Williams Soaring Center (WSC) offers two forms of cross-country training.  

• Dual Instruction
• Dual Ship Mentoring

Dual Instruction is in a two place glider. Dual instruction is training, not mentoring. If you are interested in receiving dual instruction in a two place glider, a staff instructor is available to explain how your training will be conducted.  Mentoring (by a non-instructor) in a two place glider is certainly possible, but there should be no question about which pilot is the Pilot In Command (PIC). The mentor can go along for the ride, allowing the "student" to fly in areas in which he is comfortable, and if it happens, watch the student do an outlanding, and subsequent retrieve. Alternatively, the mentor can be the PIC and thereby conduct the flight in conditions in which the "student" would not normally venture. It must be clear before takeoff which pilot is PIC, and, by definition, the ultimate decision maker - regardless of who is paying to rent the equipment. If the mentor is PIC, he should not expect the student to pay for retrieves, unless this is agreed upon before the flight begins.

Dual Ship Mentoring requires you, the student, to fly solo while the mentor files in a different glider.  The information presented on these pages is strictly addressing a student of cross-country, flying solo in one glider while the mentor is flying in another ship. An alternative to this Dual Ship Mentoring is Buddy Flying - which is also a well established, proven form of effective mentoring. In Buddy Flying, the student is not paying for the mentor's tow, and the mentor has no obligation to stay behind or even wait for the student to catch up to him. In Buddy Flying, the mentor may often get well ahead of the student, and find himself flying in a differnt type of air mass, possibly resulting in each pilot taking a very different route home, depending on conditions. Buddy Flying is something many of us do on a regular basis. We are always learning from each other. It is commonly considered an advanced form of mentoring.

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Details of Mentoring

Contents

Section 1

• A description of the mentoring flight program

Section 2

• To be printed and used on the day of the planned flight.

Section 3

• Glide Charts and Polars
• Cross-Country Discussion
• Communications In-flight
• Thermal Soaring Protocol
• Bronze Badge
• Legal Notice

 

 

 

Section 1

A description of the mentoring flight program.

Introduction

The following pages outline methods and procedures that are used here at Williams to assist you as you learn to fly cross-country. The personnel who are acting as mentors may be certified instructors, but more likely they will not be FAA Certified Instructors.  The Mentors will be experienced glider pilots, serving as  volunteers, who are donating their time in an effort to help you to improve your skills. The student is attempting to improve his/ her cross-country skills, and the mentor is attempting to share his/her own experiences.  For the purposes of this discussion, the instructor will simply be referred to as "mentor."  In that same regard, you in fact may have numerous ratings is several types of aircraft, but you are interested in flying greater distances.  In the context of this program you will be referred to as the "student", and later in the flight section, the "student" is referred to as the "leader".

Cross-country is the most challenging aspect of flying that exists.  Many pilots "give up" the sport of soaring before they achieve a level of competency that allows then to try cross-country.  They may have been told about it, but they didn't understand it. They obviously never witnessed it. It is somewhat incomprehensible.  To explain to a nonbeliever that you are confidently going to release from tow, travel several hundred miles and then triumphantly return home that evening is too difficult for most people  to imagine.  But, since you are reading this page, you are obviously aware of this, nearly exotic, form of adventure.

Everyone is a "student" when it comes to cross-country. We never stop learning.  As  ground based mortals, we are attempting to pit ourselves against the forces of nature (which includes winds, sun, clouds, and gravity) in an effort to travel from one location to another, while traveling in the atmosphere.  Granted we must employ a lot of technology to accomplish this feat, but large degrees of higher technology in the form of sophisticated equipment are not as important as a slight increase in knowledge and skill of the pilot.

Questions you may have on this subject:

Here are some introductory questions you may have on this subject of Cross-country Training.  You may either click on each of  links following each question, or you may just skip the questions and  read through the material that follows.  Either way, your questions should all be answered.

What qualification must I have in order to participate as a "student", and what are the qualifications of the "mentors?"
See Minimum qualifications

Who is in charge, and who is the PIC?
See Pilot in Command

What liability is assumed by the mentor, and what liability is assumed by Soaring Center?
See  Pilot in Command

May I fly my own glider?  What kind of glider must I use?
See Pilot in Command

What preparation is required, and how is the flight conducted?
See Preparation and Flight

Is there an outline of course content?
See  Some Discussion Material

How do I schedule a cross-country training day?
See Scheduling

What will it cost?
See  Fee

How long will it take?
See Expectations and Progress

When does it start?
See Participation

Do you have an example flight?
See Discussion of Flight on 4/7/04

 

Minimum qualifications

If you choose to participate in this program as a "student" , you must be a licensed glider pilot and have earned the Bronze Badge , or have the equivalent experience. See "Bronze Badge" near the last page.

