Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

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DerScuple
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by DerScuple » Fri Jun 02, 2017 6:24 pm

Paul_UK wrote:Once you're getting more comfortable flying if you can I'd go with what Olympia says and try to get on a course. Keeping consistency will really help you to progress quickly. Even after a week I suspect you'll still need at least one flight to settle back in and get the feel of it. If you can be at the airfield everyday for a week getting in 6 or so flights a day your progress will be quicker, if this is what you would like to achieve.

There is no time limit on anything when it comes to flying so there is no need to have any worry that you're not progressing fast enough. Just remember to only use Condor as a training aid, nothing will beat actual hours of flying to gain the experience we're all after.
Thanks! I wouldn't be able to do an entire week due to work and My club only flys on weekends, but they do arrange a few "weeks of soaring" during the summer that I'll definitely be trying to book time off for. It's a fairly small club, so the instructors like to go out Soaring in the afternoon on good days.

With that said, I was able to fly all day last weekend, and got in 5 flights. (3 of them being lessons) im going this weekend as well, and hopefully every weekend the has good weather.

I'm not in to much of a rush, with talking to you guys and my instructors I realize now I'll have to be patient and pace myself.

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Paul_UK
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by Paul_UK » Fri Jun 02, 2017 7:27 pm

That is partly the reason I chose to go up to Lasham to learn to fly. My local club is at Lee-On-Solent but they do not fly everyday of the week. I am lucky that I get every Monday off so usually head up to Lasham to fly then as it is quieter than the weekends. I didn't get to fly last week though and this week Monday isn't looking so great so I plan to head up tomorrow as RASP is saying things look promising, maybe even a Silver duration day!! Though if it's a blue day that'll be hard work. I just have to hope I win a glider in the ballot tomorrow morning. That's the one downside to a big club, lots of people wanting to fly the limited amount of club gliders.

I took a weeks holiday to do my course but then my work allows me to do that. As you are in no rush then just try to keep flying as often as possible and you'll get there eventually. Going solo is just the beginning of your flying career, your aim after that is the Bronze C!
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2018 - Silver Badge complete - Forgot I could claim for the 100km diploma flying an out and return :oops:
2019 - Get up to speed and aim for a 300km task?! maybe.....

DerScuple
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by DerScuple » Fri Jun 02, 2017 9:14 pm

Paul_UK wrote:That is partly the reason I chose to go up to Lasham to learn to fly. My local club is at Lee-On-Solent but they do not fly everyday of the week. I am lucky that I get every Monday off so usually head up to Lasham to fly then as it is quieter than the weekends. I didn't get to fly last week though and this week Monday isn't looking so great so I plan to head up tomorrow as RASP is saying things look promising, maybe even a Silver duration day!! Though if it's a blue day that'll be hard work. I just have to hope I win a glider in the ballot tomorrow morning. That's the one downside to a big club, lots of people wanting to fly the limited amount of club gliders.

I took a weeks holiday to do my course but then my work allows me to do that. As you are in no rush then just try to keep flying as often as possible and you'll get there eventually. Going solo is just the beginning of your flying career, your aim after that is the Bronze C!
The badges still confuse me a great deal. I'll have to do more research to see all the badges and thier requirements. My one instructor got his Silver this year, everyone seemed very excited for him

Do you know anything about the OLC website? I'm having trouble finding documentation/guides on using it. I browse it sometimes to see club mates as well as other people's flights, and i hopefully plan to one day download xc soar and upload my own once I go solo, but the software and site are somewhat confusing

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Olympia
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by Olympia » Fri Jun 02, 2017 9:59 pm

DerScuple wrote:The badges still confuse me a great deal. I'll have to do more research to see all the badges and thier requirements. My one instructor got his Silver this year, everyone seemed very excited for him
Not knowing where you are located I can only suggest you look at the British Gliding Association web site for the latest information on badges.
When I learned the first badge was the 'B' which you got for three solo flights one of which had a right hand 360 and another a LH one.The 'C' was awarded for a five minute flight above the height of the previous lowest point plus a paper on air law. I can't remember what the Bronze involved as I got it automatically as I had done whatever they required some time back plus I guess another exam of some kind. I was a U/T Instructor by that time anyway. The Silver required a flight of five hours duration, A distance flight of not less than 50 km in a straight line, or round a triangle with legs not less than 15 kms in which the difference in height between release and landing is less than 1% of the distance covered. A height gain of 1000m.

I never met anyone who tried the Silver triangle BTW.

I have feeling that the distance flight may be 100km these days.

The Gold 'C" if taken without first holding a Silver requires the 5 hours, a distance flight of 300km either as a straight line or a triangle, and a height gain of 3000m. The Diamonds, there are 3, come with a 300km goal flight, a distance flight of 500km (no goal) and a height gain of 5000m.

There are also distance Diplomas which didn't exist in my time - just getting the Diamonds was regarded as enough!

When you join Condor you will have the opportunity to win the 'Condor' versions of the Silver, Gold, and Diamond badges plus distance diplomas.

