My first Glider Flight this Saturday :)?

Question

I have got my first Glider flight booked this saturday at a local gliding club, i want to be a pilot, ive had no 'real' flight experience, i have a simulator setup at home, and have got alot of flight time on that, i also know quite abit about aircrafts in general, the club instructor said i could have a go at the controls, which i know im gunna love.

If i like it as much as i say i will, i will probably take glider flying lessons, atleast it would be a way of gradually getting my PPL.

Answer 1

That's excellent, you'll have a lot of fun and you'll be a better pilot for it if you obtain your glider pilot certificate before advancing to powered aircraft. However, you've probably already learned some bad habits with your flight sim, so be prepared for a possibly humbling experience.

Answer 2

Good for you. I remember my one and only glider flight many years ago...it was actually after I had been a pilot for awhile. The biggest noticeable difference? A glider flight is so much quieter!



You can get a PPL with only a glider rating, that much is true. I don't think logging glider time is going to do a heck of a lot of good preparing you for powered aircraft, however. Yes, the basic flight controls are the same, but the two are TOTALLY different animals. But if you enjoy glider flying...it certainly can't hurt and you'd be doing it for the right reason!

Answer 3

The glider will be lighter and more sensitive on the controls than a powered aircraft and it will probably be much more difficult to fly than your sim! I must warn you that getting time in a glider is nice, but does not really help you to get a PPL. If you are really serious about learning to fly, look into doing an (expensive) residential course - living at an airfield and living and breathing the learning to fly experience. It's so intense that to do it properly you need to do it that way.



Good luck.

Answer 4

I wouldn't say that gliding could advance your PPL or even make you a better pilot. We have a soaring club here and most of the glider pilots are just as useless at the controls of a power plane as us power pilots would be on a glider without proper training.



Do gliding because you like gliding, not as a stepping stone to something else.

Answer 5

Is there a question buried in there somewhere?



Depending where you live, gliding can advance your PPL. In Canada you can carry over 5 hours PIC in gliders towards your total required PPL hours. Not sure the regs in the States.



Gliding is also great for the hands and feet skills. When I moved from gliders the powered aircraft, all I had to do was get used to having an engine in front of me.

Answer 6

Gliders are fun. It's like you're wearing something that flies.



You can feel it flex around you when you hit bumps and do turns.



It's quiet. If it's good glider weather, it will be bumpy.

Answer 7

To the best of my knowledge, flying a glider would not advance the PPL program at all. Better check with a CFI for up-to-date info. Have fun!!!