nathan_c

Ah ok I get what you mean now Tony, thanks for clearing that up. Cheers Nathan

That sounds pretty good Tony, but what do you mean by a bit hard? I also noticed on Ra-aus's website about coominya the prices are cheaper then alot of the other flying schools around. I might have to give them a call and arrange a TIF. Now I just gotta convince my parents to take me there.... at least until I get my P plates in august =] Tah, Nathan

Ok, so Ive decided I want to go ahead and do some RAA training.... but where? There is a whole bunch of places I could go, but I wanted to know from the people that have already gone through this, what are the best places to go??? I live in Brisbane, so Boonah/Warwick is as far as I would like to go out that way, and probably caboolture, maybe a little further is how far north I would be prepared to go. Basically I am looking for things like pricing, instructors, aircraft, how nice it is to learn at these locations, etc etc. Thanks, Nathan

So who else does gliding??? What aircraft do you fly? Where do you fly? How many hours have you got? Tell us about yourself guys, and dont leave anything out :thumb_up: For the record, I have done about 11-12 flights in and L-13 blanik, and about 3 flights in a puchatek.... Blanik is far superior! And I fly at warwick in qld, a couple of hourse away from brisbane.

Thanks or your replies guys. I would have replied earlier, but I have been away for the last 10 days without the internet. From what everyone seems to be saying, gliding is the more rewarding type of flying, so I am going to try and push on with that. I met a gliding friend the other day who about 3 months ago, we were at the same level in gliding skill, and hes been flying, I havnt, so now hes solo. I guess thats what money does to you though. Anyway, thanks again for the replies.. Nathan

Ok, so heres the situation. Ive started gliding training with the Air force cadets, and I love it. I really do. But im not that far into my training, and I cant get rid of the feeling that I like powered almost as much, and its more convenient. My problem is, I dont know which one I really want to do more... So glidings fun, and I have made some great friends doing it, but its inconvenient in the fact that i fly one or 2 days a month, and get at most 2 flights in a day, and the rest of the day is pushing gliders around and getting others in the air. Powered on the other hand.... So much more is available to me. Convenience in that I would get more flights per day, and I can go alot more often then I can in gliding, but it is more costly.... ALOT more costly... So has anyone gone through this before? Can anyone shed some light? Feel free to turn this thread into a discussion about the pros and cons of both, im sure it would help.

Very nice. I want to fly in a puchaz.... Looks cool. Boonah was terrific, nice scenery, only problem was the length and width of the strip. You get 2 gliders come down after each other, and peel off to either side of the runway.... boom, closed airstrip. Other than that it was very nice apart from the fact I royally screwed up my lesson thumb_down Havnt been flying regurly enough and didnt have even a scrap of co ordination, and my take off was dodgy, as was my circuit... too high when i joined downwind therefore had to use full airbrakes on final... Anyway, ill try and stop the block of text there

Hehe good olf blaniks. Thats what i fly, and yes, your right, the creaking is insane =] So just outta interest Tomo, what kind of glider were you in? I was out at Boonah today gliding, but im mainly at warwick most of the time, darling downs isnt far from that is it?

So who went out there? What did you think? Favourite part? You know, all the usual questions... I was out there today, I thought it was great and my favourite part woulda been the roulette cause thats the first performance I have seen i person. So everyone..... discuss!

It wasnt saturday, but probably on thursday or friday I was about to get rolling behind the aero tow when we had 2 calls exactly like that. At caboolture too. Neither me or my instructor could make it out. Sounds like it might have been the same guy though. It also could have been the other airfield on the freq. There cabo, redcliffe and another one.

Its not that I dont want to go, everyone was just saying it would be crap =] Im definately gonna be there though, dont care if there is only 1 plane there.

Posted something about this a few months ago. They arent the best on spreading info about it are they? Any way, ill be heading out to it, better than sitting at home.

So conflicting types of flying you think? If you have alot of Chopper hours, doing some fixed wing flying wouldnt hurt? Because making a wrong move in a plane thinking you are in a chopper is more forgiving yea?

Im sorry hunter? I dont seem to understand what you mean?

Howdy Ya'll Angus Hornblower 'ere Any other 'Ornblowers out there us can hook up with Talk to ya'll later

I dont blame them for not getting enough! Im currently a glider pilot, and am aiming at entering the ADF as a blackhawk pilot, and then trying to get a fixed wing licence. The main reason I wanted to know was after I finished with the army, was I would like to keep the chopper licence, and then also get a fixed wing, even if its only PPL, not CPL, so I can fly whatever I want.

Really? Oh ok. Haha, I guess someone somewhere gave me a false impression then.

A interesting though popped into my head a few days ago... Is it possible to hold a fixed wing and helicopter licence at the same time? Im tending to lean towards the realisation its probably not allowed, because of the rotary conversion courses that are held, so obvioulsy you lose one to gain the other on those courses. The thing is, I dont see the problem with it, If your perfectly capable of doing both, and can show that you are capable of flying both, whats the issue? Anyway, the main reason i brought it up is because in later life I would like to hold both if I can, because it gives variety, but post up your answers and/or thoughts, im interested to hear them.

Crashed north west of brisbane. Both occupants dead. Real shame. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=623805

Sorry for the late reply guys, $70 dolllars? Thats a bit steep. Either you got a really expensive place to fly, or you got towed to a unusually high altitude? I get towed to about 2000 ft AGL, which ends up being 3500 ft, and it costs me approx $30, and thats every time I fly. So for whoever asked about prices around the country, Warwick - approx $30 to 2000 ft AGL. On another note, Phildo, if you are flying around Caboolture and Boonah, why not head out to warwick one time? You would have to look them up to see when they are there, because I have only been out on cadets trips so far, but they are all a great bunch of guys. From what I have been told, Warwick is alot better then Boonah anyway, as you have altitude restrictions there where as you dont at Warwick. Anyway, ill be quiet now and let this post sink in

70 bucks a launch?? Damn, how long do you wanna be up their for? I pay 30 for the aero tow then 50 c a minute glider hire, so it ends up being about 45 bucks for a half an hour flight, which is all i get at this stage :P

Ive currently got 3 minutes shy of an hour, im training with the AAFC(Australian Air Force Cadets) so i onyl go out every few weekends. Not nearly as much as I would like

Well I guess anyone who is interested or already is flying gliders can post in here, but Im just trying to get a general idea of who/ how many people actively fly gliders? If you do, post where, so it may be possible to organize something in the future. Ill start -Nathan Cornwell, just started flying a few months ago, and am doing my training at Warwick, in queensland atm.

I think the club i use has a pawnee. I go through Warwick, so its like 2 hours drive each way from brisbane for me. The reason i go through there is cause the air force cadets do it there, so i get it a little cheaper then club rates.

Just gonna throw this out there, as I would think gliding is recreational, but is anyone else a student glider pilot? I had my first lesson the other day and loved it, and would like to find others with the same interest :P