I currently hold the Gold 'C' with three diamonds, and a 1500 km diploma.
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DerScuple
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by DerScuple » Fri Jun 02, 2017 10:03 pm

Olympia wrote:
DerScuple wrote:The badges still confuse me a great deal. I'll have to do more research to see all the badges and thier requirements. My one instructor got his Silver this year, everyone seemed very excited for him
Not knowing where you are located I can only suggest you look at the British Gliding Association web site for the latest information on badges.
When I learned the first badge was the 'B' which you got for three solo flights one of which had a right hand 360 and another a LH one.The 'C' was awarded for a five minute flight above the height of the previous lowest point plus a paper on air law. I can't remember what the Bronze involved as I got it automatically as I had done whatever they required some time back plus I guess another exam of some kind. I was a U/T Instructor by that time anyway. The Silver required a flight of five hours duration, A distance flight of not less than 50 km in a straight line, or round a triangle with legs not less than 15 kms in which the difference in height between release and landing is less than 1% of the distance covered. A height gain of 1000m.

I never met anyone who tried the Silver triangle BTW.

I have feeling that the distance flight may be 100km these days.

The Gold 'C" if taken without first holding a Silver requires the 5 hours, a distance flight of 300km either as a straight line or a triangle, and a height gain of 3000m. The Diamonds, there are 3, come with a 300km goal flight, a distance flight of 500km (no goal) and a height gain of 5000m.

There are also distance Diplomas which didn't exist in my time - just getting the Diamonds was regarded as enough!

When you join Condor you will have the opportunity to win the 'Condor' versions of the Silver, Gold, and Diamond badges plus distance diplomas.

I currently hold the Gold 'C' with three diamonds, and a 1500 km diploma.
I'm from Canada and the badges you described do sound familiar.

Congrats on your Gold, I can't even fathom flying that distance. My longest flight was only 40 minutes, where we gained 1000 feet, and even that blew my mind.

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Paul_UK
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by Paul_UK » Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:35 am

DerScuple wrote: I'm from Canada and the badges you described do sound familiar.

Congrats on your Gold, I can't even fathom flying that distance. My longest flight was only 40 minutes, where we gained 1000 feet, and even that blew my mind.
The more you fly the more you'll get used to that. I was so happy when I did my first solo of over 30mins! Gaining height in a glider always makes me smile as we're managing to do that without the use of an engine :mrgreen: It's addictive for sure.

Yesterday was an awesome day for me. 5hour 30min flight off the winch :mrgreen: so as long as my flight track all comes up green when checked that's my Silver duration box ticked. I'm 99.9% sure I didn't pop up into any airspace I shouldn't have but until I'm told it's all green I'll not celebrate. If I hadn't already got my Silver height I would have achieved that yesterday too. Lowest point was about 1200 feet QFE and I peaked at about 4750 feet QFE.

Olympia, Silver C is now just one straight leg. BGA snippet 'A flight from point of release to any logged point more than 50km from the point of release and which meets the 1% rule. Once the point is logged, the pilot can fly anywhere else'. It would have been a great day to fly it yesterday as airspace opens up to the West of where I fly and whilst into wind the thermals were streeting from that direction. I need to get my Nav test sorted ASAP!

DerScuple, will you get to fly over winter at all? Where I fly there are very few soarable days over winter however winter is the perfect time to progress your training. The airfield is always quieter and whilst training you basically need to keep flying circuits mostly anyway.
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2018 - Silver Badge complete - Forgot I could claim for the 100km diploma flying an out and return :oops:
2019 - Get up to speed and aim for a 300km task?! maybe.....

DerScuple
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by DerScuple » Sun Jun 04, 2017 6:57 pm

Paul_UK wrote: DerScuple, will you get to fly over winter at all? Where I fly there are very few soarable days over winter however winter is the perfect time to progress your training. The airfield is always quieter and whilst training you basically need to keep flying circuits mostly anyway.
Probably not! I'm from Canada so it gets pretty cold in the winter, and my club shuts things down once it starts to snow. Last year they were active from May all the way till late October, so you do get plenty of months.

Just a side question: How long did you take you to get use to all the sensations of flight?

Right now I still feel quite overwhelmed when flying, especially the tow. I don't want to say I feel scared, but I do experience a bit of "sweaty palms and dry mouth" the first few minutes up there. Especially during tow and you hit big thermals and you're getting thrown all over the place. Oddly enough, I find when I'm the one in control, all those sensations completely disappear.

tberry
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by tberry » Mon Jun 05, 2017 3:51 pm

Take a look at http://glidercfi.com/. It is still a work in progress but is put together by a glider instructor that uses Condor to teach glider flight.

Don't worry about feeling overwhelmed. That feeling will go away after about 10 flights as you become more familiar with what gets done and when and what it feels like/looks like.

You'll find that your fear will get less as you fly. Simply put, you aren't going to fall out of the glider and the glider is not going to fall out of the sky. I'm afraid of heights but never in an aircraft.

