| My Travels with Charlie
By: Rory Dezzutti, Posted: June 13 2006
I have been going to glider contests with my Dad since I was three years old. I have now been to fourteen contests and I am ten years old. I always like being with Charlie Spratt at contests ... [ More ] Glide experience at the US Air Force Academy
By: Jason Tudor, Posted: October 20 2005
I recently piloted a glider at the US Air Force Academy. You can read about the experience by visitin ... [ More ] Kiting Response - Daniels
By: From Bill Daniels, Winch Launch Pres, Posted: December 8 2004
The PW-5 may have undesirable winch launch behavior, I don't know since I have never flown one.
Most gliders will not pitch up on their own even with a CG hook regardless of the ac ... [ More ] Exciting Times!!!
By: Daithí O'Grádaidh, Posted: August 26 2004
I recently took my first flight after four years away. A gentle, calm and typically Irish day. We had a crosswind and lots of turbulence just above the trees of the airfield. We flew out ove ... [ More ] The Magic Valley
By: Kevin Brooker, Posted: June 25 2004
After driving nine hours through bright sunshine, torrential downpours, snow squalls and some of the darkest sections of road I have ever encountered I just wanted to sleep. Arriving at Miff ... [ More ] A D-Day Anniversary Experience
By: Imazad, Posted: June 3 2004
My adventure began on a hazy morning a couple of years ago at North Hill. The date was June 6 and I was at it again. Every year on that date, I fly, weather, cash flow and family permittin ... [ More ] To fly or not to fly
By: Dennis Neal, Posted: April 21 2004
I had been learning to fly for some months and my membership was about to expire. I had been so dispirited by lack of progress on my part and was certain I would never go solo. I had not bee ... [ More ] Just One Of Those Days
By: Joe Williams, Posted: March 21 2004
What I really like about gliding is it’s totally unpredictable. You ever know what’s going to happen, however carefully you plan. My object on this particular day was to have a gentle half a ... [ More ] First Time's Ride
By: Tom Coussens, Posted: February 5 2004
"Hey", I said, "you want to go soaring with me next week while the others are golfing?" "Sure", she said, "I love light planes". "This one doesn't have an engine". “Oh?”, she said, ... [ More ] Why fly?
By: Isabelle Jones, Posted: January 25 2004
Why fly? Really. Constantly checking the weather. TV and Internet indicate a good day, call Flight Service just to be sure before hooking up the trailer. Everything is in agreement, ... [ More ] A Major Disappointment
By: Ron Harrison, Posted: January 24 2004
I’d love to be able to recall a wonderful flight, a moment which made the waiting about worthwhile, a time I could stock away in my memory to pull out in later years when flying is over, but ... [ More ] The Fix
By: Dave Jenkins, Posted: November 14 2003
Life’s hard. The job’s a drag, the girl-friend’s gone, the bills are cluttering my desk and spilling over onto the keyboard, horror of horrors there’s too much hair in my comb, my briefcase ... [ More ] A wave flight on June 20.
By: Mike Rubin, Posted: October 8 2003
Note that wave like this is not so common in the flat south of England- in ten years this is my only proper experience of wave. I had a most extraordinary flight on June 20 in the Surrey & ... [ More ] My First 300km
By: Michael Rubin, Posted: September 30 2003
Saturday, August 30, 2003 was the day a cold plume of air came down from the arctic and threatened showery conditions across the UK in a cool northerly breeze. However, I had an inkling it ... [ More ] That useless wooden thing!
By: Horacio Rivara, Posted: September 19 2003
(This is mostly a real story, but some events and names have been changed for obvious reasons.) “It’s really not very good on a Sunday to stay working at home on the business balance the b ... [ More ] The Wave Widow
By: Kevin Brooker, Posted: September 3 2003
The Wave Widow
By: Kevin Brooker, Posted: 9/2/2003 “What are you doing today?” Sarah pours herself a cup of coffee before flipping the eggs in the skillet, and pops the muffin out of th ... [ More ] Summer Travels
By: Keith Willis, Posted: September 3 2003
In June this year, I was booked and preparing to go to Poland to the 28th World Gliding Championships, as Team Manager for the Australian Team, when I received an email from an unknown glide ... [ More ] Throttle-Bender's Delight
By: Tom Coussens, Posted: August 11 2003
Last year this Pawnee tow pilot wrote about a long flight in a 1-26, ditty-bopping about the Mojave Desert near El Mirage. That was pretty cool, until it was eclipsed last weekend. Some ti ... [ More ] Colorado to Oregon in a Motorglider
By: Sonja Englert, Posted: August 5 2003
My motorglider had to stay behind for the winter when I moved from Denver to Oregon in November. Now, in May, the weather seemed more suitable to bring my plane to my new home. My motorglide ... [ More ] A Close Encounter of the Wrong Kind
By: AL (not giving full name), Posted: March 15 2003
I wonder how many of early solo pilots (like myself) will press the Back button in their browser when they see these words: never underestimate the importance of lookout.