If you are willing to volunteer as a "mentor" , you must be an experienced cross country pilot, who has accomplished a minimum of three flights over 300 kilometers each, and have accomplished at least one off-field landing.  You are not required to hold an instructor certificate.

Pilot in Command

Whether you are the student or the mentor this paragraph applies to you.  Whether you are going to use your own glider during this cross-country "training", or rent a glider, you are the pilot in command (PIC).  You assume all liability and responsibility for yourself and your glider, including any expenses related to ground or aero retrieves for you or the glider you are flying. See "Legal Notice" on the last page.

Scheduling

A cross-country training/mentoring flight is scheduled individually by the person who would like to improve his/her cross-country skills.  Contact a staff member at the Soaring Center and request a date for the training, or contact a potential mentor directly.  Coordination will begin with getting a commitment from a mentor.

Fee

A fee has been established for the purpose of formalizing an agreement between the  pilots, establishing commitment by both parties.  The student agrees to pay for the initial tow that is taken by the mentor. The mentor is responsible for his own relights, and aero retrieves.

Commitment 

The mentor is accepting a "fee", and is agreeing to work with the student for that flight. If the mentor doesn't comply with the Stated Agreement, he should not expect his tow to be paid for by the student.

A typical cross-country glider pilot has the opportunity to fly four, or maybe six, days per month during the peak months of the soaring season.    If you, as a student, are asking a pilot to serve as mentor, you undoubtedly realize there is a sacrifice being made by that pilot, but you also realize that the mentor has a willingness to share what he knows, and has willingness to contribute to the soaring community, and you are serving as the beneficiary of that effort.

If the mentor is going to commit to that day, there should be commitment by the student. The commitment begins with the schedule, and mission preparation begins at that time.  If the student cancels within less than 24 hours of the day of the scheduled flight, the student is still obligated to pay for the mentors tow on the scheduled day, if he/she takes one.  

Preparation and Flight

Both the student and the mentor must come to the preflight briefing prepared to talk about the flight, and prepared to fly.  Both pilots should fully review and understand all material stated here in Section 1. If either pilot has exceptions to, or wishes to restate any of the material here in Section 1, then he/she should print out Section 1, and review it with the other pilot before the flight.

Each pilot should print out Section 2, and bring it to the flight briefing. Blank spaces should be completed.

A discussion before flight is mandatory.  See Section 2. A post-flight discussion is also an integral part of this process.  In flight, the mentor will be following the student, not leading the student.  Before the flight, both pilots must discuss and agree on several key issues, forming a "stated agreement".

The object of the flight is allow the student to practice decision making, while being open to a second opinion, in the event the mentor agrees or disagrees with the decisions. Before flight, both parties know that the student already knows how to core thermals, predict locations of lift, and remain within a safe gliding distance of a place to land.

The mentor is not there to demonstrate his/her superior ability by arriving first at the next turnpoint.  Flying ahead and leaving the student to his/her own devices will only lead  to problems.  If the student is unable to follow, it will most likely lead to a decrease in self-confidence for the student.  The result of leaving the student will either be an off-field landing, or at the least, a dejected student returning to the field with a feeling of inadequacy.

The mentor should follow and observe the student, letting the student experience the conditions, assisted if necessary by advice from or demonstration by the mentor.  The mentor may temporarily take the lead and locate a thermal, but should then wait for the student to catch up and become established in that thermal.  Communication by radio must be limited to what is necessary – it is unacceptable to clutter the frequency.  The  mentor should keep the student in direct sight throughout most of the flight until the student begins final glide for landing.  

Who launches first? 

This should be a "no-brainer" if you agree with the preceding discussion.  If the mentor were to tow first, it sets the tone that the student is not the decision maker.  Right from the start of the flight, the student should be the leader ( with the mentor acting as counsel). If the student is incapable of finding the first thermal, he probably should not be led into the countryside, possibly into unfamiliar terrain, and he certainly cannot be the leader.  

If the student - now referred to as the leader, chooses to have the mentor to take the first tow, the mentor will announce his progress, and it is assumed that the student will follow the same path, if the lift is suitable for cross country.

