Bob Wander's The Gliding Made Easy Series (Softcover)

Everybody's First Gliding Book!

2018 Edition, 80 large–format pages. The 42 articles that comprise Everybody’s First Gliding Book! answer the questions

that newcomers want to have authoritative answers for. See for yourself:

“Can an ordinary person like me learn to fly gliders?”

“Where can I go to learn to fly gliders?”

“How many lessons will it take for me to go solo the glider for the first time?”

“How much will it cost to get to solo standard in a glider?”

“What risks am I undertaking if I learn to fly?”

“What are the medical requirements to become a glider pilot?”

“I am an airplane pilot. Will my airplane skills help me in glider flight training?”

“If I get airsick, what can I do about it? Does it mean that I cannot learn to fly?”

“Are there national standards for glider pilot training? If so, where are they found?”

“What tests do I have to take to become a glider pilot?”

“What books and materials will help me to learn to fly? Where can I buy them?”

“Does the FAA know about this glider thing? Does the FAA set training standards?”

“Are gliders maintained as carefully as airplanes are required to be maintained?”

And many more.

Authors Notes

Introduction to Everybody's First Gliding Book! by Bob Wander

What does a newcomer want to know about soaring? This can be a hard question for soaring experts to answer, simply because the soaring expert has been hanging around soaring for decades, and has entirely forgotten what it feels like to be new to the sport of soaring.

As the owner/operator of a very active glider flight school and glider ride service, I have enjoyed many years’ worth of experience answering, as best I could, the questions that newcomers ask (or would like to ask but are too shy to ask). These questions covered the entire gamut from “Is it as much fun as it looks?” to “Will I die?” As the author of a monthly aviation magazine column – Beginner’s Corner – for SOARING magazine, I had the opportunity to organize and collect my answers to newcomers’ questions and write them for publication.

Some of the articles in this book are the descendants of those articles, re–written and updated for this book. Alongside these updated pieces are twenty new articles that have not appeared in SOARING magazine, nor anywhere else. So, what you hold in your hands is a new book, aimed right at you, the newcomer. I have done my best to provide you with straight talk and honest answers to the questions that most people want to ask about gliding.

When you are at the very beginning of your aviation journey, everything about soaring is new, beautiful, and strange. The aircraft are streamlined, unfamiliar, exotic–looking, and they are made out of different materials than you would use to make a new car or a house or a toaster oven. Gliders are at the same time remarkably strong (as in their wingspars) and remarkably fragile (as in their Plexiglas canopies). They move with great grace through the air but are elephantine when you have to drag them around on the ground. They are mainly white – ever wonder why? They are essentially handmade, and they are expensive. To me, they are all beautiful.

Getting into a glider is more like climbing into a race car than it is like climbing into a normal automobile. The glider tips left and right, like a boat, as we handle the glider on the ground. And when the canopy closes over your head for the first time, just before your first flight, it feels like you are getting ready for a launch to the moon in your slender cocoon.

Once airborne, the sensations of flight are new. They may be disturbing as well. For most of us, at some point in our aviation exploits, these sensations are upsetting enough to induce motion sickness. Ground–dwelling creatures need time and practice to adapt to the sensations of flight. In much the same way that sailors accommodate themselves to the motion of their boats on the sea, sky voyagers must accommodate themselves to the motion of their aircraft through the sky.

The view outside the canopy is different than the view in an airliner, if for no other reason than the fact that gliders are lower and slower in flight than airliners usually are. The flight instruments in the instrument panel are foreign and exotic looking. Even the lap belt and shoulder harness that we wear in the glider are different from the automobile seat belts we use in everyday life.

They are very safe and are beautifully engineered, but they can be dangerous if flown poorly or maintained poorly.

When so much is so new, it’s easy to understand why newcomers ask so many questions.

This book will help you answer questions such as:

Can an ordinary, normal person (…errrr, umm, like…me?) learn to fly gliders?

Is gliding really fun? What’s it like to learn to fly? Where should I go to learn to fly?

What risks am I undertaking as I learn to fly?

What are the medical requirements to become a glider pilot?

If I get airsick, what can I do about it? Does it mean that I cannot learn to fly?

Why is learning to fly so frustrating at times?

What is a learning plateau, and why do I feel so stuck on one?

How important are the flight instruments? Do they always tell the truth?

What books and Web resources are available if I decide to learn to fly gliders?

What tests do I have to take to become a glider pilot?