Yes, this ... [ More ] Outlandings
By: Sonja Englert, Posted: March 6 2003
OUTLANDINGS Glider Stories by Sonja Englert I have been a glider pilot since 1982, when I learned to fly in Germany. I started flying in a club near Frankfurt, but eventually made my mos ... [ More ] Ride The Sky
By: Mary Kunert, Posted: December 9 2002
Years ago, in a previous life, I had the opportunity to take flight on a para-sail pulled behind a jeep on the Southwest desert of California. I treasure that short time of complete freedom ... [ More ] Zippity Do Dah; Acro Lessons at Turf
By: Charles Petersen, Posted: December 7 2002
Zippity Do Dah
The shriek of the wind noise dropped in volume and pitch. I was straining to see the horizon reappear, leaning my head back as far as I could, when first I heard the singin ... [ More ] Twenty-Knot Crosswind: Put it down or wait it out?
By: Beth Ann Schneider, Posted: December 5 2002
Twenty-Knot Crosswind: Put it down or wait it out?
By: Beth Ann Schneider, Posted: 12/5/2002 There I was ... in the back seat of a Grob 103 holding on for the ride of my life. Four hund ... [ More ] CROSS COUNTRY IN A SELF-LAUNCH GLIDER
By: Joe Dobronski, Posted: November 17 2002
CROSS COUNTRY IN A SELF-LAUNCH GLIDER Since June 2000, I have been flying the Stemme S10-VT motorglider. STEMME USA, the marketing arm for the German manufacturer in Strausberg, Germany, ... [ More ] My Soaring Adventure
By: Peggy Loeffler, Posted: November 9 2002
What would it take to lure a born and bred New England girl away from the lush green hills of north-west Connecticut to travel to the hot Nevada desert in the middle of July? An invitation t ... [ More ] Pretty Long Flight Without a Throttle
By: Tom Coussens, Posted: September 26 2002
Last Saturday I flew the longest continuous flight in my entire flying experience of over 30 years: 4 hours! And I didn't even touch the throttle, 'cause I didn't have one. Pretty stark cont ... [ More ] The Day I Finally Did It!!!
By: Ariane Decloux, Posted: August 5 2002
Sometimes everything works together, being in the right place at the right time with just enough preparation. On July 13, after seeing Jack Harrison’s weather forecast, I was finally conv ... [ More ] First Cross Country
By: Kevin Christner, Posted: July 27 2002
“I’m telling you Kevin. The lift is booming NOW and you’d better get going,” says J.J.
“Yah, I’m sure. It’s probably like the other days where I’ll end up on the ground in ten minutes ... [ More ] 1018.71km in a Std Jantar
By: Andreas Hänggi, Posted: May 7 2002
Flying tales can be very tedious, even for those who are initiated, and they are of little importance for extending the distance of the flight, so I am going to be as concise as possible. Be ... [ More ] Mt. Hood Wave Flight
By: Tom Archer, Posted: February 15 2002
My First Experience with the Mt. Hood Wave Gary departed first, towing behind Bernies Supercub, one one Echo. I followed a few minutes later. The sky looked promising, with wave type c ... [ More ] How to survive sticky situations
By: Steve Liddell, Posted: February 13 2002
I've been a pilot for about seven months now having received my qualifications last summer at the Central Region Gliding School and I have already had a few nerve racking situations even i ... [ More ] The UK 2001 Junior Nationals - Part 1
By: Andy Holmes, Posted: February 13 2002
It makes me sick that I missed two of them - Junior Nationals that is. How did I get back there last year, what happened while I was there and, more importantly, what is the plan for 2002 f ... [ More ] The UK 2001 Junior Nationals - Part 2
By: Andy Holmes, Posted: February 13 2002
The team aren’t sure about Wednesday, so they set an Assigned Area Task. Unfortunately the team aren’t sure about AATs either. There is much discussion at the briefing as we realise that t ... [ More ] The UK 2001 Junior Nationals - Part 3
By: Andy Holmes, Posted: February 13 2002
I settle into a rhythm very quickly. Today, it appears, things are starting to come together. There are perhaps 15-20 gliders ahead of me, and a sky full of cumulus. Cruising towards Sout ... [ More ] B-1 Crew Recsue
By: Dean Abbott, Posted: January 4 2002
Subject: Account of B-1 Crash/Rescue in the Indian Ocean. A good read from the rescurer's point of view. As everyone knows, we had a busy night. No matter what you hear on the news, this ... [ More ] AAAAAAAAH!!!!... Wait a minute!! I know what to do
By: Kevin Taylor, Posted: December 5 2001
This summer I learned to glide at the Central Region Gliding School. It is the gliding school for all of the Canadian Air Cadet gliding scholarship winners. During the six weeks in which ... [ More ] My Fantastic Weeks In April
