Glider Solo Flight

Most, if not all, pilots remember their first solo. Friday I did my first solo in a Glider. While not as memorable as my SEL (Single Engine Land) solo, it was still an awesome feeling to go up in that glider and know when to return to the airport and land.

Mile High Glider has two SGS 2-33As they use for trainers. One has almost no brakes and the other has very good brakes. I did most of my training in the one with no brakes. The 2-33 glider brakes are activated by pulling back on the dive brake handle.

For my solo flight I was in the one with good brakes. This wasn't ideal as I tend to get to the airport with a bit more altitude, a good thing right? You can always lose altitude but it is difficult to gain, since you don't have an engine. Evidently, when landing I had enough dive brake on at touchdown to activate the brakes. I immediately realized my mistake as the nose pitched down to the skid right away. I let up on the dive brake to get off the skid, but ended up stopping short of my destination point, across from the tie down.

I haven't flown the 172 since I started my glider training. My hope is that my stick and rudder skills, which are critical in a glider, will improve my SEL skills. After all landing a glider on a 3 foot wide pavement strip, and tracking on the pavement, is much more difficult than landing on a 50 foot wide runway.