What flight maneuvers must I learn?

How many lessons will it take for me to go solo the glider for the first time?

How much will it cost to get to solo standard in a glider?

Are there national standards for glider pilot training? If so, where are they found?

What books and materials will help me to learn to fly? Where can I buy them?

Does the FAA know about this glider thing? Does the FAA set training standards?

What Federal Regulations will I be required to study?

I am an airplane pilot. Will my airplane skills help me in glider flight training?

Is the glider maintained as carefully as airplanes are required to be maintained?

And dozens of other questions and answers, as well. I hope this book helps you to make your dream of flight come true.

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … General Questions About Gliding
• Chapter 2 … Gliding Ground School Topics
• Chapter 3 … General Glider Training Topics
• Chapter 4 … Tests You Gotta Take
• Chapter 5 … Wrapping Things Up

Private Pilot Glider Checkride…Made Easy!

Book One in the Gliding…Made Easy series. 19th Edition, copyright 2020.

Self–study guide to the Private Pilot Glider Oral and Flight Test.

Hundreds of questions, answers, and explanations for the oral test. Hundreds of “do's and don'ts” for the FAA flight test. The appendix includes a complete checklist to guide preparation for the checkride.

Don't even think of taking your checkride without using this book to prepare!

Author's Note

In the 1980s the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a new standard for all oral and flight tests leading to pilot

certification. This new standard was named the Practical Test Standard and was designed to accomplish the following

objectives:

1. To provide guidance to Examiners with regard to the content of a thorough Practical Test
2. To provide all applicants and all Examiners with a set of completion standards for the Practical Test.

These are laudable goals, and the FAA is to be congratulated for pursuing them.

The FAA–published version of the Glider Pilot Practical Test Standards lists topic areas and completion standards. However, in accordance with long–established FAA examination policies, the FAA-published version of the Standards does NOT provide practice exams or answers to study questions. In fact it does not provide any study questions or answers at all. Instead the FAA simply chose to provide lists of appropriate ground study areas and in-flight maneuvers.

The FAA's approach to the Practical Test Standards identifies target knowledge areas but does very little to help you discover what it is about each knowledge area that you must know. As a result, many applicants feel they are “in the dark” as they try to prepare for the Practical Test. This means that lots of time is wasted. And that's regrettable, because wiser use of that time would result in a stronger performance on the Practical Test.

Private Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy helps you prepare for your Practical Test by providing you with hundreds of sample questions and answers, tips, and suggestions on how to prepare for your checkride. It also provides you with dozens of useful tips on how to conduct yourself and how to handle sticky situations which may develop during the checkride. In short, Private Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy guides your review as you prepare for the checkride. It also teaches you what to do, and what not to do, during the checkride.

Private Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy contains all important features of the FAA-published version of the Practical Test Standards. The new information I provide for you makes it much easier for you to prepare for the Practical Test and to demonstrate your knowledge and your airmanship to the Examiner on the Big Day.

I hope that this book helps you make your dream of motorless flight come true.

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Using This Book
• Chapter 2 … Your Checkride
• Chapter 3 … Appendix: Final Approach For Your Checkride

Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride…Made Easy!

Book Two in the Gliding…Made Easy series. 18th Edition, copyright 2020.

Self–study guide to the FAA Commercial Pilot Glider Oral and Flight Test. Hundreds of questions, answers, and explanations for the oral test. Hundreds of “dos and dont's” for the FAA flight test.

Includes complete checklist to guide preparation for the checkride. Essential study and preparation guide.

Author's Note

In the 1980s the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a new standard for all oral and flight tests leading to pilot certification. This new standard was named the Practical Test Standard and was designed to accomplish the following objectives:

1. To provide guidance to Examiners with regard to the content of a thorough Practical Test
2. To provide all applicants and all Examiners with a set of completion standards for the Practical Test.

These are laudable goals, and the FAA is to be congratulated for pursuing them.

The FAA–published version of the Glider Pilot Practical Test Standards lists topic areas and completion standards. However, in accordance with long–established FAA examination policies, the FAA-published version of the Standards does NOT provide practice exams or answers to study questions. In fact it does not provide any study questions or answers at all. Instead the FAA simply chose to provide lists of appropriate ground study areas and in–flight maneuvers.

The FAA's approach to the Practical Test Standards identifies target knowledge areas but does very little to help you discover what it is about each knowledge area that you must know. As a result, many applicants feel they are “in the dark” as they try to prepare for the Practical Test. This means that lots of time is wasted. And that's regrettable, because wiser use of that time would result in a stronger performance on the Practical Test.

Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy helps you prepare for your Practical Test by providing you with hundreds of sample questions and answers, tips, and suggestions on how to prepare for your checkride. It also provides you with dozens of useful tips on how to conduct yourself and how to handle sticky situations which may develop during the checkride. In short, Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy guides your review as you prepare for the checkride. It also teaches you what to do, and what not to do, during the checkride.

Commercial Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy contains all important features of the FAA–published version of the Practical Test Standards. The new information I provide for you makes it much easier for you to prepare for the Practical Test and to demonstrate your knowledge and your airmanship to the Examiner on the Big Day.

I hope that this book helps you make your dream of motorless flight come true.

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Using This Book
• Chapter 2 … Area Of Operations
• Chapter 3 … Appendix: Final Approach For Your Checkride

Flight Instructor Glider Checkride…Made Easy!

Book Three in the Gliding…Made Easy series. 14th Edition, copyright 2018.

Study guide to the FAA Flight Instructor Glider Oral and Flight Test.

Hundreds of questions, answers, explanations for the oral test, including the Fundamentals of Instruction, logbook endorsements, and all other required topics.

Hundreds of “do's and don'ts” for the FAA flight test. Includes complete checklist to prepare for the checkride. Essential study guide to prepare for your checkride.

Author's Note

INTRODUCTION In the 1980s the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a new standard for all oral and flight tests leading to pilot certification. This new standard was named the Practical Test Standard and was designed to accomplish the following objectives:

1. To guide Examiners regarding the content of a thorough Practical Test
2. To provide all applicants and all Examiners with a set of completion standards for the Practical Test.

These are laudable goals, and the FAA is to be congratulated for pursuing them.

The FAA–published version of the Glider Pilot Practical Test Standards lists topic areas and completion standards. However, in accordance with long–established FAA examination policies, the FAA–published version of the Standards does NOT provide practice exams or answers to study questions. In fact it does not provide any study questions or answers at all. Instead the FAA simply chose to provide lists of appropriate ground study areas and in–flight maneuvers. The FAA's approach to the Practical Test Standards identifies target knowledge areas but does very little to help you discover what it is about each knowledge area that you must know. As a result, many applicants feel they are “in the dark” as they try to prepare for the Practical Test. This means that lots of time is wasted. And that's regrettable, because wiser use of that time would result in a stronger performance on the Practical Test.

Flight Instructor Glider Checkride Made Easy helps you prepare for your Practical Test by providing you with hundreds of sample questions and answers, tips, and suggestions on how to prepare for your checkride. It also provides you with dozens of useful tips on how to conduct yourself and how to handle sticky situations which may develop during the checkride. In short, Flight Instructor Glider Checkride Made Easy guides your review as you prepare for the checkride. It also teaches you what to do, and what not to do, during the checkride.

Flight Instructor Pilot Glider Checkride Made Easy contains all important features of the FAA–published version of the Practical Test Standards. The new information I provide for you makes it much easier for you to prepare for the Practical Test and to demonstrate your knowledge and your airmanship to the Examiner on the Big Day.

Best wishes for many happy hours of teaching and sharing the wonder and thrill of motorless flight!

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Using This Book
• Chapter 2 … Your Checkride: Oran And Flight Test
• Chapter 3 … Appendix: Final Approach for Your Checkride

Glider BFR & Spring Checkout…Made Easy!

Book Four in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob. 12 edition.

Contains a complete review of FAR 61.56 and all of FAR Part 91 applicable to glider operations.

Self–assessment inventory guides the BFR applicant in assessing pilot skills and identifying areas that need attention during the flight review.

Helps the flight review candidate to become a better pilot as the result of the flight review process – which after all is what flight reviews are all about!

INTRODUCTION: HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Recurrent training for pilots is not a new idea. For example, airline pilots perform proficiency checks every six months to upgrade their skills and to polish emergency procedures. Military pilots perform similar reviews conducted under the authority of the branch of the service for which they fly. The airlines and the military require these reviews for their pilots for good reason. They have learned, over the decades, that recurrent training is one of the best accident prevention avenues open to them. It is a comprehensive, cost–effective method of assuring that pilots maintain essential skills at an acceptable standard of readiness.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires all pilots of civil aircraft to participate in a flight review program of one type or another. FAR Part 121 Scheduled airline pilots and FAR Part 135 Air Taxi operators must demonstrate proficiency in normal and emergency procedures every six months. Pilots who fly under the authority of Part 91 (such as glider pilots) must comply with the flight review requirements described in Part 61.56 of the FARs. Glider BFR and Spring Checkout Made Easy aims at helping you to get the most out of the time and money you invest in your biennial flight review. It is also designed to help you achieve maximum benefit from the type of annual, or spring, checkout that most gliding operations in the United States require of their pilots.

