Glider Flying – Practical Training

1. Familiarization flight (2 to 3 flights)

• Orientation in airspace
• Basic effect of the controls
• Importance of the horizon
• Importance of the circuit pattern

2. Most important flight attitudes/control handling (2 to 3 flights)

• Importance of flight attitude
• Symmetry in straight and turning flight
• Trim
• Primary and secondary control effects

3. Landing circuit (2 to 3 flights)

• Start
• Aerotow/Winch Launch/Self-launch
• Approach
• Landing

4. Corrections during the approach (15 flights)

• Approaches that are too high
• Approaches that are too low
• Corrections using airbrakes
• Corrections for crosswind

5. Flight with high angles of attack (1 to 2 flights)

• Approaching stall speed
• Noticeable indicators
• Symmetrical stall and recovery to normal flight attitude
• Stall from a turning flight and recovery to normal flight attitude
• Effect of the center of gravity (forward/rearward position)

6. Emergency Situations During Launch and Descent (3 to 10 Exercises)

• Simulated winch cable break in all phases of launch and climb.
• Simulated towrope break in all phases of the aircraft towing (excluding below the safety altitude, where an off-field landing would result).
• Engine failure, simulated in all phases of the start and climb (excluding below the safety altitude, where an off-field landing would result).

7. Hazard conditions in gliding (2 to 4 flights)

• Stall with departure
• Recovery from spin
• Recovery from spiral dive

8. Emergency situations during aircraft towing or with engine (1 to 2 flights)

• Sink descent during aircraft towing
• Approach and landing during aircraft towing
• Descending with the engine running
• Approach and landing with the engine running
• Approach and landing with a stationary, non-retracted engine and/or propeller

9. Solo flights

• Repetition and control flights with dual controls (2 to 4 flights)
• Solo flights (3 to 10 flights, possibly combined with transition to single-seater)

10. Unusual procedures (5 to 10 flights)

• Alternative turns
• Excessively low approaches
• Excessively high approaches
• Slips

11. Glider flights (2 to 3 hours with dual controls)

• Interpretation of instruments
• Thermal, ridge, or wave flights
• Locating updrafts
• Centring
• Adhering to air traffic regulations (thermal, ridge flying rules, wave)

12. Flights in the local area of the training airfield (2 to 3 hours on dual controls)

• Orientation in flight
• Working with the map
• Concept of the airfield area
• Flights within the area of the training airfield

13. Flight in the vicinity of other airfields (2 to 3 hours on double controls)

• Transitioning from one airfield area to the next
• Cross-country flight from one airfield area to another during a flight over n km (n: best glide ratio of the glider used)
• Preparation for outlandings
• Possibly: Landing at a different airfield
• Possibly: Entering/Crossing airspace C or D

14. Solo Glider Flights (10 Flights)

• Training of gliding within the training area
• Glider flight with a minimum duration of 2 hours after the release or engine shutdown

15. Examination preparation (3 to 5 flights)

Review of exercises in preparation for the flight exam.

Thanks to the new training concept, redundancies and waiting times can be avoided, thereby reducing your training costs. It is expected that about 100 flights will be needed to complete your basic training.