- American Standard Soaring Signals
- Don't spin (inadvertently)
- Effects of Ballast
- Effects of Headwind
- Essential Aerodynamics AOPA account needed - free, no membership required
- Flying In The Real World
- Franconia Soaring Pre-Solo Test
- GBSC Recommended Reading List
- Getting the Weather Before Flight
- How Far Can You Spit - by © Tom Knauff (reproduced with permission).
Originally published in Free Flight Magazine [Soaring Association of Canada], vol 2, 2005 - How Speed and Wind affect Your Glide by Jim Burch
- John Cochrane's Soaring pages
- NASA - The Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics
- Notes on the Knowledge Test
- Proper Radio Usage
- Soaring Badges
- Soaring in a Thermal: Bank Angle, Speed, and Radius
- So, You're Ready for the Practical Test. Now What?
- So You Want To Fly Gliders by Jim Burch
- Safe Towing from the BGA
- Some Notes On Premature Termination of The Tow (PT3)
- The Open Glider Network (OGN)
- The Soaring Page - Bill Palmer
- Thermalling For Dummies - by John J. Scott (http://www.airsailing.org)
- The Wave of Statistics by Kevin Brooker
- Turn Radius vs Speed & Bank Angle
Sterling XC Practice Courses
- GBSC XC Practice Course 25km - This course was created to allow students to practice their cross country skills close to home. The distance around the task is 25 k so twice around equals Silver Distance (50k).
- GBSC XC Practice Course 55km -A more challenging course - a little more than 50K.
The farthest point from Sterling, Fitchburg airport, is 9 statute miles away. From this distance, in an L23 and on a calm day, about 4500 ft MSL will get you home. This assumes the glider performs at 3 miles per 1000 feet at best glide speed - a reasonable safety factor over the 29:1 (5.5 miles per 1000 ft) factory specification. The calculation is 3000 ft to travel the 9 miles, plus 1500 ft (Sterling pattern altitude (1000 ft AGL) plus field elevation 500 ft MSL)) equals 4500 ft. Naturally, if you have a headwind on the way back, you'll need more altitude.
Proving Grounds (https://soaringtasks.com/)
The Proving Grounds is a glider pilot development platform designed with the novice pilot in mind. Fixed tasks, automatic scoring, and the opportunity for social recognition make Proving Grounds a cornerstone or compliment to a vibrant XC culture for years to come. Send your IGC files to gbsc@soaringtasks.com where your flight traces are sent for automatic evaluation.
Proving Grounds (https://soaringtasks.com/)
The Proving Grounds is a glider pilot development platform designed with the novice pilot in mind. Fixed tasks, automatic scoring, and the opportunity for social recognition make Proving Grounds a cornerstone or compliment to a vibrant XC culture for years to come. Send your IGC files to gbsc@soaringtasks.com where your flight traces are sent for automatic evaluation.
Safer Landings Through Understanding Visual Angles by Stephen du Pont (reproduced with permission from the author)
From the Finger Lakes Soaring Club (http://www.flsc.org - Kai Gertsen's Introduction To Cross Country Soaring
Random Thoughts From the Back Seat A collection of Towlines columns by © Jeff Orchard.
- Flying is Fun
- Turns
- The Wall
- Landings
- Judgment Day
- Slips
- Trolling For Thermals
- Falling Objects
- An Airport On Your Roof
- Patterns In The Sky
- Story For Another Time
- After Dark
Towlines Articles Worth a Second Look - a very incomplete selection. Member login required. Back issues of Tow Lines are archived here.
- Accidents - informal analysis of 2 accidents in 2021 (no injuries)
- FlyingEarlyFlyingLate---Part 1 - deciding when to fly
- FlyingEarlyFlyingLate---Part 2 - deciding when to fly
- Thermalling 101 - plus a link to good PDF
- Signalling - launch signals consistency
- Proficiency - Flying after a long layoff
- WeatherGlider - did you get the weather? did you read the glider manual?
- Wind shear - wind shear happens. learn how to anticipate it and handle it
- Cart discipline - where carts should be parked
- Gaggle Flying - how to share the sky in close proximity
- Situational Awareness - Know what's going on around you
- Launch Safety - launch safety and efficiency can be mutually contradictory
- Dangers in Soaring - Reducing the risks in soaring
- Tricks to get home under the overcast
- Getting Better - How to improve your soaring
- Fly Safe - Miscellaneous considerations
FSA Our "Sister" Club
Soaring/Aviation Supplies and Books
- Bob Wander's Soaring Books and Supplies
- Craggy Aero
- Cumulus Soaring Supplies
- Knauff & Grove Soaring Supplies
- Soaring Society of America (SSA)
- Sporty's Pilot Shop
- Wings and Wheels
Instrument Manufacturers
- Borgelt
- Garmin
- Ilec Instruments
- Clearnav
- Sage Variometers
- Tasman Instruments
- Westerboer
- Winter Instruments
- Zander
- LX Navigation
- Navitar
Software
- Glide Navigator II
- XCsoar
- Top Hat (no longer supported, also does not work on recent Androids)
- SeeYou Navigator
Please send email if you'd like a link added/fixed.