How do I learn to fly a glider?

How do I learn to fly a glider?

LEARN TO FLY - by learning to SOAR

1. Be at least 16 years old.
2. Have no medical conditions that would prevent you from safely piloting a glider. ...
3. Have a minimum of 20 glider flights.
4. Have received a minimum of 10 hours flight instruction.
5. Have performed a minimum of 10 solo flights.
6. Have a minimum of 2 hours of solo flight time.

What age can you solo a glider?

14 years

What age can you start gliding?

14

When would a glider pilot use air brakes?

The air brakes which extend as paddles from either the top of the wing, (or both top and bottom), allow the descent for landing to be controlled. The air brakes are also used to loose height quickly. A glider canopy may have either one or two red canopy latches, (2) used to lock the canopy before flight.

Where is the greatest amount of lift normally generated on an aerofoil?

On a general purpose aerofoil the greatest amount of Lift occurs on the top surface (where it is curved the most). In general about 80% of lift occurs on the wing top surface. Lift is proportional to the square of the airspeed.

What effect does streamlining or fairing off parts of an aircraft have?

Streamlining and “fairing off” all the parts of the aircraft which remain in the airflow, thus making the air flow as smoothly as possible, to reduce the size of the wake. The effective use of streamlining in reducing drag can be seen from the wind tunnel experiments shown in the diagram below.

How do speed brakes work?

Speed brakes open like a Swiss army knife to create a little wall above the wing, increasing drag. ... Spoilers are those surfaces on the top of airliner wings that “spoil” lift as well as increase drag during descents and landing. They reduce lift on a small portion of the wing. Speed brakes affect only drag.

Do Flaps increase drag?

Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing distance. Flaps also cause an increase in drag so they are retracted when not needed. ... The increase in camber also increases the wing drag, which can be beneficial during approach and landing, because it allows the aircraft to descend at a steeper angle.

Are spoilers and speed brakes the same?

Speedbrakes are purely drag devices while spoilers simultaneously increase drag and reduce lift.

Do airplanes have brakes?

: The wheels of most aircraft also have brakes, similar to those found on automobiles. Obviously these can only be used when the plane is touching the ground. Lowering retracted landing gear will also increase drag. There are also thrust reversers on some aircraft that are used in the final stages of landing.

Why planes do not fly over Pacific Ocean?

The primary reason airplanes don't fly over the Pacific Ocean is because curved routes are shorter than straight routes. ... Whether a commercial airline is flying from the United States to Asia or elsewhere, it will have the fastest and most fuel-efficient flight by performing a curved rout.