Soaring: shoulda thunk of it...

rottydaddy

rottydaddy

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I was exchanging emails with a pilot friend recently, and he reminded me about the glider club at 47N, where I used to be based (as a renter). He's invited me to attend a meeting Sunday and maybe get up in their 2-33; they're looking for new members, and he's flying the tow plane and giving instruction with them.

I'd considered it briefly before, but put it on the back burner... but now
I'm thinking that this could be the perfect interim solution for me, while I try to get myself money for a plane. Inexpensive, fun, and very good for the basic skills, even if I can't make it every weekend. And I already know some of these guys, and I know and like the airport.
And trying something new whenever possible has made me a happier, and I think savvier pilot... I'm looking forward to this. Flying the gliders, maybe flying the tow plane... could be a lot of fun learning to be had!

Fingers crossed for good weather with lotsa lift... :fcross: :D
 
rottydaddy said:
I was exchanging emails with a pilot friend recently, and he reminded me about the glider club at 47N, where I used to be based (as a renter). He's invited me to attend a meeting Sunday and maybe get up in their 2-33; they're looking for new members, and he's flying the tow plane and giving instruction with them.

I'd considered it briefly before, but put it on the back burner... but now
I'm thinking that this could be the perfect interim solution for me, while I try to get myself money for a plane. Inexpensive, fun, and very good for the basic skills, even if I can't make it every weekend. And I already know some of these guys, and I know and like the airport.
And trying something new whenever possible has made me a happier, and I think savvier pilot... I'm looking forward to this. Flying the gliders, maybe flying the tow plane... could be a lot of fun learning to be had!

Fingers crossed for good weather with lotsa lift... :fcross: :D
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Good for you and GREAT idea!
 
You'll have a blast! The 2-33 is actually a fun machine to fly in spite of it's less than stellar aerodynamics :).
 
have a blast, i cant wait to hear about it. soaring can be cheaper than powered flying, and it will definitely keep you sharp on stick and rudder skills. if you start towing it can get tough to get through a soaring day and stay in a glider. but towing provides its own fun and unique challenges. be careful or you'll end up like Pete and I and own an old wood glider :)
 
Hmmm.. a nice 1-26, with a trailer, for less than $8K....WHAT AM I DOING?!?!?!?!:hairraise:
 
You don't want Metal....you want Wood (and with these you don't even need them little blue pills :D) Get the L-Spatz-55 for $7500!
 
if you tow, be sure to get Burt Compton's Bob Wander series book on how to tow gliders (aka how to not get kilt by a glider pilot!) - it is the book; possibly the only one that covers the topic thoroughly......and is a succinct read to boot.
 
rottydaddy said:
I was exchanging emails with a pilot friend recently, and he reminded me about the glider club at 47N, where I used to be based (as a renter). He's invited me to attend a meeting Sunday and maybe get up in their 2-33; they're looking for new members, and he's flying the tow plane and giving instruction with them.

I'd considered it briefly before, but put it on the back burner... but now
I'm thinking that this could be the perfect interim solution for me, while I try to get myself money for a plane. Inexpensive, fun, and very good for the basic skills, even if I can't make it every weekend. And I already know some of these guys, and I know and like the airport.
And trying something new whenever possible has made me a happier, and I think savvier pilot... I'm looking forward to this. Flying the gliders, maybe flying the tow plane... could be a lot of fun learning to be had!

Fingers crossed for good weather with lotsa lift... :fcross: :D
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I agree completely. I've said it a thousand times. If I had my druthers, I'd suggest that every pilot in the world get a bit of glider time. It will be a great learning experience and you'll have a great time doing it.

Also, you'll never worry about forced landings again :))
 
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ah the 1-26 is good enough pete. we have to save the good wood gliders for ourselves!

and dave is spot on. Burts towpilot manual is a must have!
 
rottydaddy said:
I was exchanging emails with a pilot friend recently, and he reminded me about the glider club at 47N, where I used to be based (as a renter).
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There's a glider club at Manville? Has it been there a long time? My in-laws live there and I'm always looking for an excuse to get out of the house for a while. Can you post the contact info?
 
www.ssa.org

check out the "Where to Fly" application. All SSA Affiliated clubs and commercial ops (which is pretty much ALL of the soaring ops in the country) are listed there.
 