Glider BFR and Spring Checkout Made Easy provides, in one cover, the material you need to prepare for your flight review or checkout. In it you will find hundreds of tips and suggestions. It takes you on a guided tour of your flying skills and aviation knowledge. Then, it helps you prepare a list of things that you would like to accomplish in the course of your next flight review or spring checkout. With list in hand, call your favorite glider flight instructor and make an appointment for a flight review or checkout. You will find that you are looking forward to the review because you know that it will help you to become a better pilot. You will form a partnership with your instructor as you accomplish the review. When the review is completed, you will have done everything within reason to become the safest and most accomplished pilot you can be. And the benefits of your enhanced knowledge and skills will be with you on every subsequent flight that you make as pilot in command of a glider.

Glider BFR And Spring Checkout Made Easy makes flight reviews worthwhile and cost–effective. When you use this book to prepare for your review you can be confident that you are taking the ‘high road’ to increased fun and enhanced safety in soaring.

I hope this book helps you increase your enjoyment of soaring.

Safe Soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Using This Book
• Chapter 2 … Flight Review Topics
• Chapter 3 … Appendix

Glider Polars and Speed–To–Fly…Made Easy!

Book Five in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob. 13th edition, copyright 2020.

User–friendly, non–technical polar analysis and speed–to–fly decision–making.

32 pages, dozens of illustrations and numerous photographs. Step–by–step analysis of glider polars, speed–to–fly and final glide. Works for any glider performance polar under any weather conditions. No math required!

Author's Note

Foreword: During his lifetime Albert Einstein was regarded not only as a great theoretical physicist but also as an exceptional teacher. Einstein was able to explain the fundamentals of his complex Theory of Relativity with clarity and style. One day, a colleague asked Einstein how he managed to make complex physics so accessible to people without formal training in math or physics. Einstein's witty reply showed that he possessed a droll sense of humor (as well as great intelligence): “A good teacher makes things as simple as possible – but not simpler!”

This volume makes it easy for you to learn the fundamentals of glider performance polar analysis and speed–to–fly decision making. The step–by–step approach employed to illustrate glider performance is user–friendly and non–technical. You do not need to know algebra, or geometry, or calculus. In fact, the only math you will be asked to perform is simple arithmetic – addition, subtraction, and division.

In short, I have made things as simple as possible – but not simpler.

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Glider Polars And Speed–To–Fly Made Easy deals with several concepts. We begin with an examination of the performance polar characteristics of a particular glider. The principal performance speeds, how they are discovered, and how to select optimum speed as you cruise between thermals are all covered. These concepts are known by the curiously descriptive phrase speed–to–fly. Speed–to–fly concerns itself with the selection of the optimum airspeed to fly in the presence of calm air, rising air, or subsiding air.

We also examine the problem of selecting the cruise airspeed that will maximize your glide over the ground (a fundamentally different problem than trying to maximize arrival altitude at the next thermal). Racing pilots call this part of gliding the final glide because the last portion of a successful racing flight is a glide to the finish gate. During final glide the racing pilot seeks to minimize time spent on this last portion of the flight. For that reason, stopping to circle in thermals is not done (unless the pilot is too low to make the finish gate, in which case another climb must be accomplished, then the final glide begun anew). Since the final glide has as its objective the attainment of an objective on the ground (the finish gate), the pilot must factor in the effect of the wind on the track and groundspeed of the glider during the final glide. After all, the glider is flying through an ocean of air that is usually moving both horizontally (wind) and vertically (convection). It follows that the speed of the glider over the ground is actually the sum of two motions: the glider motion through the airmass, and the airmass motion over the ground. We will investigate why we adjust airspeed during final glide to account for any wind and convection present. Then we will discover just how much to adjust airspeed during final glide.

