Gliders vs Planes

[carve_gybe]

I've been a closet aviation far for years. I am 36 years old and have reached a decision time: either I do something about it or I shall be confined to being a MFSX geek forever.

I am about to move to South Africa, where it is reasonably easy to get a pilots license. But I live in Kenley, Surrey now and have spend most of today's glorious sunny days on the Kenley airfield watching the gliders. I can imagine the feeling of freedom and uncomplicated proximity to the concept of flying as very attractive.

So in my coming out of the closet I want to throw it out to everyone. Should I go for gliding or should I get a pilot's license?

I know some of you would say you can do both. But for the purpose of answering my question, assume the two options are mutually exclusive.

Thank you!

Chris

[22/04]

OK. It really depends what you want to do.

SA is great for gliding/soaring; competitively or non-competitively you can set challenges involving flying hundrerds of km with you seeking out where the lift is to keep you airborne. Most gliding is done in single seaters but two seaters are either very sociable or still competitive; the latter will cost you more.

Flying light aeroplanes is more like taking a drive out, albeit requiring greater skill. very sociable, requires less time and more likely to impress those of the opposite gender.

I do both; you pays your money and take your choice or you pay more money! don't try to do them both at the same time though; I've flown gliders for 25 years and powered aeroplanes for 10

Hope this helps.

[Intruder]

I'd recommend gliding. In all my 35+ years and 10,000+ hours of flying, I learned more per hour or flight about flying in gliders.

[Cremeegg]

IMHO gliding gives you a far better appreciation of what's going on in the sky. To be successful and fly any distance you have to have a good appreciation of what is happening in the air, why the lift you had ten seconds ago has now turned into a huge area of sink. You begin to get a far better appreciation and understanding of weather, of landscape and how it affects your flight.

There is something immensely satisfying about finding a small area of lift just when you were about to give up and land and staying in that lift for maybe thousands of feet. All extra time/distance gained purely by the use of your own skill and the great forces of Mother Nature not some immensely noisy thing up front.

The joy of sharing a thermal with the birds, the amazement of hearing voices in a single seat glider - voices that are walking across a field hundreds of feet below you - yet you can still hear them borne aloft.

But yes the frustration of needing others to get you airborne and not always being able to go exactly where you want.

I think everyone should start by gliding - it concentrates the mind when you have no chance of a go-around. Your circuit planning, your landing skills are far higher. Gliding every time for me - get ready for some huge and very bumpy thermals in SA.

[Dan Winterland]

Gliding is pure flying. If you can only sample a small amount of what flying is about, gliding will give you the greatest returns.

[dbenj]

Unless you have a really good need for air transportation, soaring (what glider pilots really do!) is the right answer. It is pure sport, remarkably satisfying aesthetically - playing with clouds! How cool! - and technical enough to keep you mentally sharp. If flying with a club, you can keep the costs down and there is great camaraderie. And you will meet some great people!

Powered pilots so often seem to be looking for someplace to go where they don't need a car on the other end. This often turns into a $300 hamburger at the greasy spoon restaurant at some remote airport.

[pulse1]

It really depends on two questions.

1. How much money have you got?

2. How much time have you got?

If you have lots of 1. and not much 2., go power. If you have a lot of 2. and not much 1., go gliding.

Learning to glide in the UK usually means spending the whole day in which you may get 3 t/o and landings. Less if soaring conditions are good. You could go on a gliding course (week) in which, depending on weather and your aptitude, you might just get to go solo. But remember, that going solo means a lot more than it does in power. It usually means that you cleared to fly solo whenever you like, under supervision.

[carve_gybe]

Thank you all for valuable responses to my question. Decision made: gliding it is. Looking forward to the bumpy thermals in SA!

Chris

[Capot]

There's no law against doing both, and the skills combine in the tug pilot.

Power and soaring are both equally fantastic in their different ways, and you'll be a much better pilot if you have gliding skills.

I would say that, of course, because I do both. But it's worth thinking about; they're not mutually exclusive.

[ClippedCub]

Do both, then you can tow in exchange for tows/instruction.