Gliding.

Author
Discussion

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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marksx said:
The only difficulty I see is committing full days.
And with that you've hot on one of the problems...

marksx

Original Poster:

5,052 posts

189 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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RichB said:
And with that you've hot on one of the problems...
Nah, it's only a difficulty. Difficulties are for overcoming.

Simpo Two

85,149 posts

264 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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Tine to get wifey interested too then!

(the A-frame glider on the previous page looks identical to the one we had in the CCF, though I never flew it, I was only Bungee Puller)

marksx

Original Poster:

5,052 posts

189 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
Tine to get wifey interested too then!

(the A-frame glider on the previous page looks identical to the one we had in the CCF, though I never flew it, I was only Bungee Puller)
I'd love to, and I'll try, but she's very much a 'feet on the ground' type of woman!

Out of interest, can you take passengers in two seat gliders when solo rated?

I'm guessing not, and both would have to be trained?

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
quotequote all
marksx said:
Out of interest, can you take passengers in two seat gliders when solo rated?
No, you would need to be a basic instructor.
ETA: Or at least that was the position at Booker a few years ago, this may have changed. But with all the new EASA rules and regs I'd only expect it to be more stringent not less. wink

Edited by RichB on Tuesday 28th October 10:45

Big News

1,937 posts

178 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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At my club once you've got your Silver badge and judged to be reasonably competent enough not to kill yourself and whoever is flying with you, you can get your 'Friends and Families' rating which allows you to take passengers.

Big News

1,937 posts

178 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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If you have issues committing full days, see if you can get a pass from the wife to do a week-long course, that should give you a really good start in more of a 'holiday' context. By the nature of the sport, a lot of clubs are based in some really beautiful places, so it will be a nice getaway for her too.

As has been said, not being able to commit full days does make things harder, but it's not end-game; whilst every club has its fair share of grumpy buggers, if you explain to people that you've got a young family etc, and you can't always commit full days, they should be fine with it. Don't expect to just turn up and fly, but if you can get up early to help unpack the hangar then need to shoot off in the afternoon, or arrive a bit later and stay to put away the toys at the end of the day, that should be more than okay!

jjones

4,422 posts

192 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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i would rather look at paramotor than gliding. too much going in circles for my liking. you can still thermal with a paramotor but also have the option of firing the engine up and going where you actually want to go (wind allowing!)

training budget would be about the same as gliding (legally zero training required but this would be extremely dangerous to attempt without proper training).

Simpo Two

85,149 posts

264 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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jjones said:
i would rather look at paramotor
That's just a hang glider. I had a go in one of these:



When the ground gets too close you pull on the throttle and it goes away again... but it's not as pure as a glider and makes a noise.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 28th October 14:20

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
jjones said:
i would rather look at paramotor
That's just a hang glider. I had a go in one of these:



When the ground gets too close you pull on the throttle and it goes away again... but it's not as pure as a glider and makes a noise.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 28th October 14:20
Fine as a training machine for teaching field landings but they're a bit clunky and aren't comparable to a glider in terms of fun, speed, exhilaration and sheer satisfaction of flying for 3 or 4 hours using nothing but the elements.

Big News

1,937 posts

178 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
quotequote all
jjones said:
i would rather look at paramotor than gliding. too much going in circles for my liking. you can still thermal with a paramotor but also have the option of firing the engine up and going where you actually want to go (wind allowing!)

training budget would be about the same as gliding (legally zero training required but this would be extremely dangerous to attempt without proper training).
An increasing number of gliders are now 'turbos' - that is, they have a small engine that extends which you can fire up if it looks like you're going to have to land out. It's definitely 'cheating', but if you're flying a big heavy two-seater with 25m wings, you don't really want to be trying to put it down in marginal fields, so it's fairly sensible.

I don't particularly like the idea of using my feet as an undercarriage, or my wing being what is essentially a parachute...

VernalEquinox

142 posts

210 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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RichB said:
ine as a training machine for teaching field landings but they're a bit clunky and aren't comparable to a glider in terms of fun, speed, exhilaration and sheer satisfaction of flying for 3 or 4 hours using nothing but the elements.
Best of both worlds


RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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VernalEquinox said:
Best of both worlds
I don't know I've never flown one, it does seem like cheating and a lot of the enjoyment comes from beating the elements or the adrenalin and sweat when you think you're going to have to give up and land out. On the other hand I can see the pleasure in being able to fly to a ridge or hill, play for a while and fly back.

Webber3

1,228 posts

218 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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RichB said:
I don't know I've never flown one, it does seem like cheating and a lot of the enjoyment comes from beating the elements or the adrenalin and sweat when you think you're going to have to give up and land out. On the other hand I can see the pleasure in being able to fly to a ridge or hill, play for a while and fly back.
Dead handy for the winter months though, but given the price of these aircraft it's probably cheaper to fly powered!

How about a jet powered self launcher...

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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Webber3 said:
How about a jet powered self launcher...
Rather appealing just because you could say you've got your own jet! What sort of licence do you need to fly this?

Simpo Two

85,149 posts

264 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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Very James Bond! (next film will have to have a glider chase in it)

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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Well, there's this classic scene from The Thomas Crown Affair. I don't think Steve McQueen is actually piloting that, but if so his observation before doing that chandelle is appalling wink

http://youtu.be/nK5fy8D_Gag

VernalEquinox

142 posts

210 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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RichB said:
ather appealing just because you could say you've got your own jet! What sort of licence do you need to fly this?
If it can self-launch, I'd guess an NPPL with SLMG rating would do the trick. It's still a Self Launched Motor Glider, even though it has a jet engine rather than a piston (or electric).

From my reading, some of these jet gliders are actually self-sustaining rather than self-launching (not enough poke) so you don't actually need a licence at all, it's just a glider.

jjones

4,422 posts

192 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
quotequote all
Big News said:
I don't particularly like the idea of using my feet as an undercarriage, or my wing being what is essentially a parachute...
Fixed wing with engine using anything other than your legs as undercarriage requires a licence though.

Personally I wouldn't fly paramotors or gliders but if my budget were restricted I would take a paramotor over a glider.

STURBO

319 posts

159 months

Tuesday 28th October 2014
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jjones said:
i would rather look at aramotor than gliding. too much going in circles for my liking. you can still thermal with a paramotor but also have the option of firing the engine up and going where you actually want to go (wind allowing!)

training budget would be about the same as gliding (legally zero training required but this would be extremely dangerous to attempt without proper training).
Learning to Paramotor without training whilst legal is idiotic. I don't think many Paramotor pilots actually thermal. It's not the point really and not that easy to do. Also it's really noisy and if powered flight is your thing then I'd look toward PPL etc. Just my opinion.

I can recommend Paragliding though, a fantastic challenging sport. Easy to get the basics, but very challenging to improve. Exciting without being extreme.

To those who think "going round in circles" is boring, then I'd suggest you try it first. Going round in circles in a bumpy thermal at 5 thousand feet above the British countryside with an unknown adventure before you certainly isn't boring. In fact I'd love to know what you do that isn't boring by that criteria. I'd certainly say after doing lots of paragliding that it's easily the most fulfilling activity I've done. I'm sure gliding has similar rewards and challenges.