...and for the record that last comment was bit of fun....i have a lot of respect for you guys.

Kind regards. :)

Hey, watch any glider pilot come swooping in from base leg, 45 degree turn onto final with spoilers deployed, nose down, descending like a brick, then tell me it's for pansies !!

It's a blast.

tell me about it.....i was at Lasham a few weeks ago - you guys amaze me with your approches.

Skill or what!

Now have approx 500 launches in my log book and will never go back to cesspit flying...it just seems dull.....

if you ever get bored when gliding...then it's time you snuffed it and got buried in a box. for me, memorable highlights of gliding so far...
first solo ( obviously)
first aero tow ( bloody weird pointing the nose down at 70 kts near the ground)
first loop....
first passenger i took...

and what I now have to do is let my first student land it for the first time... the thought scares me stupid...but its one of those things that I am gonna have to do very soon! :eek:

Just to update y'all on my quest for engineless enlightenment:

Back at the end of June, I decided to give the Derbyshire & Lancashire Gliding Club a try. This turned out to be a wise move, and two months later, I was a converted gliding fanatic.

"What have you been doing in the holidays" school essay style thing:

My first impression I got of the site, through the heavy mist was "Airfield?... What airfield?". Camphill is a very daunting sight to a power pilot, accustomed to long stretches of flat tarmac to land on. I generally found the flying qualities of the Puchacz quite pleasing compared with the Tomahawks I had been used to, but the training was far more thorough at the most basic level than PPL training. My boundaries were pushed from the outset, and in particular, my circuit planning and general handling have improved no end since this summer.

From turning up with a PPL, it took about 30 winch launches to get to my first solo/cable break/near death experience :eek:, but not before being put through copious amounts of spinning, stalling and an occasional loop and chandelle (altitude permitting :D). I am now slowly working my way out of the early solo bracket.

I have made many new friends at the club, and now return as regularly as I can, regardless of whether the conditions are flyable. If PPRuNe rules allow it, I would like to recommend the D&LGC in particular, as well as gliding in general, to anyone who is up for a more challenging flying experience.

The End (Well, hopefully not, in fact!)

Thanks for all the encouraging comments.

Pie.

Pielander.
Now you can see why we glider pilots always claim to be better than pure power pilots whenever someone raises the question. Without that engine up front, you can really feel the aeroplane.
I don`t have that much experience but as far as I have found so far, any glider is nicer to fly than any powered aircraft.

Mike W

Have to disagree with you very strongly, there Skylark 4. I've experience of gliding, and the sport certainly has its delights, but as far 'nice to fly' goes IMHO gliders come just above C150s and PA 28s. Very slow roll rate, for one.

Try a Chipmunk or a Yak, then see if you still think gliders are better to fly that powered aircraft.

And for aeros it's no contest. The Yak is just amazing - but a glider trying to do aeros is way out of its element. A bit like a bicycle competeing in a motor race.

Of course, Yaks don't soar too well (Chippies aren't bad!), but it's 'nice to fly' we're talking about here ;~)

SSD

SSD
By nice to fly, I mean in the day to day handling, Take-off, A to B and landing. The Grob115E is pretty good but it was built by a Glider manufacturer.

We are comparing apples and oranges here, an Extra 300 with a 17 metre wingspan would not have a great roll rate but it would do some very pretty aerobatics. Did you ever see that aero duo who used to fly a pair of RF4 motorgliders. So graceful.

The Ogar I share has the nastiest aielerons of any aircraft I have ever come across.

Mike W.

Aint nothing to beat that smell of burnt kerosene or hydrocarbons first thing in the morning, give me a big throbbing thingy anytime,
My Regards, Pansie! :D ;)

Actually, I found the Grob 115 to be big dissapointment. Looks good, but handles like a spamcan.

Barton has 2. I flew them both. But not for long ;~)

SSD