Generally, the leader, the one who will be making all of the in-flight strategic and tactical decisions, (while conferring with the mentor) should take the first tow.  One of the problems that face inexperienced cross-country pilots is when to launch.  The mentor will usually want to launch before the student thinks it is time.  If the student can't agree with the mentor, and the mentor wants to launch anyway, then you know there will be difficulties when airborne.  While on the ground, not being hindered by needing to communicate via radio, talking face to face, the mentor and the student will quickly get a feel for the communication skills of the other.   If agreement can not be reached while on the ground, then maybe they should call the whole thing off.  The student may not be ready to lead, and the mentor may not be willing to follow.

The Stated Agreement

There must be agreement between the pilots involved about lots of things on this type of venture.  The agreement will not be the same for each set of pilots.  However, both pilots, the mentor and the leader, must have some understanding and agreement between each other before flight.

Flying cross country with another glider is a common practice, however, few of those "buddy flights" involve true mentoring.  The distance between gliders who are buddy flying, may range from occasionally sharing the same thermal, to a separation distance of over 50 miles. Obviously, if training is to be accomplished, the mentor should remain within one thermal or two of the leader. Mentor should rarely be more than one thermal ahead. If the student is ahead, he should only wait for the mentor at the request of the mentor. The mentor should skip a turnpoint if that is what is necessary to keep up with the student. An agreement must be understood by both pilots, as to how the flight will be conducted, but it must be altered and mutually agreed upon before takeoff to assure effectiveness of the mentoring flight. See The Agreement in Section 2.

Radio communication

Conversations should be minimal, concise, and structured.
Communication has three facets - every time  It's a loop and there are three steps.  On the ground, if you are telling a person something, you say it, the person hears it, and you receive a response ( it may even be be non-verbal rather than verbal).

In flight, don't say things that do not need to be acknowledged, unless it is merely an advisory to all traffic.  In flight, do the following three steps on every call:

1. Make a statement or ask a question, and,
2. if the other person hears you, he must respond in some form- other wise say it again.
3. After you hear a response, the communication loop is completed.

Radio chatter should be concise. No transmissions should exceed 15 seconds without a pause and a response.

See Communications In-flight .

Proximity to each other in-flight

Only occasionally will both the student and the mentor share the same thermal. Typically, when the student approaches the top of a thermal he/she should head out in search of the next thermal, rather than wait for the mentor to ascend in that same thermal.  It is negative training to remain in a thermal after you have neared the top of it. Departing a thermal in a timely manner will result in more rapid progress and more miles being flown.  Both pilots should exercise the practices outlined in Thermaling Soaring Protocol .

The mentor is present to follow the student(s) and should be committed to staying with and observing the student.  This is why agreement must be established before the flight begins as to how separation will be handled.

If the thermals are rising four thousand feet above the terrain, then thermals will normally be found within 3 times the height of the thermal, or in this example, two miles apart (4,000 ft x 3 = 12,000 ft = approx. two miles). Thus, it would be common for the gliders to routinely be two miles or more apart.

If you are in the desired lift band, and the average rate of climb in the thermal has been six knots, then you should NOT remain in the thermal if the rate drops to less than half (three knots in this example).

Early Termination

If the student chooses to turn back earlier than the mentor, the mentor does not have the option of continuing on an extended cross country without the student, leaving the trailing student to return on his own. If the mentor believes lift sources are adequate for him to do so, he should escort the student back to within glide distance of the home airport - unless the student insists otherwise.

Expectations

Both the mentor and the student should have a clear picture of what they should expect from the other pilot. See "Expectations" in the Pilot Meeting of Section 2.

Barriers

Many glider pilots who have not flown cross-country, even though they have demonstrated good local soaring skills, may have barriers that prevent them from making progress on further cross-country attempts. These may often be unrecognized barriers:

• physical barrier - a lack of the various skills needed to make a safe and successful cross-country flight. You may not be ready for x-c. Have you discussed your level of flying skill with an instructor? Does he think you're ready?
• psychological barrier - probably generalized as a fear of not getting to the planned goal, maybe even considered an anxiety, and being forced to endure the risks and danger of an off-field landing, with no assurance of the safe outcome.  Possible you previously tried a cross country, found a couple of good climbs, but then couldn't find any more lift and scared yourself as you sank lower and lower. Such an experience leads to a lack of confidence that in turn, may prevent further x-c attempts. 
• barrier of leaving the home field behind - turning away from the home field and going beyond gliding distance is something you previously tried to avoid. Before, you rarely considered landout sites. On your first cross country, you are planning your next move, based upon both the lift and the feasibility of potential landout sites..

