First time gliding Apr 11th

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JeffreyDollarz@reddit

Soaring is absolutely wild. I highly suggest every pilot try it once.

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elkab0ng@reddit

I did try it once, and it was humbling. No go-arounds!

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Great_Ratio_6532@reddit

Do you measure release time to touchdown time?

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That time is more informative when your're just starting and struggling to 'stay up', and it's always noted in log books, but it means less with experience. When you have experience, Average Air Speed is one of the best metrics for measuring proficiency (assuming you always fly in similar performance glider types). The aim is to minimize time spent circling while maximizing average speed in cruise. So average speed over the duration of the flight rolls both of those metrics into one number. You record an .igc file in flight and programs like https://www.weglide.org/

There's complicated systems to score 'tasks' based on difficulty. https://www.weglide.org/ also scores your flight, and that score is used for online contests.

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Great_Ratio_6532@reddit

Thanks! I've only flown in a glider once, and not as PIC. I tend to think of the times when things go quiet as an emergency... but have thought of gliding as real flying, with more attention paid to the details of flight efficiency.

An old acquaintance flew from State College PA, to just north of Atlanta... and back(!) on a single Jeep tow off his mountain top place in State College.

Quite a feat. When I was flying (maybe I still could) I was happy when I got the plane back on the ground without breaking anything.

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vtjohnhurt@reddit

An old acquaintance flew from State College PA, to just north of Atlanta... and back(!) on a single Jeep tow off his mountain top place in State College.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Striedieck ?

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Crazy_Wild_Optimist@reddit

Yes, him. I guess I read about his politics about a decade ago, but had forgotten. My friend worked with him in the seventies) at the gliderport, and my friend was quirky, but not as odd as Karl apparently was.

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Mad_Rooster_7164@reddit

Nice! What’s a base record? A record for the airfield? How are you launched and to what altitude?

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toshibathezombie@reddit

I think OP is a royal air force air cadet (UK version of JROTC) and if my memory from experience serves me right, that's a grob viking

They are operated by VGS squadrons (volunteer gliding schools), I guess similar to CAP in America?

Vikings are usually launched to 1000-1500ft iirc.

The cadet here was with an instructor if it was he first time, usually get about 20-30 mins air time before landing and switching out with another cadet.

I can't speak for all VGS squadrons but my old one was winch launched and had to stay below airspace above

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