By: Stefano Maruelli, Posted: August 21 2001
My fantastic weeks in April. Every year, after a long and cool winter, the spring sun wakes up the Alps pilots and our flights become longer every day. I had a fantastic gliding holiday in ... [ More ] RAFGSA Expedition - Dymanic Darling
By: Jon Arnold, Posted: August 6 2001
(A Pom's Eye View of Flying Inverted) The year 2000 heralded the most ambitious and arguably most successful expedition of the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association's 50 year his ... [ More ] Reflections of a Semi-Beginner in Texas
By: Glenn Smith, Posted: June 22 2001
Nineteen flights down and who knows what is next. You see last fall I took my first ride in a glider at a local airport (see earlier article entitled "Reflections of a Beginner in Texas"). I ... [ More ] Falking To Scotland
By: David W Smart, Posted: March 14 2001
My Sister-in-law phoned and invited me to my brothers 40th birthday party in Kincraig, near Aviemore. At last, a good excuse to fly up to Scotland. I started thinking about the trip. Better ... [ More ] Beginner's Luck
By: Drue Apple, Posted: February 26 2001
I had just soloed the Grob 103 a few minutes before, doing three back-to-back flights in the pattern. With only a small number of total flights in the log book, I was hesitant to do solo fl ... [ More ] 3000 nm Rockies Soaring Safari--Part III
By: Marc Arnold, Posted: February 11 2001
A Solo Soaring Safari over the Rockies:
3,000 NM in a Stemme S10 Chrysalis
Self-Launching Sailplane
Part III Marc Arnold At only 60 fpm, it was hard work--a balance of intense ... [ More ] 3000 nm Rockies Soaring Safari--Part II
By: Marc Arnold, Posted: February 11 2001
A Solo Soaring Safari over the Rockies:
3,000 NM in a Stemme S10 Chrysalis
Self-Launching Sailplane
Part II Marc Arnold Mountainous terrain is welcomed by a soaring pilot in se ... [ More ] 3000 nm Rockies Soaring Safari -- Part I
By: Marc Arnold, Posted: February 11 2001
A Solo Soaring Safari over the Rockies:
3,000 NM in a Stemme S10 Chrysalis
Self-Launching Sailplane
Part I Marc Arnold It isn't possible to capture the beauty and splendor of s ... [ More ] Every flight might be my last
By: Harry O’Brien, Posted: January 24 2001
No, I’m not getting morbid and I’m not really very old, but there is something so precious about gliding that each time I lift off into the air I thank whoever is keeping an eye on us up the ... [ More ] Reflections of a Beginner in Texas
By: Glenn Smith, Posted: January 10 2001
After watching a glider circle over my small Texas town for several hours, I went to the airport to check it out. I asked the manager of our airport "Where are the glider people?" He told ... [ More ] I Lost my Shirt Tail!
By: Frank Van Rooy, Posted: September 19 2000
After 34 flights, ten hours of stick time and with the patience from my instructor worthy of a saint, I finally solo'ed. My lesson on Saturday was scheduled from 5 to 7PM in hopes of poss ... [ More ] My First Flight in a Glider
By: John Bott, Posted: August 19 2000
Hi, my name is John Bott from the Blue Mountains NSW and I'm 13 and I'd like to tell you about my first flight in a glider. On Sunday the 19th of March, I was at an airfield out at Bathurs ... [ More ] A Couple of Adventures for Two Learners
By: Geoffrey Bott, Posted: August 13 2000
After a 3 month break due to domestic bliss and other less important reasons, I finally got my act together and headed off to my club (Bathurst Soaring Club) at Eglinton. just outside of Bat ... [ More ] Lift is not required for a Motorglider trip!
By: Peter van Schoonhoven, Posted: March 31 2000
Motorgliding Magazine Re: Possible article for posting on the web . By: Peter van Schoonhoven
11601 NE 266th St
Battle ground, WA 98604
360-687-2356
... [ More ] Attempting the 1000km hat trick
By: Bob Ward, Posted: March 20 2000
Early in November, I realised that I faced the rather daunting prospect of three trips by road to Victoria in as many months, from my home in Queensland. First to deliver my Ventus 2CM to Sp ... [ More ] Flight of the Owl
By: Denis Lambert, Posted: March 20 2000
Ken Stehbens and I had been planning 300km to 500km task for some time from the Darling Downs Soaring Club out of McCaffreys Field to get the soaring season started for us after a poor winte ... [ More ] FLYING THE WAVE AT HAWKESBURY
By: John Bisscheroux, Posted: March 11 2000
(and other musings by John Bisscheroux) Log book entry "August 22, 1999 Hawkesbury- Mt Tremblant- St Andre Avelin A/P- Thurso- St Andre Avelin A/P- Kilmar- Wend ... [ More ]
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