Huh, I didn't know that 47N had gliders too. There's a pretty active group of gliders over at SMQ (Somerset) where I'm training; I see them coming and going from the grass runway. My girlfriend took a ride in one of them last weekend while she was waiting for me to finish my lesson; the visibility sucked so you couldn't see much, but she wants to try it again. I think if she weren't busy with school, she'd start taking lessons. It's something I might try out after I'm finished with my PPL.
 
what kind of glider did she take a ride in? ive never met a glider that didnt have far superior visibility compared to most powered aircraft
 
tonycondon said:
what kind of glider did she take a ride in? ive never met a glider that didnt have far superior visibility compared to most powered aircraft
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Not sure what type of glider it was, but what I meant was that the weather visibility was only about 6 miles in haze. I don't think it was a problem of being able to see out of the glider, just that there was nothing to see. (I was just staying in the pattern, because there wasn't a whole lot else to do with that sort of vis.)
 
PittsDriver said:
There's a glider club at Manville? Has it been there a long time? My in-laws live there and I'm always looking for an excuse to get out of the house for a while. Can you post the contact info?
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I don't know much about this club, although I know some of the members from flying at that airport and the local EAA chapter. I believe they meet every Sunday afternoon to fly during the season. They use the grass on the south side of the runway, along with the banner guys.
I'm not sure how long the club has been around, but most of these guys still call that field "Kupper"... they've been there awhile. :D

I've emailed the guy who invited me; chances are good he will let me forward his info to you. I don't want to presume; hope you understand. I'll let you know.
 
I have to agree on the Soaring, My work Schedule interferes so I didn't get to fly as much as I would like, but last year I flew my sailplane (paid $11,000 for it initially and have owned it 10 years) about 50 hours and my total expenses for the year were less than $1000. Less than most annuals on a Power airplane.

I also thought it was great the day I signed a student off for a 100 mile out and return Cross-country flight in a C-150. I then took off in my sailplane and flew the same 100 mile out and return flight. It took me about 2 hours longer to do it than he did, but it was a flight I won't forget.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
I can't not comment here. I too am a big proponent of soaring. Perhaps high gas prices will get more aviation enthusiasts to try soaring AND more soaring clubs/operations will get winch launching equipment (used in Europe since forever because gas has always been expensive there).

It will help develop good stick and rudder skills, which are applicable to any aircraft.

And it's fun.
 
Lance F said:
I can't not comment here. I too am a big proponent of soaring. Perhaps high gas prices will get more aviation enthusiasts to try soaring AND more soaring clubs/operations will get winch launching equipment (used in Europe since forever because gas has always been expensive there).
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Lance, it looks like "2008 was the year of the winches" at the soaring trade shows:

http://www.romansdesign.com/Albuquerque.pdf

Question about winches... how much altitude can you get on the launch? I was surprised to see how big these Romans winches are!!

edit: found the answer: they have been launching and soaring gliders to 2000 feet in 50 seconds. Costing the club approximately $2 per launch.

Video of winch launches:


I need to get out to Marfa!!!!
 
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I've done two winch launches at a club in Germany. It is quite exhilarating. 2 bucks a launch is amazing when you consider that one can (on some days) stay up all day and go 1,000+ miles after that launch.
 
winch launching is a really quick, cheap way to kill yourself. Although, with proper training for the winch driver and sailplane pilot it can be done safely. Europe has been doing it relatively safely for years. The challenge for the US will be to build a proficiency base. My glider isnt built for ground launching at all, so ill have to stick with aerotow.
 
there is the possibility of getting in a situation on a ground launch where you are too low and at too high of a pitch attitude to be able to recover from a rope break before smacking earth. Also if a wingtip touches the ground during the initial roll it typically ends up in major damage. Not trying to denounce winch launching, its obviously a great method of launching. If you want to see real winch debates check out the archives of the rec.aviation.soaring newsgroup. Maybe Matt Michael will chime in here, he's much more versed in the subject than I am.
 
