Second day of gliding lessons

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Second day of gliding lessons

Postby beaky » Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:33 pm

I realize I'm way behind on the flying write-ups (haven't even made a handwritten journal entry since who knows when), but eventually... ;D

For now, some pics. No inflight ones this time- way too busy to take pictures!  :o

It was another good day, but the lift was petering out a bit already. no biggie- I'm still learning the ropes (literally), and the fairly gusty crosswind gave me plenty to do.

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One major advantage of having to wait one's turn by the edge of the threshold is that it affords a good vantage point for watching arrivals...

I think this Piper is based here.

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This Skyhawk was doing circuits...


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As was this very nice Champ... this guy made some superb landings!


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And hey. here comes a Citabria, about to drop a tow rope... wait, that's my cue- time to get to work.  ::)

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After making sure the rope is clear of the runway, I wait for Greg to come in with the 2-33, with Herb squawking in the back seat. ;D


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A good landing- note the cloud of dust where they touched down. A few seconds later, she settles onto the skid and gently comes to a stop.


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The debrief was still in progress when I rolled up on the quad...

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So how'd I do? Well, did two flights, and on the first I felt less at ease than the first time I went up; not sure why. I was wrassling with it, and H. was not amused.  But with him on his handheld coordinating with Mike, I got a lot of straight towing so I could work on my wake-boxing. A few turns after release at 3000, then we headed back for a decent pattern and landing, with very little input from Herb.

Second flight had me working the box again, then after release we did some turning stalls. Fun, but not as much fun as when Herb actually managed to convince 94H to enter a single-turn spin- my first-ever spin in any aircraft, and even more fun than I thought it would be (also a surprise- LOL). ;D

Another acceptable pattern entry, with me turning outside a couple of times before joining the downwind, milking a little bit of lift over the golf course... I will say that throughout both flights, I did a fair job of knowing where I was in relation to the airport most of the time.

It was the last flight of the day, so he had me hold it off in ground effect for a ways, and we rolled out pretty close to the tie-down area.

Then back to the "lounge" for a soda and some hangar tales with the gang, including a story from one pilot which I probably should not share on the Web. ;D

It's fun flying this way- it's like a little party every time. :)
and so far, I'm learning, learning... and not just how to fly gliders. This is about as close to being a real Airport Bum as I can get without owning a plane... I'm "connected" now. ;)

Herb seemed, again, to think I did very well, even though he threatened more than once to hit me during the lessons... :D Kind of a Jekyll/Hyde thing, I guess. :D

 
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby flyboy 28 » Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:48 pm

Good stuff, Sean. That champ is based at Sky Manor. The guy also owns an ultralight and another Champ.
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby Willit Run » Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:03 pm

Great shots!!
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby pepper_airborne » Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:20 am

The first shot is great, fantastic lightning, sounds like your sticking with the gliding for now eh? :)
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby Brett_Henderson » Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:25 am

I gotta find a new place to fly..  my  "home"  club has all the atmosphere of a dentist's office  :D  ...  And this economy aint helping. It's not the fun, light-hearted place that it could be. I miss the fun-side of spending time at an airport. If I went out to the runway to take cool photos like this.. some snob in a biz-jet would have me rounded up by security  >:(

Sounds like you're hanging out at my kinda airport.. and becoming a more well-rounded pilot at the same time.  :)
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby Hagar » Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:57 am

Excellent. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

That's a nice Champ.
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Re: Second day of gliding lessons

Postby beaky » Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:22 am

I gotta find a new place to fly..  my  "home"  club has all the atmosphere of a dentist's office  :D  ...  And this economy aint helping. It's not the fun, light-hearted place that it could be. I miss the fun-side of spending time at an airport. If I went out to the runway to take cool photos like this.. some snob in a biz-jet would have me rounded up by security  >:(

Sounds like you're hanging out at my kinda airport.. and becoming a more well-rounded pilot at the same time.  :)



This is half the appeal of the gliding club- it's a group activity, and the group happens to be pretty much the core of the old guard of airport bums at 47N.

47N is definitely laid-back... but it's odd to be prepping the gliders so close to the active (although we try to keep them clear of the displaced threshold until almost ready to go, esp. if there is traffic in the pattern), and zipping across the field on the quad is also something I'd never thought I'd be doing... ;D

Every session ends with a little cool-down in the well-appointed (air-conditioned) but suitably funky "man cave" attached to the Citabria hangar... pilots sitting around having beverages and a few laughs, with plenty of stories... yeah, that sucks. ;)

I could get used to this. ;D

And the cost? Aside from membership and dues, I've got 1.6 hrs. dual so far, which cost me a grand total of $120 (four tows to 3000 ft.) :)
And unlike with powered rentals or club planes, the longer you stay up, the cheaper the hourly rate! :D
Last edited by beaky on Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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