Finally, a word about the importance of selecting optimum airspeeds. Some glider pilots think that only racing pilots need to be concerned with selection of optimum airspeeds. Nothing could be further from the truth. For safety's sake, every soaring pilot needs to know how to extract maximum performance and maximum glide from the glider. This has long been recognized by experienced glider flight instructors and by the FAA, which rightly demands thorough knowledge of glider peformance airspeeds on both the Private Pilot Glider Practical Test and the Commercial Pilot Glider Practical Test.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Foreword
• Chapter 2 … Introduction
• Chapter 3 … Choosing A Glider Polar To Analyze
• Chapter 4 … How Polar Curves Are Plotted
• Chapter 5 … Cruising Through Sinking Air
• Chapter 6 … Cruising Through Rising Air
• Chapter 7 … Applying Your Knowledge Of Polar Analysis
• Chapter 8 … Making A Rotatable Speed Ring
• Chapter 9 … Final Glides
• Chapter 10 … Final Glides And Safety
• Chapter 11 … For Further Reading
• Chapter 12 … The Soaring Society Of America
• Chapter 13 … Glider Polar Worksheets

Transition To Single Seat Glider…Made Easy!

Book Six in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob. 3rd edition, copyright 2018.

Makes single seat glider checkouts safe and fun.

Assembly, cockpit considerations, flaps, trim, and airbrakes, towhook location and considerations, ground handling, takeoff and tow, free flight, patterns and landings, emergency planning, positive control checks…everything is covered.

Author's Note

INTRODUCTION: The majority of gliders in the U.S. fleet are single seat gliders. Accordingly, when most people think of soaring, they dream of flying a sleek and beautiful glass fiber single seat glider, with long stiletto wings and svelte lines. The desire to fly a glider of such beauty and grace demands neither explanation nor apology.

In most of aviation, aircraft checkouts are conducted in multi–seat aircraft with a qualified, experienced flight instructor aboard. In single seat aircraft, such an approach is obviously not possible. Therefore, the pilot who aspires to fly a single seat aircraft needs to discover a method that teaches what to expect from the aircraft before actually flying it. After all, there will be no chance to seek advice from a qualified instructor once the takeoff roll begins.

Unfortunately, many pilots make their first flights in single seat gliders without first employing a systematic method of preparation. Single seat gliders differ from their two seat cousins in several important ways. The sportscar-like handling of most single seat gliders is both nimbler and more refined than the handling of most two seat gliders. The seating is often steeply reclined in single seaters. The controls often move through a smaller range of travel and offer less resistance to pilot inputs. Single seat gliders weigh less than two seat gliders. Often the whole “feel” of the glider is just different from the familiar feel of two seat gliders.

Needless accidents occur during transition to single seat gliders because the pilot did not know what to expect from the aircraft. Virtually all of these accidents are preventable.

Transition to Single Seat Gliders Made Easy fills a gap in the literature of soaring. It provides a systematic approach to help you learn how to fly single seat gliders. From it you will determine exactly what is necessary to perform safe, uneventful single seat glider checkouts. Transition To Single Seat Gliders Made Easy leads you through a complete and systematic program of aircraft familiarization and flight preparation. By the time you have finished using this book you will be thoroughly familiar with your aircraft. You'll know what to expect during takeoff roll, during aerotow, during free flight, and during the pattern and landing. You'll know what to do, and what not to do, as you make your first flights in the single seat gliders of your choice.

When I made my own transition to single seat gliders years ago, no book like this was available. I often wished for one! I hope this book helps you make your dream of safe, enjoyable motorless flight come true.

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Transition To Single Seat Gliders Made Easy is a comprehensive, user–friendly guide to flying single seat gliders. It will guide you as you make a safe and enjoyable transition into the single seat gliders of your choice and opportunity.

Transition To Single Seat Gliders Made Easy guides you through the following preparations and procedures:

The Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) and what information contained in it is important for you to know, Storage and maintenance, Trailering, Rigging, Pre–flight inspection, Positive control check, Ground handling, Aerotow launch, Free flight maneuvers including glides, turns, slow flight, stalls, thermaling speeds, airbrake operation, and flap operation, Patterns and landings.

You can use this book again and again, as you add new single seaters to your logbook in years to come. Whether you are a low time pilot about to make your first single seat glider flight in a 1-26 Schweizer, or you are a 20,000 hour airplane pilot about to fly your 25th type of single seat glider, this book will help you organize your thoughts, learn your glider, discover what to expect from the glider in flight, avoid unpleasant or dangerous surprises, and have many safe and fun flights in single seat and high performance gliders for as long as you fly them.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Using This Book
• Chapter 2 … Glider Familiarization & Preparation
• Chapter 3 … Flying The Single Seat Glider
• Chapter 4 … Appendix

The Art Of Thermaling…Made Easy!

