How valuable is soaring experience?

[photofly]

It’s possible that soaring experience leads you look into the sources of available weather information in more depth than most powered pilots do. At least that’s the impression I get.

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

One thing I just thought of.

I thought flying a stick instead of a yoke would be quite the transition again. It genuinely surprised me that is wasn't.

[beaverbob]

Ask Sully.

[Big Pistons Forever]

All experience is valuable especially when you are the only one making the decisions. That being said I have seen a lot of hubris in glider pilots. Too many think they are skygods

I would suggest that for aspiring commercial pilots one very desirable part of joining a gliding club is that there are likely many active and retired professional pilots in the club. Aviation in Canada is a small world and who you know can be as valuable as what you know.

Tugging is PIC flying hours and they are always valuable but realistically it is one hour a hundred times not a hundred hours of experience

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

I would suggest that for aspiring commercial pilots one very desirable part of joining a gliding club is that there are likely many active and retired professional pilots in the club. Aviation in Canada is a small world and who you know can be as valuable as what you know.

For sure. Today I flew with a 25k hour widebody captain with quite the story of how he got there, and then with a dude who flew ag sprayers for 50 years in Canada after flying Migs in Vietnam. The breadth and depth of experience is quite something.

Tugging is PIC flying hours and they are always valuable but realistically it is one hour a hundred times not a hundred hours of experience

That's an interesting perspective - I hadn't thought of it that way before. It comes with the one caveat the we somewhat regularly tow back gliders that have landed at another field, but inexperienced tow pilots don't get sent out for that; towing for 2 hours at 5kts above stall is not for the faint of heart.

That being said I have seen a lot of hubris in glider pilots. Too many think they are skygods

Technically, we are second only to balloons:

(2) When two aircraft are converging at approximately the same altitude, the pilot-in-command of the aircraft that has the other on its right shall give way, except as follows:

(a) a power-driven, heavier-than-air aircraft shall give way to airships, gliders and balloons;

(b) an airship shall give way to gliders and balloons;

(c) a glider shall give way to balloons; and

[‘Bob’]

It’s all one hour 100 times. Doesn’t matter what kind of flying.

“And then I said ‘more right rudder’.”

“I dropped the jumpers and peeled into descending left…”

“I was flying moose guts to Upper A**hole Lake, and…”

“I just about over torqued it with that last sling load.”

“We made the drop.. and the Fireboss said…”

“Our CPDLC wasn’t logging on, and”

“We called ahead to Signature for a lav dump…”

“We hit the merge.. and…..”

[EPR]

It proved valuable during the Gimli Glider accident!