Morning Glider flight

Finally got in some morning glider flights. Scheduled my lesson for 9 a.m. on a Friday. Not the best time to start as no one gets there until 9, then they get the office open, boot up the computers, call for the tow plane, etc.

Sat down with my instructor at 9:30 and talked through airport procedures, use of the dive breaks, and TLAR for landings. I was familiar with the acronym from my single engine training, but didn't remember what it stood for.

TLAR = That Looks About Right

Basically, cross from south to north at mid field, turn down wind when you are at a 45 degree angle from the ground, turn base at about 35 degrees and final at 30 degrees. The "look" of the pattern is more critical with a glider because you may not always know the elevation where you are landing, as you won't always land at an airport when going cross country.

The smooth air in the morning was great for getting my air tow skills down. I did four takeoffs and landings with only minimal instructor control of the glider.

Sunday I took another lesson in the afternoon and even though the thermals were quite active with the hot weather, 90F, I was able to control the aircraft without getting into oscillations. I think the calm air flying helped me understand the delay between the control input and the glider movement. Did three more takeoffs and landings, with stalls (at altitude not in the pattern) and slips thrown in. At the end of the lesson my instructor said that if I had my solo written complete and had done low altitude tow line break practice he would have sent me up to solo.

So, now I'm working on my pre-solo written exam, quite a bit more extensive than my pre-solo written for powered aircraft. I'll try to schedule for Thursday or Friday morning and hope to do the tow rope break practice and then solo.

I will probably break my rule about not flying if I don't have the money in the flying account. At the start of my learning to fly I set up an account that has money transfered to it on a regular basis. If there is money and I want to fly, then fine. This will be the first time I'll be flying without money in the account. But after talking with my wife, she says to just keep moving forward and get the rating. Once that is done, my glider flying should stay well within budget.