Book Seven in the Gliding…Made Easy! Series. Guaranteed to make you a better soaring pilot. Finding, entering, centering, and leaving thermals. Finding and using thermal streets. Weather observation techniques. Thermal prediction. The most complete treatment of thermaling and thermaling decision–making in print. If you are not getting the most out of thermaling, you can keep on buying extra aerotow launches…or you can buy and read this inexpensive but comprehensive book and discover how to get the most out of thermals.

Author's Note

When we soar, we use our wits, our experience, and our powers of observation to gain height in our motorless aircraft. We come as close as ever we will to being as free as a bird. The exhilaration of skillfully exploiting solar energy and using it to soar as long or as high or as fast as we want is the essence of the sport of soaring.

Climbing in thermals is part science, part art. Many new soaring pilots have considerable trouble keeping their glider in the air because they don't understand thermaling very well. Some of them even leave the sport in frustration after a season or two, because they despair of ever learning how to keep the glider up in the air. They see other pilots thermaling up and away, eventually disappearing over the horizon, but find themselves making numerous unsatisfactory short flights, falling out of the sky even as the pundits climb away in thermals and disappear for hours at a time. Frustrating!

Perhaps this has happened to you. If so, don't despair! I have good news: the fundamentals of thermaling are not particularly complicated or even very difficult. But thermaling sometimes seems difficult or complicated because we haven't studied thermaling in a systematic way.

This book makes thermals easy to understand and to exploit. When you are done with this book, you will know where and how to search for thermals, how thermals are structured, what thermal streets are, and how to search out and center the best lift in thermals. You will know when it is time to leave a thermal and find another. You will have the mental tools you need to systematically search out and use the best lift. You will know how to keep your glider in the air for as long as there are thermals to support you. And with your new skills, you will be ready to enter the worlds of cross country flying, Badge flying, or competitive flying.

Safe Soaring,

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Soaring, Speculation, & Decision–Making
• Chapter 2 … Flying Round Circles
• Chapter 3 … Thermal Structure
• Chapter 4 … How To Search For Thermals
• Chapter 5 … Entering & Centering Thermals
• Chapter 6 … Leaving Thermals
• Chapter 7 … Thermal Streets
• Chapter 8 … Minimum Sink Airspeed
• Chapter 9 … Speed–To–Fly
• Chapter 10 … Thermal Weathering
• Chapter 11 … For Further Reading

Badge Soaring: The ABC Badges… Made Easy!

Book Eight in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob.

Everything from soup to nuts, to help you earn your A, B, and C FAI Badges. Unique checklist makes record keeping a snap. Nothing else like it in print.

How to Use This Book

The Badge Program is soaring's oldest, and finest, motivational tool. It's a great idea – you do the right thing, become a better pilot for it, and receive recognition from your peers, all in one program. You even get the jewel pins, free of charge! All you have to do is be a member of the SSA, and follow the steps of the program under the supervision of an SSA–designated glider flight instructor.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it is interesting to note that many features of the very popular and successful FAA Wings Recurrent Training Program appear to have been borrowed from our Badge Program for soaring pilots.

In any event, the guy in the movies who said “Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!!” was wrong – way wrong. We do need the badges. The Badge Program lays out a progressive sequence of training milestones for us to achieve (and to celebrate!). Because the program is progressive in nature, you can continue to participate in the program (and continue to improve your skills) for ten, twenty, even thirty years or more. Alexander the Great wept when he realized he had run out of new worlds to conquer. But you won't run out of new worlds to conquer. When you participate in the Badge Program, there is always another soaring achievement just over the horizon.

A program as worthwhile as the Badge Program should be easily accessed by all soaring pilots. This book makes the A, B, and C badges more accessible than ever before. Badge Soaring: The A, B, & C Badges…Made Easy! identifies the requirements of each badge. The purpose and the intent of each badge are described in plain language. Loads of tips and advice help you to understand and master every task required of you. There is even a check box ( ) for you to use, to check off ( ) each accomplishment as you advance through the program. When you have finished the program, your glider flight instructor will review your accomplishments and award your new badge to you. Wear it proudly, because you join an increasingly select group of pilots each time you achieve a new badge.

