Soaring the sky a glider pilot's Podcast

We are honored and happy to bring you our Interview with German pilot Ben Fest! He has made history by becoming the first ever World Champion of an eSport contest in any aeronautical discipline! Ben joins us to share his adventures and journey not only in virtual soaring but in real gliders that he loves to fly as well. He started flying gliders in the real world when he was just 13 years old but had already been flying Condor a year before that. When Ben's schedule does not allow him to get...

Today on this episode we head to the 36th World gliding Championship in Montlucon France as Chuck interviews one of the Pilots who competed in this years event. All eyes were on France since the Worlds in Germany was canceled. Our guest Daniel Sazhin shares his journey that starts in New Jersey as he heads across the Atlantic to fly in one of the biggest contest of his souring career and what it's like flying with the best in the World! Flying Simon also returns for another segment as he...

Today on this episode we have a guest host and guest pilot! Chuck hands the microphone over to Clemens Ceipek as he interviews glider pilot Tim Bromhead of the famous youtube channel Pure Glide! Tim is an active contest pilot and Flies out of Piako Gliding Club in the north island of New Zealand. The site is also close to the famous Hobbiton where Lord Of The Rings was filmed. How did Tim got hooked on gliders? What is it like flying in one of the most amazing soaring sites on the planet?...

Join us now for our 100th episode celebration! Bruno Vassel helps Chuck & The Team Celebrate this podcast milestone! We will have some laughs, hear some great stories and even hear from some of our previous guest pilots from all over the globe. (56:30) Our Listener Logbook returns with a story from the famous Harris Hill about a young passenger who accidently releases the tow rope way too early. (01:02) Sergio The Soaring Master is back to give us some advice on buying a...

On this epidsode we had the priviledge to catch up with Clemens Ceipek, Competition Glider Pilot, Blogger & Youtuber to chat about his recent experience competing at the 18 Meter Nationals in Nephi! He talked about the crazy terrain transitions & strong thermals and dealing with a wild fire in the area during the contest. Nephi is a majestic place to fly. So Get ready for big thermals, big sink and some tough competition! (58:35) Also in this episode Sergio The Soaring Master is back with...

Kempton Izuno is back from the 20 Meter 2 Seater Nationals in Montague California and will share his experiences flying a contest with another pilot in the cockpit. He will also share some super interesting experiences he has had in the cockpit. Like the time he actually was sucked up into a Thunderstorm and flying blind for two and a half minutes! (52:00) Sergio The Soaring Master is back with a unique story about soaring in the Olympics? (59:25) Christopher Stevenson, our on the road...

8x Brazilian Champion Henrique Navarro, Glider competition pilot, Instructor, Aerobatic instructor and author joins us today. He also has competed several times in the World Gliding Championships in (France 2006, Argentina 2012, Finland 2014, Lithuania 2016, Czech Republic 2018) Henrique has broken 33 national records in Brazil has over 5,000 hours in gliders, over 500 in airplanes (mostly towing gliders) & has flown 64 different glider types He is also a Sales agent for Schempp-Hirth...

Tony Condon has recently won The Club Class Nationals in Tennessee! He will take us with him in the cockpit as we experience what it's like from start to finish and what it takes to soar all the way to the podium. Tony has competed in many National gliding competitions as well as the 13.5 Meter World Gliding Championships. When he is not competing he is teaching others how to Soar! (44:00) What is Dolphin Flight? We find out on this episode as we head to Brazil to hear from Sergio as he...

Contest Flying, scary landouts, hangar stories, Waco gliders & world war II and more! Our featured guest pilot today is Dave Reilly joining us from Merlan Soaring center in Virginia. Like many of us From the time he was a kid he wanted to fly. Dave discovered gliding in 2005 and progressed from the 2-33 to the 1-26 and on. He now enjoys flying in is very own LS8-18 Dave shares some great stories with us like the time he was not sure if he was going to make it back to the glider port but...

On this episode we head to Brazil to chat with Sergio Lousada, he is 35 years old and is a Soaring Pilot, Cross country Coach, and Flight Test Engineer. Sergio has been flying sailplanes since 2007, but for as long as he can remember he has been addicted to aviation. Interesting enough, soaring made it possible to fulfill his dreams. As his gliding activity was decisive when he was selected to become a flight test engineer of military aircraft and he got to fly a good number of them! What he...

