Well done, I think this is the best Glide Britain video so far. It pretty much sums up all the conversations I've had as an Instructor with pupils on trial lessons.
@Tymur Rahman Being afraid of height may not stop you gliding we know a number of pilots who have such fears. And yes, you can just fly locally to the airfield.
Thank you for posting such fundamental answers for questions the public has about gliding. I always found it great when people ask. It shows their actual interest in gliding, how it is done, how a glider (and gliding) actually works. I once was asked by a (military) helicopter pilot who saw a glider for the first time. He later wrote me that he started gliding because of my thorough introduction into the world of gliding (though I only told and showed him things on the ground). Your video is a very thorough compilation of answers to questions about gliding, thank you for your work and effort. BTW I am always impressed how open people are, how willingly they listen if you present it right. If possible I always invite people (especially kids) to take a seat in a glider to get the feeling. Most get out truly amazed, many even ponder to start gliding, some actually do.
Yeah but a plane you could use as a private transport to get about without needing help? The whole point of a plane/helicopter is to have your own personal transport. Not sure about the UK (I'm in Canada) but here you'd want your own plane to do your own thing between ski lodge/city/country hunting/fishing living. These are just hobbyists. Could be because it's a small country but surely the purpose is so you can get to work/home/friends/holidays using your own transport? Seems to me that these dorky people are the equivalent of buying a car but only using it on a racetrack rather than going to the shops/cinema/trips with it. Ridiculous notion.
@@jjr1728 there are gliders with self start capabilitys also travel per glider is possible :) just make sure that fields u head for have gliding operations... u then just pay the guest fees for launch or self start if u have it :) soaring is a sport... some do it as hobby some for races and some travle with them :)
Not quite, it is much cheaper overall, but if all of your lessons are tug launched (which is the case in winter for a lot of clubs) then that is in the region of £30 a launch plus the glider hire whilst up there ( which is very cheap at roughly 0.40p a minute on average)
Sailing isn't an exceptionally expensive hobby, either. When I started sailing, it cost me maybe fifty bucks a month, then I found that most sailors sail for free and I started doing that, then I bought my own boats and now I pay a bit to keep them in a marina, but it's because I'm sailing CONSTANTLY and it's worth it.
Hi there, I am looking to actually start lessons in around 1 year from now. Is there any thing I can or should do in preparation beforehand that would assists my learning beforehand?
New Zealand, Australia and US gliding association publish great materials for beginning. I would recommend taking a look at everything below. New Zealand: Online training platform Australia: Australian Gliding Knowledge book. Winch Launching Manual book. Glider Pilot Certficate training modules 1-44. US: Glider Flying Handbook
Ask a local gliding club. They probably have prices on their website. It's certainly more expensive than a hobby like playing football in a park or something so it's not an option for everybody but it's cheaper than other adventure sports. They say it costs less to learn to fly than to learn to drive. Also you don't need to be in a syndicate, gliding clubs usually have club gliders that are available for anyone to fly - it's only those who get really into it who will fork out for a share in a special one.
@@hamsterpouches My question was quite specific and has gone unanswered. Yes, you will see the price of annual club membership, you will see the price of an introductory flight. What you won’t see are the costs of getting to go solo.
I haven't joined yet, but I've done my research into my local club, and my estimate would be: Membership is £250/year, flights are probably £20 a go if you're in the air for 30/45 minutes. Say 60 flights to go solo over a 2.5 year period, the cost would be £1,950, or roughly £65 a month. I spend £40 a month playing football twice a week. So learning to fly is just over 50% more expensive than playing football. I spend £100 a month on Sky TV. Doesn't seem too bad, does it?
@@alanfitzpatrick9428 that seems right to me. You may even go solo in less flights than that. Good luck :) Btw if you want a tip - Now TV has almost everything Sky does (it's also made by Sky) and is £10-20 a month - might be worth looking into!
@@Paul-vh6ul NO, YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED AND YOU ARE A MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING ILLITERATE LIKE 1800S COUNTRY FORK PEOPLE AND YOU AREN'T AWARE OF THE NEW FABRICATION TECHNIQUES WHILE YOU TRY TO HOARD A PIECE OF ENGINEERING WITH TOKEN CREDIT
@@Paul-vh6ul well... It partually is... Some gliders like K-8b are actually designed to be made pretty much from scratch for little money... But you will never get the performance of modern gliders from aircraft like that, they were designed to be built in clubs in like early 60:ties or late fifties... Nowdays the gliders are usually made from fibreglass, which is not a material you could work with with your normal garage tools. But hey, K-8 is a great aircraft to fly, it's just that you won't fly it very far.
I don't like the social aspect of it. Why not just pay for lessons and only have to communicate with a pilot/instructor? Who would want to talk to these people... None of them even look like bodybuilders/hunks. Terrible complexions.
