Gliding - Approach planning and landings - early lessons 

Good on you. Don't beat yourself up, everyone has off days or training 'challenges' at one stage or another. Sometimes, it takes a fresh or different instructor's insights or feedback to move forward on particular aspects of training. For me an example of this was that It was taking me a while to properly understand the visual cues to look for to establish a controlled speed and glide slope to my aiming point.

@@MSBWilson and it differs from person to person as you find that difficult I find that easy, however I always struggle with my speed with the airbrakes open

how many launches is it until you should be able to land?

Can I ask? Is it expsenive? I really want to fly but I don't have a ton of money.

@@nullobject5943 it rlly depends on ur club tbh

@@williamneedham5304 totally depends mate. Took me about 45 to really get the hang of it but you never stop learning and perfecting

@@nullobject5943 depends on where you’re from. Some clubs will help you finance your license, while others won’t. Also depends what kind of a pilots license you want to do. Gliding is definitely a lot cheaper than a private pilots license

Thanks!

Thanks John. Yes, I had my 100th flight last weekend, 17hrs solo experience now and own a 1/3rd share of a single seater Club Libelle glider, call sign Golf India Papa (ZK-GIP). Cheers.

@@MSBWilson Good for you Mark. I'm a little behind you but doing my training at Auch Aerodrome in the south of France near where I now live after retirement. A good club with nice friendly atmosphere - and we get consistent summer weather!

I'm gonna start gliding next month.

Hi Marco. I think I was using my older model Gopro Hero attached to its head strap. These days, there are other action camera options, like GitUp, that are just as good. For recording sound, it helps if the camera is not in a waterproof enclosure. The main reason I recorded my training flights was to help me with post flight review. For a novice, there's *a lot* to absorb in dynamic phases of flight, like take off and landing, and sometimes it's hard to process or translate instructor guidance in real time. You'll probably find you have days that go well and you feel like you're getting it, and days that you wonder if you will ever get it. That's normal. Push on through! All the best with your lessons!

@@MSBWilson thx a lot for the wishes and the suggestion. I'm a bit worried because in the 2 flights I did as passenger in the back seat I was a "sea sick" in some moments (I don't know if it's a correct world.. I speack Italian...), and I'm old (59)... But I'll try my best anyway. 😊

@@oselini The only time I've felt a bit sick was in flying in the back seat with the front seat pilot doing most of the control. I think you'll find it better in the front seat when training and also when you have control.

I was still learning back then and, as you have observed, I didn't pull the release after the automatic back release as I should have. Correct procedure is to always pull the release a couple of times after the tow cable back releases (off the belly hook) to be certain there is nothing still attached like the strop or drogue chute. This could happen if a cable or weak link break had occurred instead of a normal proper release.

@@MSBWilson Excuse me I should have read early lessons. Good to hear your save now!

Hi Max. We use a Skylaunch V8 winch. We can typically get a 2300ft+ launch on the regularly used airfield vectors. You can see a bit of it in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3yupgU8WNVw.html.

@@MSBWilson That’s awesome! I’ve recently decided glider training is probably the next aviation pursuit I’m after. Looks like a great time and likely very valuable experience in the case of an engine out on a single.

@@maxon1672 I've been taking lessons and it has been loads of fun. It also teaches you valuable stick and rudder skills.

Great! You've come the to the right place :-) I'll look forward to meeting you and hope you enjoy the up and downs of the journey. Mark2.

Hi Brendan. Most of the time, the only noises you hear in a glider are the sound of the air moving around the cockpit, a bit from the instruments (the beeping is from the vario) and the radio, a some from the vent if it's open. There's a bit more noise from the undercarriage during launch and landing too. The sound on this video is pretty typical of 'normal'. Perhaps the most important noise to develop a good sense of in a glider is the sound of the air rushing by. This is a good audible queue to your airspeed, independent of the ASI (Air Speed Indicator). Typical soaring flight involves flying a different speeds depending on what you are trying to do and the lift (rising air) or sink (descending air) you are flying in. Generally you'll fly slow in lift and faster in sink. If things go quieter than usual, this should be a warning that you're flying slow or too slow and at risk of stalling - not a good idea when close to the ground!

