The Exquisite Challenge Of Soaring

The Exquisite Challenge Of Soaring

By Christopher J. Gordan

I am continually surprised at how many people apparently fly over the scenery, and not through it. Make no mistake about it - flying the "Big Iron" on long flights has its challenges, and its rewards for a well executed task. Unfortunately, something is missing when you look out the window...just about everything!

When cruising at FL 320, there is precious little to see apart from the panel. I think most would also have to admit that once enroute, you are actually minding the plane more than actually flying it, even without the autopilot engaged. Trim it out, monitor your systems, make small corrections to stay on course, and wait for the next VOR.

Many people have realized this, and have become hooked on light aircraft, often refusing to use the autopilot, and sometimes navigating by pilotage alone. They have learned that it can be more interesting and challenging to fly a few hundred miles than a few thousand. They also get to really see where they are going, instead of just climbing out, and descending near the destination. How about taking it one step further?

I can tell you from experience in both the real world and in FS that there are few tasks more challenging than soaring. You must constantly fly the plane. You must constantly be thinking, "Where am I? How much altitude do I need to get to the next safe landing spot? At what speed should I be flying? What's my current glide ratio? How far can I go from here? Should I stay with this thermal, or press on? Gee, I deviated from my true course to find this lift...on what heading should I roll out of this thermal to get back on track?" Oh yeah...no "go-arounds" once committed to land! Tough crosswind at the intended runway? You'd better plan ahead, or plan to run out of rudder and ground loop your beautiful $100,000 sailplane!

OK, the FS default situations are rather limited. The default Schweizer leaves a bit to be desired in several areas, BUT...do a search for "glider" or "sailplane" on this site. You won't believe all the marvelous aircraft, panels and instruments, some of them so realistic in both appearance and performance, that you'll find yourself saying, "I can't believe I've missed out on this until now!"

There are also three excellent programs for creating thermal scenery: Thermals.exe (FS98) and Thermals2.exe (FS2000) by Ed Dumas, and Thermake by Michael Polski. Thermake can actually make "autolaunch scripts" that will scramble the thermals each time you launch FS to fly in a favorite area. You'd never have to fly with exactly the same conditions twice! There is also an abundance of scenery and courses available for those who prefer not to "roll their own". If you really think you're really a good FS pilot, try some of the cross country challenges, races, and badge flights available at SOAR.

Did I mention that you'll really see the scenery?

Christopher J. Gordan
cjgordan@lvcm.com

Chris is a real world glider pilot in Las Vegas, NV and is currently the director of SOAR, a virtual soaring society of about 600 members worldwide.