Glider Pilots Stay Up Longer!
 

We sure did, on Saturday! Astir 8, I saw on another thread you did pretty good, how long were you airborne? did you go cross country?

Couple of our pilots went swanning round the scenery, down to Nympsfield, near Stroud, up to Hus Bos (almost), and didn't come back for four hours or more. I managed to get my butt in the back seat of the club K13, got a winch launch to 1300 feet which is not bad, and found a thermal over Shenington village, worked it to 2,000', found another, then as I had promised to return the glider to the CFI who was giving club members their General Flying Review, managed to throw away some height with a couple of spins, and so to landing.

Lucy, our 19 year old star, stayed up in the K8 two hours, she said the first hour was fun, but the second hour her feet were FREEZING! The two hour flight is a qualification for cross country flying.

Just for the record, my longest flight in a glider was in a competition, 511 killometers, took me 8 hours and 53 minutes to get round the task! Not very fast, but I got round!

Glider pilots stay up longer. Fact.

But is it so satisfying?:ooh:

John Gilbert flew a 400km task in just over 6hrs yesterday in a slingsby skylark 3. It most be over 50yrs old and is wood and fabric. Dave mason flew 680km in 7hrs 30. Much more fun than boring holes in the sky in a SEP.

Well the good thing is that (as yet) - they haven't taxed thermals so if you are flying your own glider then 'the staying up loger' is not actually costing anything :)
Of course if it is a good day then you will be sightseeing around the country :)

Truth is it is exponentially more satisfying!

Though it is an error to compare the two.


BB

Dont think I had heard a boast about how long you were allowed to stay up for since I was in primary school ;)

If the medium you are flying in is stable, flat and boring you will not stay up very long!
If its got a lot of potential energy to play with and exciting too boot you may stay up for hours.
Moral!!! if you want to stay up for a long time make sure the medium you are working is unstable, exciting and full of potential energy :E:E

Pace

A good day is when you stay up longer than it takes to drive to and from your glider field from a major urban centre.

A great day is when your glider distance exceeds your driving distance:ok:

of course long flights brings up the question of how to relieve oneself. Some gliders have pee tubes or you can always use a water bottle. Once though, I got caught out on a 300km attempt and had to take one glove off and use that, then chuck it out the CV panel! But how do the ladies manage?

They've got smaller hands, so they have to use both gloves.

Chris
Freezer bags from Sainsbugs work for me so long as its not too cold :O

Adult incontinence pads. The hard part is actually letting go, and then it's not very comfortable sitting soggy for the rest of the flight.

Wish there was a record for the shortest x country. My first silver c attempt from dunstable ended when I tried slope soaring ivinghoe beacon and landed in a field near its base less than 4km from launch point. Any worse offers? Hat off to the 400 k in a skylark 3. Must have been a great day.

Not always.....

When I did my first 5 hour flight (for Silver 'C') the logger (connected to GPS) reckoned I'd covered over 300km:ok: - all within 3km of the airfield:sad:.

OC619

At least your logger worked.

<Not speaking as someone who achieved Silver Height yesterday but failed to check the logger was working before launching, not me...nope...>

Why is boring holes in the sky in a glider more fun than boring holes in the sky in a SEP?

I always compare gliding to sailing, and SEP flying to motorboating.

When sailing you are extremely busy the whole day. Keeping track of the wind and other weather phenomena, and how best to use this to get to the next turning point fastest. Where are the trees, what areas to avoid, where to tack, and so forth. But at the end of the day you dock the boat at exactly the same dock where you left in the morning.

In contrast, motor boating is a reasonable reliable way of getting from A to B with a minimum amount of fuss. It's also pretty boring. As long as the engine works you point the bow in the right direction and that's it. It only becomes "interesting" when the engine fails. Because then you need to do something with the anchor, quickly.

Gliding is like sailing. You are very busy throughout the day, keeping track of wind, sunshine, thermals, finding areas of possible lift, keeping track of airspeed, altitude, airspace and whatnot, and how best to use all this to get to the next turning point fastest. But at the end of the day the glider usually ends up in the same hangar it left in the morning.

In contrast, motor flying is a reasonable reliable way of getting from A to B with the minimum amount of fuss. It's also pretty boring. As long as the engine works you point the nose in the right direction, do a bit of wind compensation and that's it. It only becomes interesting when the engine fails.

Because gliding requires additional skills experience and luck. A bit like sailing rather than just driving a powerboat. I do all these and sailing and gliding are way more fun.

Sorry, being a bit naughty...;)

I started gliding a quarter century ago and am fairly well aware of the skills involved...

But, I also fly SEPs and there are a different set of skills involved and an SEP does different things and is used for a different purpose, so saying 'Yah boo, you can't fly for a squillion hours in an SEP using no fuel like you can in a glider' is akin to saying that a saucepan doesn't vacuum as good as a Dyson. Well yep, we know that.

Ah this takes me back many years to when I did my Silver "C" duration flight. Over 5 hours in a Swallow flying in very bumpy hill lift and heavy rain and snow showers on the hill ridges around Feshiebridge in the Cairngorms.....I came back feeling like a frozen snotter but such an exhilerating flight! :cool: