So can someone explain how glider pilots manage with minimal training, minimal instrumentation and hardly ever seem to come to grief?
I like the change in direction on this thread!
I fly both power and glider; I'm an instructor on the latter.
I don't know that there is a definative answer but one thing, I have learned through experience, is how differently glider pilots are attuned to the attitude of the aircraft by feel, rather than instruments.
I can detect changes in speed as low as 5 kts by reference to the noise in the cockpit and attitude - not by looking at the ASI. My bum (through the seat) can feel a change in attitude and lift, before the instruments have time to respond. Consequently I can maintain a constant (ish) airspeed, without reference to the ASI; and that helps significantly in maintaining a constant attitude in cloud (or anywhere else)
Glider pilots learn to recognise the symptoms of the stall through feel and take the appropraite action - the stick goes forward. Flying in a tight thermal with fully flaps 45 degrees of bank, I am close to the stall: If I
Sense, ease forward on the stick - carry on flying; no electrical stall warnings - just sense:
I don't need a T&S to tell me when I'm slipping or skiddiing when flying gliders - I have a yaw string.
With 15-20 meters of wing, I can tell (normally) on which side of the glider the strongest lift is, through my seat.
When flying cross country, even though I fly on QNH, I don't know the height of the ground, and hardley ever look at the altimeter when landing out in a field (its all done by eye)
(if fact the cross-country endorsement requires you to do field landings with the altimeter covered up/offset)
The basic controls of a glider and a power aircraft are the same: stick goes forward - cows get bigger.
Heads outs of the cockpit, a constant lookout; not looking at the instruments and flying intuatively all help.
But I think thats where the similarity ends; glider pilots are IMHO far more intune with the aircraft that power pilots, and maybee that has something to do with it?