Don Ingraham was living in Minneapolis when he was bitten by the soaring bug in 1993 at age 39. Thanks to the tutelage of Bob Wander, by age 40 he had soloed, earned a PPG certificate and purchased a Jantar Standard. Over the next couple of years he flew the Jantar to more than a dozen MN State Soaring records and kept busy during the winters refinishing it in gelcoat (with much phone advice from George Applebay). Don started flying contests in it in 1996 and moved up to a Discus in 1999....

On this episode we first talk with Miguel Iturmendi, one of the pilots from the Perlan project as he answers your questions and shares his adventures flying super high altitudes and what it's like soaring in the only pressurized glider in the world. Is it possible to fly the Perlan Ship on Mars? You may be surprised when you hear the answer. Miguel is also a test pilot and will also tell us about a very famous solar motor glider he has been flying most recently. (52:52) Dale Masters is back...

Flying Simon is a glider pilot joining us from the Netherlands and a few years ago he started his YouTube channel 'Flying Simon'. He has captured some of his amazing flights. Simons goal is to share the excitement and the wonderful perspective of gliding and this year he hopes to share adventures all over Europe from flights in new gliders to the Junior European Championships in Lithuania! Simon chats with us today on the podcast and shares some of his aviation adventures including the story...

Today our featured guest flies out of southern California. Casey Scholz is a 650 hour commercial pilot flying in airplanes and gliders. His ratings include, multi-engine land, single engine sea and land, instrument rating, as well as AGI/IGI ratings. He is currently Working towards his CFI-A and CFI-G. He has approximately 200 hours in tow planes and has about 1,000 tows in the Tow-plane. Casey shares some great stories and also some lessons he has learned flying both ends of the rope that...

On this episode of the podcast we first head to the Philippines and talk with Rolf Dunder, He originally learned to fly in Hamm-Lippewiesen Germany but is currently the only glider pilot soaring in the Philippines. Rolf started soaring in 1979, soloed in 1980 at the age of 15. He received his PPL in gliders in 1982 and his CFIG in 1989. In 2000 he picked up his Ultralight rating and in 2001 his Paraglider as well as his single engine in 2002. In 2008 he moved to the Philippines where he...

Bill Palmer is our first guest pilot we will hear from on this episode. Bills soaring journey started in 1991 when his wife gave him a glider flight for his Birthday . It was with the now famous Bob Wander in Minnesota. Bill had recently qualified as an A320 captain with Northwest Airlines at the time, but had not flown gliders before nor had any exposure. He started with The 2-33 northeast of the Twin Cities. With the private check ride approaching squashed by winter, he picked up the...

Dan Johnson is a retired AME and internist, living on the west coast of Wisconsin, close to the airport from which he flies sailplanes and airplanes. He's flown airplanes since his father bought a Cessna 150 with observer doors in 1962, and has flown gliders since 1986. He's been speaking and writing on aviation physiology for 30 years and is also the medical advisor for the Perlan Project. Today he will share with us his journey as well as chatting with us about his most recent article in...

Today our featured guest pilot is Patrick McMahon, Patrick is a Canadian cross country soaring pilot and flight instructor located in Alberta Canada. Today he flies at The Cu Nim Gliding Club, having learned to fly with the Royal Canadian Air Cadet Program, and learned to soar in southern Ontario at York Soaring Association. During the week Patrick manages various energy efficiency programs across Canada, with an emphasis on residential retrofits. Soaring is an extension of this work as he...

Honored to have Triple Gliding World Champion George Lee MBE with us on the podcast today. George was Born in Dublin in 1945. Joined the Royal Air Force in 1962 as a technical apprentice. He then Became a pilot and flew primarily the F4 Phantom. He Joined Cathay Pacific Airways in 1984 where he flew 747s for fifteen years before retiring to Australia. George Started gliding in 1963, became an instructor and gained all three diamonds. Started contest flying in 1970, and flew in five World...

Scott E. Ashton is President and CEO of Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems, based in Bonita Springs, FL. Scott is an aerospace industry executive with more than 25 years of experience working in engineering, sales and marketing, and executive roles. He has extensive experience in aircraft sales, operating business aircraft and helicopter charter operations, and MRO operations. He has served as President of the Connecticut Soaring Association and also as President of the New England Air Museum,...