The Hot Pepper

I am, I love flying gliders, but i don't have my license yet. Soon, very soon.

this is what I want to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVVgd4Ed_Go

Awesome, Aaron! I've never flown or even been in a glider, but I'd love to ride some mountain thermals like that! What a view! Pretty much all my experience is with small single engine, mostly RV-6/A, 108-2, Bonanzas and 172s. Ultralights are a blast as well. We used to rent Airborne ultralights occasionally when I lived in Alaska. Even got my mother up in one once. She was not thrilled.

I recommend a good insurance policy. About 30 years ago I went in halvsey's on plans for a Rutan Quckie. Glad I didn't follow through. I have just enough experience at flying to get myself killed. And that's a lot!

^Of course! We unfortunately know the dangers of flying all too well. We lost three close family friends in plane crashes, Rick Schwartz, Craig LaBare and Milt Stollack. Two separate crashes, a month apart, both slurry bombing wildfires. I only met Steve Wass and Mike Davis a time or two. http://wildfiretoday.com/2012/07/18/10-years-ago-today-the-second-air-tanker-crash-of-2002/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwtGnX-KmY0 :(

Flying does constitute a certain measure of danger, especially to the unskilled or high risk taker. The track record in gliders though is pretty good,; I believe you have a better chance of dying in a car crash, than in a glider. All the instructors I have flown with are 60+ years old with many years of experience. Being that a glider flies without an engine(although there are powered gliders) does seem to scare some people. However, dues to its amazing glide ratio, speed and ease of flying t...

If I am not mistaken Ultras are a bit more prone to accidents, but I don't have the experience to fully comment on this. Ask yourself, when was the last time you heard of a glider pilot dying in an accident?

I build parts for air planes.. DoD stuff.

Aaron, this is true. Also ultralights, especially quality ones, are usually pretty safe. Pilot error would definitely be my main concern. And even if you do get into an accident with one, they are very slow, so your chances of surviving are, theoretically, pretty good. Stall speed is usually in the 30mph range and sometimes even slower. I'd love to give gliding a try someday, but I'd have a lot of studying to do before I ever attempted it. We live right at the base of the rocky mounta...

Kevin, are you military or a private contractor?

I work for a Private CnC shop. We do work for Boeing, Lockheed and GE. My favorite plane is the B-1 Lancer...

Awesome! So you're an A&P then? Both my father and my sister's husband attended Embry-Riddle. My father was an A&P his whole life and my BIL just got his degree in aeronautical engineering about 2 years ago compliments the USAF. My father has since passed and a lot of my drive to take on this challenge is in his honor. I miss working on planes with him and I wish I had cherished more at the time and learned more in the time I had. Now I have a giant garage filled with a li...

TNR, wow you live at an ideal location. Many pilots train first on gliders before moving on to other planes. However, many come back to it. I can't remember his name, but a former astronaut and test pilot prefers gliders as he says its the closest thing he has done to soar like a bird. He loved the safety, and smoothness, and how relaxing it is.

I can imagine how quiet and peaceful it must be. I was never a big fan of the ungodly noise levels and vibrations of most small aircraft. That is probably the only thing I have ever hated about it. Unfortunately the Sonex and Waiex do not have a whole lot of useful load, so I won't be able to insulate it very well. Horay for noise cancelling headphones! I'd love to build a Van's RV of some kind one day, but I know from personal experience building the one with my dad how many...

There is a thread I started about pilots, but no one replied at the time so I figured either no one here is a pilot, or interested.

... hours it takes and how expensive it can be. Baby steps. So I think it will be safer going with something a little simpler for my first solo project.

I will look it up!

I can make some pretty bitchin looking planes outa Legos

lol^ Let see em, show some pics

Sadly I'm not even sure if we still have the Legos