Progress

You expect to become better at flying cross-country, but each success is measured in your personal best, with consideration to the conditions on the day of flight.  Not every day is a 500 k day!

Participation in this program will make you a better cross-country pilot, especially considering that you, "the student", are doing most of the work.  The  mentor is present so that you can discuss techniques, validate your opinions, and receive feed back from someone who was there at the same time.  Do not expect the mentor to spoon feed you. The student must do most of the talking during the preflight briefing, and most all of the decision making in-flight  Prepare for the cross-country flight.  Do not waste the time of the volunteer mentor.

If you are having difficulty, the mentor should be able to demonstrate how to make progress toward the stated goal for that leg of the flight.  You must be willing to express yourself, to the degree that the mentor will know when to go ahead and locate the next thermal, and when to remain behind you in the observation mode.  Progress will be measured not in how well you follow, but in how well you lead!  

Participation

Careful and thorough discussions before flight are essential to your success, and it is important to reserve time for post-flight discussion as well.  

This program will work effectively, but it is based mostly upon attitudes.

Any pilot who meets the minimum requirements, should be able to confidently participate in this program.  Even if you have only accomplished a few short flights, this program will allow you to gain the confidence necessary to get out there and fly with the big boys, but you will need to approach this program with a confident attitude.

Comments Relevant to Future Participants

A separate web page has been constructed to allow me to post comments and suggestions. Experiences on past flights, potential problems that have not yet arisen, ideas on how to make the flight more successful are all posted on the Commets Page - click here to jump to it.

Section 2

This Section 2 should be printed by both pilots, and used on the day of the planned flight.

Once both pilots are at the field, you should agree on the time of the Pilot Meeting, and work around that time.

Glider assembly

Both the mentor and the student should have their glider assembled, prior to commencing the preflight briefing.  

Equipment

Both the student and the mentor must have the following equipment in their glider:

• GPS
• Radio that is clear and useable
• A strong battery is mandatory to insure GPS and Radio reliability.

Demonstration

Each pilot should demonstrate to the other pilot the GPS equipment that he is intending to use inflight. This will eliminate unnecessary radio chatter tremendously. Show the other how you read the miles to a site, how you change sites, which units of measurement are displayed (sm, nm, or km). Display your database so the other pilot may see what you will be looking at inflight, etc. If final glide info is available, show what altitude you will be using over your goal, what polar info do you have set in, etc. This is important- Both gliders should be set to the lowest polar performance numbers, as well as altitude over the goal, so as to have common denominators for this critical info. The higher performance glider should "dummy down" to the lower performance ship.

Soaring Weather

Prior to the preflight briefing, each pilot should have assessed the soaring conditions for the day, and should plan to address the anticipated conditions at the Pilot Meeting.

After the Pilot Meeting sufficient time should be allowed to finish pre-launch duties, and to position the ships for takeoff.

A last minute meeting should be conducted near the gliders to agree on the direction and height of the tow, the intended route of flight, and any changes to previously discussed flight parameters.

Pilot Meeting

A pilot meeting should be hard scheduled for some time after both ships are assembled. Each pilot should perform all of their normal preflight duties around this meeting, and be prepared to sit down and discuss all of the necessary details of the planned flight. A minimum of 30 minutes will normally be required to accomplish an effective meeting.

Review of Section 1

If there are any exceptions to what was presented in section 1, they should be addressed as the first item in the Pilot Meeting.

Each pilot should read this sentence:

A PIC you assume all liability and responsibility for yourself and your glider, including any expenses related to ground or aero retrieves for you or the glider you are flying.

The Agreement

1. Both pilots need to agree with these terms or alter as necessary.
2. Each pilot is responsible for their own safety. Neither assumes responsibility for the other.
3. The leader (that is, the student) will release from tow first.
4. The leader will depart the thermal first if both are in the same thermal.
5. The leader should seriously consider in-flight suggestions by the mentor - such as leaving a thermal (if the lift decreases to a minimal amount), modifying, or abandoning a planned course, etc..)
6. The leader will alter the task in-flight - select the next turnpoint,  and modify the task in-flight as necessary.
7. The leader will clearly state which turnpoint he is going to next.
8. As soon as the leader decides he is going to a different turnpoint, or returning to a previous position, he will clearly communicate the change.
9. The mentor will clearly state if he is not going to go to the same turnpoint as the leader.
10. The mentor will cross each turnpoint selected by the student if he is ahead of the student.
11. The mentor, if he arrives first, will wait for the student to arrive at each turnpoint before proceeding any further outbound, unless requested otherwise by the leader.
12. The mentor will wait for the student to commence final glide before commencing final glide himself. 
13. Both pilots will use radio procedures as outlined in this program.
14. Either mentor or student should return to the field early if either feels that is the safest thing to do.