Participation in the Badge Program is open to everyone. There are only two requirements:

1. each badge is awarded only upon completion of all pertinent requirements
2. the badge recipient be a member of the Soaring Society of America.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … How to Use This Book
• Chapter 2 … What Material Should I Study?
• Chapter 3 … Who Awards The A, B, & C Badges?
• Chapter 4 … Note To Glider Flight Instructors
• Chapter 5 … The SSA Instructor (SSAI)
• Chapter 6 … The A Badge
• Chapter 7 … The B Badge
• Chapter 8 … The C Badge
• Chapter 9 … For Further Reading
• Chapter 10 … The Bronze Badge
• Chapter 11 … The Silver Badge

Badge Soaring: The Bronze Badge…Made Easy!

Book Nine in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob.

Everything you need to know to earn your Bronze Soaring Badge. Includes comprehensive, 101–question practice examination to prepare you for the Bronze Badge Written Examination. Unique checklist makes record–keeping a snap. Nothing else like it in print.

The Badge Program is soaring's oldest and finest motivational tool. It's a great idea: You do the right thing, become a better pilot for it, and receive recognition from your peers, all in one program. You even get the jewel pins, free of charge! All you have to do is be a member of the SSA, and follow the steps of the program under the supervision of an SSA–designated glider flight instructor (SSAI).

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it is interesting to note that many features of the very popular and successful FAA Wings Recurrent Training Program appear to have been borrowed from our Badge Program for soaring pilots.

In any event, the guy in the movies who said “Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!!” was wrong – way wrong. We do need the badges. The Badge Program lays out a progressive sequence of training milestones for us to achieve (and to celebrate!). Because the program is progressive in nature, you can continue to participate in the program (and continue to improve your skills) for ten, twenty, even thirty years or more. Alexander the Great wept when he realized he had run out of new worlds to conquer. But you won't run out of new worlds to conquer. When you participate in the Badge Program, there is always another soaring achievement just over the horizon.

A program as worthwhile as the Badge Program should be easily accessed by all soaring pilots. This book makes the Bronze Badge more accessible than ever before. Badge Soaring: The Bronze Badge…Made Easy! tells you the purpose and the intent of each Bronze Badge requirement. Loads of tips and advice help you to understand and master every task required of you. There is even a check box ( ) for you to use, to check off ( ) each accomplishment as you advance through the program. When you have finished the program, your glider flight instructor will review your accomplishments and award your new badge to you. Wear it proudly. You join an increasingly select group of pilots each time you achieve a new badge.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … The Preliminaries
• Chapter 2 … Earning Your Bronze Badge
• Chapter 3 … Moving On…

Badge Soaring: The Silver Badge…Made Easy!

Book Ten in the Gliding…Made Easy series. Wander, Bob.

Complete preparation for earning the Silver Badge. 2018 Edition. Describes FAI requirements for Silver Distance, Silver Duration, and Silver Gain Of Height. Unique checklist makes record keeping a snap. Nothing else like it in print.

Author's Note

The Silver Badge is one of soaring's oldest, and finest, motivational tools. It's a great idea – you do the right thing, become a better pilot for it, and receive recognition from your peers, all in one program. You even get the jewel pins, free of charge! All you have to do is be a member of the SSA, and follow the program.

When I first tackled the Silver Badge, I asked my instructor to explain the FAI Sporting Code procedures to me. His face turned ashen. He looked down at his shoes. Then he said “I…can't. I can't explain the FAI Sporting Code because I don't understand it. Fact is, nobody does. It's beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. There was a Swiss FAI Master, long ago, who lived in a cave, near Zurich…He could explain it, but he's…he's dead these many years. He was the last FAI Master. The last one!" His shoulders trembled, then he wept. A tear rolled down his cheek.

A badge as worthwhile as the Silver Badge should be easily accessed by all soaring pilots. Badge Soaring: The Silver Badge…Made Easy! makes the Silver Badge more accessible than ever before. It tells you the purpose and the intent of each Silver Badge requirement. You'll study and understand the requirements for:

The five–hour Duration flight

The 1,000 meter Gain Of Height flight

The 50 kilometer Distance flight

The FAI Official Observer and the SSA Awards Coordinator

GNSS Flight Recorders

Weather assessment and flight planning

Off field landings

Submitting the documentation for your Silver Badge

There is even a checklist for each leg of the Silver Badge: Altitude, Distance, and Duration. Each checklist has check boxes for you to use, to check off each item as you prepare for, and fly, your Badge legs.

