:56 23 January 2016, xcnick wrote:
I see Wolf Hirth's The Art of Soaring Flight mentioned a number of
times.
I=
f you are reading it in English it was translated by a Naomi
Heron-Maxwell.=
It is a bit different from the German because of her input and Doc
Slater.=
The book about her flying is called Naomi the Aviatrix. More chick
flick
t=
han how to soar so if you don't like it, re-gift it to the wife!
https://si=
tes.google.com/site/naomitheaviatrix/

On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 8:43:03 AM UTC-5, Kevin Brooker wrote:

Another which was extremely educational and I cannot remember the title
or find it on my shelf is the anthology of the Soaring Symposium
lectures.

That's 'cause you loaned it to a buddy a couple years ago who still has it. You can have it back after I read it again :-).

-T8

At 14:56 23 January 2016, Tango Eight wrote:
On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 8:43:03 AM UTC-5, Kevin Brooker
wrote:

Another which was extremely educational and I cannot remember
the title
or find it on my shelf is the anthology of the Soaring Symposium
lectures.

That's 'cause you loaned it to a buddy a couple years ago who still
has it.
You can have it back after I read it again :-).

-T8



http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/

Click on old gliding books - you'll find a few to keep you going.

On Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 7:18:14 AM UTC-8, Paul T wrote:
http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/

Click on old gliding books - you'll find a few to keep you going.

Kronfeld's are there too. These books are just one of Wally Kahn's many legacies.

On Friday, January 22, 2016 at 11:10:35 PM UTC-5, Burt Compton - Marfa Gliders, west Texas wrote:

1. "The Art of Soaring Flight" by my Dad's friend, Wolf Hirth (1938.)

2. "Kronfeld On Gliding and Soaring"
subtitled "The Story of Motorless Human Flight" by Robert Kronfeld (1933.)

I'm told that only 500 copies of Robert Kronfeld's book were translated into english. I have two extra copies to sell someday, perhaps at the International Vintage Sailplane Meet (IVSM) on Harris Hill near Elmira, NY, July 9 - 16, 2016. I need to thin out my huge collection of vintage books and memorabilia. I'll probably publish an inventory sometime this year before auctioning on eBay.

Since the copyright is expired on these books, what would you think about scanning them and putting the .pdf on the Soaring Museum's website? Or they could sit unread and moldering in private collections.