Just start off by having a great first experience. Ask lots of questions but realise too that there is a lot to absorb at the beginning so stick with it. Enjoy!

@@MSBWilson thanks so much I had a towwed start with an instructor called John I think he was the 2008 gliding world champion so that was cool, I did throw up tho but the rest was fine we cought now convergences and good to about 8 600 meters from 5400 meters, we flew for 35 minutes and I flew for 15 to 20 minutes. the landing was also good although I didn't land the instructor did

Tips....lookout lookout and err lookout ! When you can do that judt remember stick and rudder, stick and rudder. One never moves without the other. In the video, if thats a headcam the guy isnt moving his head NEARLY enough

@@MrAlexrowlandsokay thank you

It's a DG-1000. Our club has two of these. They are excellent for a lot of the training we do. This variant has fixed undercarriage and doesn't have the retractable motor option. See en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DG_Flugzeugbau_DG-1000 for more details. Cheers.

@@MSBWilson thanks, I am currently learning to fly seasonally so it is so nice to watch just raw footage of gliding as most glider flight have music which takes away the ambience (in my opinion at least)

@Romain Dec 10 to 15 mins might be more typical for training circuit flights. A lot will depend on the weather conditions (whether there is lift near the airfield) and particular training objectives. Longer flights are good for building and reinforcing basic stick and rudder skills and coordination. Launch, circuit planning and landings don't need so much time.

@@MSBWilson Ok thank you. With a regular motorised airplane the less we do is about 30'

@@romaindec1717 In this context, it is probably worth noting that the ultimate goal of becoming proficient glider pilot is to achieve longer duration soaring flight utilising thermal, ridge, convergence or other forms of lift and not just being towed into the air and gliding back to the ground (also called a 'sled ride'). In this way, flights of many hours and cross country are possible and common. I've had numerous flights of 2 or more hours with over 5 hours being the longest so far. Fly safe :-) See also: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UHr2Hxk-E8Q.html

Papawai near Greytown, New Zealand.

WHAT how come the blue sky is above and the green stuff is below you then ...this video is very questionable!!!!!

Well spotted! Yes it was. :-) He was one of the 'Summer Crew' instructing here in NZ in 2018. I believe he's here again this season too for a while.

@@MSBWilson Yup, he's been around here and there! I currently run the Marlborough club and often fly at Nelson Lakes too

Hi! Good on you for wanting to learn to fly. We have several young people your age in our club and they do really well. The training is designed to take you through each stage of learning in safe and manageable steps. Never be afraid to ask questions, instructors like to be as helpful as they can. Gliding is a really good way to learn the fundamentals of flight. There is a lot to learn but, with good instruction, most people make steady and rewarding progress. Have fun!

@@MSBWilson thx and it is good that it is also an fundament of flying because I want to join the airforce and I really love flying thx for the help.

Hi Christian. You make a valid point. If your airspeed is insufficient, there is a risk of stalling while close to the ground in the turn. The main objective of every glider circuit is to complete the turn onto final at a satisfactory height, speed and distance from the landing point. From this position it is much easier to make a good stabilised approach & landing. This takes some practice and good instruction. It took me a while (and further instruction) to properly understand the different roles of the elevator (to control speed) and brakes (to control rate of descent) during approach. To quote our NZ training material: "On a stable final approach the Aiming Point is a point on the ground ahead which appears to move neither up nor down relative to the canopy frame. This means the glider is moving directly towards that point. Despite the name, the nose of the glider is not "aimed" at the point. Rather, it is the point on the ground towards which the glider appears to be moving. It is adjusted using the airbrake control. Nominate an Aiming Point on the ground and fly towards it. With the airbrakes still closed allow the AP to "move down" in the canopy. This indicates that you are going to overshoot the Aiming Point. Then apply 1/2 - 2/3 airbrake and check that the Aiming Point now appears stationary relative to the canopy. This means you have intersected the 1/2 - 2/3 airbrake path correctly. "