Also, don't believe for a second that others aren't sometimes a little scared. Anyone who tells you they've never scared themselves flying either hasn't flown very much or is lying :P . Actually, a small amount of butterflies is a good thing. Just use it to activate your training so you can mitigate risks. A little windier than usual? Go through your crosswind procedures for takeoff, flight, landing. Turbulent after takeoff? Remember your slack rope procedures, recognize that being sort-of behind the tug is okay today and know the limits for when to release. Don't think you'll make it back to the field? Find somewhere else to land that is a good choice rather than continue your flight to the scene of the accident.

Most ANYONE can learn to fly a glider as long as you are persistent. There are a few that can't but that's pretty rare. Just remember that soaring is one of the very few forms of aviation that you do strictly for fun. If the flight doesn't look like it will be fun, wait it out and go a different time.

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Olympia
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by Olympia » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:40 pm


You'll find that your fear will get less as you fly. Simply put, you aren't going to fall out of the glider and the glider is not going to fall out of the sky. I'm afraid of heights but never in an aircraft.
I'm scared ten feet up on a ladder - but at 10,000ft in a glider I feel quite safe. It's being connected to the ground that explains that.
Also, don't believe for a second that others aren't sometimes a little scared. Anyone who tells you they've never scared themselves flying either hasn't flown very much or is lying.
Very true. I wouldn't want to fly with someone who said he never felt scared.I also think that folk like us who indulge in an activity which could result in death (pick your sport) are better prepared for life's emergencies. The mind is wonderfully concentrated by a modicum of fear.
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Olympia
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by Olympia » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:04 pm

Paul_UK wrote:
DerScuple wrote: I'm from Canada and the badges you described do sound familiar.

Olympia, Silver C is now just one straight leg. BGA snippet 'A flight from point of release to any logged point more than 50km from the point of release and which meets the 1% rule. Once the point is logged, the pilot can fly anywhere else'.
Ah, in my time you had to land out at the end of the flight. You could do an out and return with the new requirement. You need to remember that these badge rules date from the 1930's and were intended to encourage cross country flying at a time when this was relatively rarely attempted.

I think the whole badge system needs a review as what was a challenge for a 34:1glide ratio is daft in these days of 50:1 and better. The five hours should be dropped as I'll bet people still fly a ridge to do it. It was intended to promote long distance flights. The Gold and Diamonds could probably stay as they are, but a case might be made for the goal flight to be 750km and the height 6000m. It used to be hard to get these sparklers, I'm not so sure it is as hard today as it was in say 1980.
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DerScuple
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Re: Would you guys recommend Condor as a learning tool to a pilot in training?

Post by DerScuple » Mon Jun 05, 2017 11:27 pm

tberry wrote:Take a look at http://glidercfi.com/. It is still a work in progress but is put together by a glider instructor that uses Condor to teach glider flight.

Don't worry about feeling overwhelmed. That feeling will go away after about 10 flights as you become more familiar with what gets done and when and what it feels like/looks like.

You'll find that your fear will get less as you fly. Simply put, you aren't going to fall out of the glider and the glider is not going to fall out of the sky. I'm afraid of heights but never in an aircraft.

Also, don't believe for a second that others aren't sometimes a little scared. Anyone who tells you they've never scared themselves flying either hasn't flown very much or is lying :P . Actually, a small amount of butterflies is a good thing. Just use it to activate your training so you can mitigate risks. A little windier than usual? Go through your crosswind procedures for takeoff, flight, landing. Turbulent after takeoff? Remember your slack rope procedures, recognize that being sort-of behind the tug is okay today and know the limits for when to release. Don't think you'll make it back to the field? Find somewhere else to land that is a good choice rather than continue your flight to the scene of the accident.

Most ANYONE can learn to fly a glider as long as you are persistent. There are a few that can't but that's pretty rare. Just remember that soaring is one of the very few forms of aviation that you do strictly for fun. If the flight doesn't look like it will be fun, wait it out and go a different time.
Thanks for the words! I went for my 4th and 5th lessons today - and they weren't nearly as overwhelming as the first 3! I was able to fly fairly coordinated - as well as checking my instruments such as speed and altitude - I'm starting to get use the juggling.

My first few flights it felt like there was 100 things to do and no time to do it - but now it's really starting to click and I find I can now do turns, know where I am - and also check the instruments without feeling so rushed. Maybe there's hope for me!

Also it was extremely windy today - so much so we had to shut it down early - but even with the wind the sensations really didn't scare me this time. Maybe I am starting to get use to it / desensitized to feeling of being airborne.

I also started flying the circuit - which was confusing because I had the whole thing memorized, but doing the math in your head and adding 1900 feet (our above sea level altitude) to the circuit really confused me - my skills in math suck.

My instructor even let me fly the tow a bit - which was a very humbling experience. I might of lasted maybe 20 seconds. Still a ways to go :lol:
Olympia wrote:

You'll find that your fear will get less as you fly. Simply put, you aren't going to fall out of the glider and the glider is not going to fall out of the sky. I'm afraid of heights but never in an aircraft.
I'm scared ten feet up on a ladder - but at 10,000ft in a glider I feel quite safe. It's being connected to the ground that explains that.
I feel the same way. Being up on a roof or ladder freaks me out for sure! But I have never had an issue with heights when it comes to flying. The higher the better!

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