Prophecy

I've been flying for about 6 years now, but only seriously for the last 2 or 3. I got my commercial licence last year, but thats not really as impressive as it might sound. Commercial pilots are a dime a dozen down here, and I don't even have my Instrument rating yet.

I mostly fly single engine (Archer, Arrow, Warrior, C172, C172RG etc), but I've got a bit of time on twins ... now I wish twin time was a bit cheaper: I'd be doing it every weekend!

Who is the other pilot you've met here ... from what country? I'd be interested to know how Australia compares to some other places.

As for autoslide ... well its not a desired maneouvre, but you can get a similar effect from a stalled spin :)
 
Ehhm, me for ex..( I didn't want to be so directly)....
Compared with you I am a little fish, but I also know much about Flying in Germany....I also wanted to go where you are. Congratulations...
 
cool, so you fly in Germany! I reckon that in itself makes you a better pilot than me! From what I hear the skies in Europe are very crowded, and most of it is controlled airspace.

What sort of aircraft do you fly, and what are the licensing procedures over there ?(eg private, commercial etc). What sort of hours do you need for licenses?
 
I am just learning to fly sailplanes (because of that I said little fish)...
I also need a license for that ( Just A 'Private Pilot's license)..how many hours...I just don't know. I only know the conditions at our airfield. They're hard. I'll need 3 years...(now I am in the second) and so around 40, 50 hours...TakeOffs between 300 and 400....
The airplane I fly I think you don't know it's called ASK13 and is still a doubleseater, during the next months I'll fly first time alone, but I don't know whether I should cry or be happy....because I don't want to be hit by the whole club in a public happening...and I really don't want the flowers which I'll get then (what you find in the woods: Everything what hurts!)....shiver!!
And you are right the conditions are very hard. If you turn in warm air to get up and have to stop at 900 metres (4000 feet), because there's a commercial airfield with tourist bombers which are send above you that is really hard..:(
 
wow I've always wanted to try gliding - I guess it would be a whole lot quieter than normal flying :) Your training for license sounds pretty long actually. I think we're spoilt down here (50 hours will get you a fixed wing private license - I think less for a glider).

What's it like landing a glider/sailplane? Can you land them pretty much anywhere (eg in a field?).

Well now that I've asked you all this stuff, I'm going to go to bed ... so I'll check back tomorrow.
 
In hope the thread then still exists:
Landing can you really everywhere (where are no trees, houses etc. are but find such a place in the Ruhrgebiet (big an dustrial area with many big cities next to each other where I live and fly).
Our airfield is just 600 metres long. Today, it wouldn't be allowed to build it(mind. 800-1000 metres are standard today), but it still exists. Around it are 20-30 metres high trees- it's an empty place in the woods. So the landing is very difficult. At winding TakeOff we only achieve 200 metres and then we have to turn ourselves higher. One time going around the place takes three minutes...but you really have to plan the approach very well because of the trees. One fault: Too less: you land in the trees, too much: you also land in the trees at the other side, because you don't come down and take harmless civilian walkers with you....so you can really call it aircarrier landing (how long starting tunnels did the Midway have?)...also accidents took place at our airfield...most time deadly (last in 1996 with a flight teacher! TakeOff, five seconds later he came down. Where? In the trees of course....nothing to make for the doctor...
And our TakeOff takes less than 30 seconds. Everything must be right, you must be absolutely concentrated to be able to react immidiately...in less than 30 seconds from 0 till 200 metres, you can imagine what climbing rates we have: more than 5 m/s (the frontier our Variometer shows). I believe 6-8 m/s by an airspeed of 100-120 Kilometres per hour.
It's fun...at least we are called going in every risk to fly...but we can land practically everywhere what pilot's from other club's don't can...and we are better pilot's than many other Sleeper's whom sit in an Grandmother-sailplane to land on a 1000 m long airfield...
 
Amazing the aviation authority allows such obsticles near an airfield. That would never happen around here. Dont think that the airlines that fly in and out of here would allow trees to grow on each end of the airstrip! Doubt the FAA would let that happen either. Why dont they clear out the trees a bit? I had to go thru some hard tests myself just to earn an instrument rating for my pilots liscense, but I never had to dodge tree tops and make extremely short take offs and landings!