There is nothing inherently wrong with winch launching, but you need to be proficient and trained to do them safely. The main dangers of winch launch would probably be a rope break, or wing drop. Rope breaks are especially dangerous as you tend to be at a high angle of attack and at times relatively low airspeeds, neccessitating immediate attention (nose down). The other bad failure mode is dropping a wing on the initial take off run, which can cause you to cartwheel if you don't pull the release right away.

I think winches got a bad rep in the states, as they were almost more of a novelty and the proficiency just wasn't there.
 
Well, it figures I finally get back to 47N and the weather's no good... :rolleyes:

Too many big boomers wandering around the area this afternoon to do any flying, but I did meet the gang (most of whom I've met in passing there before), saw the gliders (the aforementioned 2-33 and another tube-and-rag (single-place) with metal wings; forget what it was) and the very nice tow plane (Citabria).
We also did a lot of the usual fat-chewing that pilots do... most of it about flying. :D There was one buzzard up today, but he went home, I think, when the thunder started rolling out of the west.

Sounds like a good deal- they meet officially twice a week but once approved, I could go any time I can get one of the tow pilots. I'd need about... oh... about 75 more TW hours before I can do tows in their plane (insurance, natch), but I'd be welcome to rack up front-seater time when conditions allow the weight. As it is now, nobody's charging for instruction to members, so I could do the glider add-on and beef up my tailwheel time for peanuts. The single is aerobatic, too... mwahaha.

These guys really don't do any X-C stuff with these ships (JP told me a funny story about failing to get to Somerset the other day- seven miles away), but there's pretty big lift to be had locally, and I would be content to just mingle with the buzzards over the airport... and we hope not mingling with any of the heavy KEWR traffic.

I'll learn more about dues, etc at tonight's meeting, and with luck I'll be manhandling the 2-33 next weekend. :yes:
 
Well, the meeting was fun... more like "I went to a BS session over at a hangar and a club meeting broke out"... :D

I already knew most of these guys to some extent; the familiar old cast of characters. One of them posts here sometimes, as it turns out... I told him my screen name, and he didn't seem mortified ("oh no not that idiot!"), which was a good sign. :D

It's a small enthusiasts' club, not a business-like club. A few less-active members, but most of the gang are active and experienced pilots from various backgrounds.
The gliders are not top-of-the-line or the prettiest, but they appear sound and properly cared-for (Both Schweizers, as it turns out- the single-place is a 1-26).

Got the skinny on the cost, etc... looks like the perfect thing for me to do next, from every angle.

And I need a flying-related social activity that gets me away from this keyboard... :D
 
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cool.

local flying will typically bore a pilot after about a season or two. The 1-26 may technically be rated for aerobatics but I wouldnt try to do much in one. Very low Redline, like 110 or 120 mph. keep us updated on your progress. about time there's more soaring talk here! :)
 
Yeah, I was warned about not falling out of a loop, in particular... although I didn't realize the redline was so low. Maybe just a roll every now and then... :D

It may be possible to get into some X-C stuff... I guess they generally don't do that, but I believe they have trailers, so it would just be a matter of coordinating all that (plus the flight planning, of course).

But I don't expect to get bored very soon- could take me a while just to learn to keep aloft for long periods. One of the more experienced guys in this club often takes the 1-26 up for 4-5 hrs. at a time on a "local" flight, or so I'm told. And if I can get in the Citabria at all, that will make up for a lot- especially doing aerobatics in that to prepare for advanced stuff in the 1-26! ;)
 
Acro in sailplanes is mostly touchy because they are so slippery. Even in ships with higher redlines you gain speed so easily whenever the nose is down. Then, flutter becomes the issue.
 
I'll be happy with some rolls and chandelles, etc. But that's much later.
In fact, I'm sure if I do any acro training in the Citabria to prepare for that stuff in the 26, I'll just go "screw this soaring stuff- I wanna do more powered aerobatics!"

I did it once, an hour of dual in a Zlin 242, and it was damn fun.
 
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