Drifting through the forums as you do, I stumbled across this delightful thread
With almost 9000 hours of fixed wing and helicopters I can honestly say that the limited ammount of gliding that I have done (Silver C) was some of the most memorable flying of all. It is an experience that everyone should try if only once, and one that should be mandatory for all pilots of other airborne devices
There is nothing quite like the first winch and tow launch and the experience of almost silent flight followed by the fabulous rumble of the skid and wheel on grass when landing.
As an exercise in judgement and development of flying skills it cannot be beaten. As a fixed wing instructor it gave me a great insight into developing my students PFL technique. And for engine off autorotations in helicopters, the ability to judge the correct flare and touch down attitude I feel can be related to landing a glider, especially a K13 which I always found required positive handling to get the touchdown correct and smooth.
I would also like to comment on the amazing encouragement and advice given to chillindan by everyone who has contributed their posts. It reminds me of why I wanted to fly and why flying clubs can be so much fun. It is about the friendship and willingness of people who you have not yet met to go out of their way to mentor someone new and bring them into the flying fold
Reading this thread makes me wish I could start over again! It is so refreshing to come across this sort of thread rather that the seemingly endless slaging and backstabing which many other posts degenerate into.
Good luck chillindan. Enjoy it. I look forward to reading about how you are getting on.
amcp