RFB

[Edited by RFBurns on 04-11-2001 at 13:52]
 
It's a nuture saving area. The trees are 30-70 years old. The airfield was built 80 years ago....and there were no trees. But then Bundeswehr gave the field up, our club came to it...the trees grew and were never cut...the towns are proud of them and proud of us..and now it's too late to cut. We would darely like to but the national savers are against it and also the town-government next to us...
if more accidents happen because of the trees, the trees won't become cut. No our airfield will be closed!! That's bullshit (sorry the word)....we like the field. And it also makes the kick to come too low and think flaps input 'come on Baby just the ten metres....and then gliding ten metres over the trees. No risk no fun.:)
But we have luck at the moment. The town government decided to cut the trees on the one side and to plant lower trees. So there won't be 30 m trees, just 5 m trees directly next to place....But this also doesn't make the place longer....and you're right today such a short one wouldn't be allowed any more! But yeah at the landing you think when you turn in the direct approach: Ha what's that! There on that short field should I land?? Never!! But somehow we always make it. Sometimes with the last altuide reserve but we make it;)
 
I need to climb into a whirly bird, havent been behind the stick in a chopper in a few years. Last weekend I took a little joy flight in a lear for a couple hours. But its been quite awhile since I had the helm of a chopper. :)

RFB
 
BTW what does the LBA say about your airfield? I'd guess they would close it down if it was against today's regulations. Does anyone need a special qualification to land on your airfield (apart from the sail plane license, of course!!!) due to the difficulty?
 
Hmm, I'd probably be like Indiana Jones - I'd like to fly, it's the landing (read: crashing) bit that scares me. :)
 
You come always down. But you are right Sonntag, the LBA isn't happy, but they let us as long no big crash follows. But we also have another problem. We lie with two or three other clubs little funny in the middle of the control zone ( really hard controlled airspace where you normally need a transponder etc.) of the third biggest airport at Germany: The Düsseldorf International....the airort is maybe 15 km away....and we always have to call them before we begin to fly that we want to...if they have to send the tourist bombers through our airspace we may not do any TakeOff...
but this does not happen very often..but they may also close our airfield. It is bad for the FlightControllers to give up on some sailplanes..if we there also make faults (for ex. climbing just 50m higher than we may), they are also allowed to finish our flying in their ControllingZone
this is also bad, because we always have to pay attention of thousend things...that nerves! Welcome in Germany! But if you're one time up, then you feel so happy, that can't give me any sport such an intensive feeling in our case of being free!!!Right???
And of course other pilots need special 'abilities' to fly at our field. Would you land on an Airplane-Carrier without being trained, taught, adviced etc.?
We only give pilots landing clearence if they are trained with such difficult situations ( or if they have an emergency of course but then on own risk! Maybe the field 1 km further would be better...less trees)...but from law we are a normal private sailplane field where you need nothing more than anywhere else...
And Wedge, don't think it is everywhere so 'dangerous' (I really never felt that, but other people call) like at our field. So if you want just do.....where you want. In my case, I've chosen the club because of that kick I feel, even if the propability to crash is higher than somewhere else....
Oh, I am writing and writing (I bomb you with long letters)
and I am TOO late! Till in 1,5 hours when I arrived at work, okay???
 
Mostly it looks more bad than it really is!
But of course flying is exciting. It is really not comparable with any PC game....but boring like Mekt explained...I wouldn't think so. Of course I also had tghis opinion, but after my first real TakeOff I thought something other. Especially after I went out of the machine with shivering knees. Today I don't have shivering knees any more, but it is still very exciting paired with a huge part of respect.:D And fun of course!
 
I was joking. Of course real flying is more exciting (and more difficult) than PC flying. Just like driving a real car is more difficult than driving on PC (and considerably more dangerous ;) )
 
Hm, now I could tell you about the accident statistic-comparision plane-car in Germany, but I think I need't (a) you know it by yourself b) I don't want to tell you something boring :) )Or?
In fact, I have more fear to make my driver's license than to make my PPL.
 
Yes, I know these statistics. But I was referring to PC flying/driving which I consider certainly far less dangerous than real flying/driving. ;)
 
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