Badge Soaring: The Silver Badge… Made Easy! makes it easy to comply with the FAI Sporting Code. Your Silver Badge flight claims will sail through the certification process and your Silver Badge will be awarded to you without hassle or fuss.

Safe soaring (and May The Force Be With You!),

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Background
• Chapter 2 … The Preliminaries
• Chapter 3 … About the Silver Badge
• Chapter 4 … Documenting Badge Flights: The Basics
• Chapter 5 … Silver Height Gain Flight: 1,000 Meter Gain
• Chapter 6 … Silver Duration Flight: Five Hours
• Chapter 7 … Silver Distance: 50 Kilometers
• Chapter 8 … Reference

Safer Soaring…Made Easy!

Bob Wander’s latest book, number eleven in Bob’s well–known Gliding…Made Easy! series. 7th edition, copyright 2017

Personal preparation, assembly and preflight preparation, launch and climbout, free flight, and approaches and landings are all covered. Covers the common causes of the large majority of serious accidents and shows you how to help yourself, and help your soaring friends, to avoid them.

This is the most comprehensive treatment of gliding safety and of aeronautical decision–making available.

Safer Soaring… Made Easy! Is my twelfth book about soaring. It has been very exciting and satisfying to write this book and to prepare it for publication. It's an appropriate choice to make an even dozen.

Most soaring pilots were initially attracted to soaring because it's beautiful. And it is! But we all know that the beauty of soaring is marred, from time to time, by the ugliness of a serious accident. Many of these accidents – almost all of them, in fact – are preventable. This book aims to help prevent those accidents from occurring in the future.

Some books are meant to be read from page one straight through to the last page of the book. You can use this book that way, if you like. I have organized the book so that the sequence of chapters follows the phases of a flight: Pilot preparation and assembly come first, then launch considerations, then free–flight considerations, then landing considerations. But, if you prefer, you can read the chapters in any order that you like. Re–reading chapters in months and years to come will help you keep sharp, and reinforce good safety habits.

For a number of years I have had the opportunity to travel all over the USA and present safety seminars to soaring pilots and their organizations. These travels have taken me all over the USA, ranging from Anchorage to San Diego to Boston to Atlanta and dozens of other cities in between. During these travels I have met hundreds of soaring instructors and literally thousands of soaring pilots. It has been a tremendous learning opportunity to meet, and to listen to, so many talented soaring people. Many of the chapters in this book are based on presentations that I have developed for these road shows. In each city, after each presentation, talented and thoughtful soaring people would come to talk to me and offer their thoughts on the topics at hand and suggest additional topics or considerations to include in future offerings. I am grateful to them all.

Finally, when my son Max asked what this book would be about, and I told him it was about identifying the main causes of serious accidents and recommending strategies to prevent them, he said that this is the book I should have written first. That's good enough for me!

Safe soaring,

Bob Wander

Note To Glider Flight Instructors

Safety of flight is every CFIG's main concern. You can use Safer Soaring…Made Easy! to enhance safety of flight for every soaring pilot with whom you come in contact.

Chapters 1 through 9 can be assigned, one at a time or in groups, as study units for any pilot at any level of training or licensure, from pre–solo student pilot to commercial pilot or fellow CFIG seeking recurrent training.

Chapters 1 and 8 satisfy the Aeronautical Decision–Making and Judgment Training requirements of FAR Part 61.105 (Private Pilot applicants) and FAR Part 61.125 (Commercial Pilot applicants).

Chapter 10 (Recurrent Training) can be used as a guide for recurrent training for any soaring pilot at any level of expertise.

Bob Wander

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 … Soaring, Speculation, & Aeronautical Decision–Making
• Chapter 2 … Preparing Your Glider For Flight: The Big Three
• Chapter 3 … Kiting Above The Towplane During Aerotow Launch
• Chapter 4 … Aerotow Launch Failures, Flight Training, & Emergency Action Plans
• Chapter 5 … The Effects of Sinking Airmass On Glider Performance & The Role Of Sinking Airmass In Gliding Accidents
• Chapter 6 … Spin Training
• Chapter 7 … Forward Slips, Side Slips, & Turning Slips
• Chapter 8 … Landing Gliders Safely: Serial Task Or Parallel Task?
• Chapter 9 … The “Traffic Pattern”
• Chapter 10 … Getting The Most From Your Recurrent Training