Radio communication

The initial radio frequency to be used will be - __________

Back up/ alternate frequency will be - _____________

Conversations should be minimal, concise, and structured.
Do not say things that do not need to be acknowledged, unless it is an announcement of a fact that you want others to know. See the Section - Communications Inflight.

Mentor portion of briefing

The mentor should read these "Expectations" aloud to the student (read both lists):

The Student should:

• Not expect the mentor to make the decisions on which route the flight should be flown, when to move to the next thermal, when to return home, etc..
• Not expect the mentor to find lift.
• Not expect the mentor to find a safe landout site.
• Not expect the mentor to remain silent, and not answer questions.
• Not expect the mentor to stay with or ahead of the student. If the student is good, he may well be far ahead of the mentor.
• Not expect the mentor to assume any responsibility for the student.

The Student should:

• assume full responsibility for himself.
• make all decisions for himself
• recognize this is not "a fee for a service" - the mentor is there to facilitate.
• expect the mentor to offer suggestions as he may deem appropriate.
• not wait for the mentor while flying, however, if the mentor clearly requests the student to wait for him to catch up, the student should if feasible, double back, or wait for the mentor.
• attempt to answer any questions the mentors may have while inflight.

Student portion of briefing

The student is the leader. The decision maker for the day. If the student is going to fly cross-country, he needs to be in charge right from the start. The mentor, is there to provide advice, offer opinions and suggestions if necessary, and demonstrate as necessary. This is not a day for the student to try to keep up with the mentor, it is a day for the student to demonstrate his skills, and be encouraged by the mentor to practice techniques that may result in flying further and faster. A pilot does not learn to fly cross-country by watching, he learns by doing.

The Student should brief the following:

• General soaring conditions expected for the day -__________________
• Time of Sunset - _____________________________
• Suggested takeoff time - ______________________
• Suggested landing time - ______________________
• Average ground speed anticipated for the day - _______________
• Expected distance to be flown - ________________________
• Suggested route of flight and set of turnpoints to be used for the day - __________________

Checklist Before Takeoff

1. Glider rigged and ready for final preflight check.  
2. Radio check between ships, and agree on short call signs to be used inflight.
3. Preflight preparations and Pilot Briefing completed. 
4. GPS set and checked
5. Food, water, sunscreen, charts, etc..
   
6. Trailer ready for hookup for a ground reiterate (tail dolly, wing stands, special rigging equipment, etc.) .
7. Keys in your vehicle in the event it needs to be moved.  
8. Tow vehicle full of fuel.  
9. Pre-arrangements completed for a ground crew to do a ground retrieve.
10. Cell phone on board, retrieve phone number recorder somewhere available.
11. Cell phone numbers exchanged with other pilots and with ground personnel.
12. Airport Registration Card completed, which contains the name, address and phone number for a point of emergency contact.
13. Tentative plans for dinner.

Howework Section

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Section 3

Glide Charts and Polars   Charts Prior to arriving at the gliderport on the day of the cross-country flight, the student should prepare the following... A chart of the area to be flown, with the following annotations:  each turnpoint identified  various emergency landing sites identified  distance arcs, from the appropriate direction, leading to each landing site (minimal overlap of the arcs between sites.)   For example, when flying in the Mendicinos from Williams, here are three fields that you MAY choose for your emergency landing places.  If you draw 5 NM rings around Stonyford-East and 5 NM around Indian Ranch, and 20 NM ring around WSC they might look like this...  You should be able to say approximatley what altitude (depending on the wind) that you need at that ring to enter a pattern at that field.  For example, for the 5 NM rings you might say you need 1,000 above the pattern altitude.  Or, at the 20 NM ring around the home field, if you are using 30 to 1 as a glide ratio on this particular flight (which is 5 NM horizontal per 1,000 ft of vertical/altitude), and you compute distances in nautical miles, then you would need four thousand feet above pattern altitude crossing that ring- or in this case, 5,100 feet MSL.  This is merely an example.  But, you should have this sort of info in your mind, or at your fingertips, while in-flight, on every flight, at all times, for some field, any field. Have this info available, and you will confidently concentrate on your soaring .  Although GPS that does all of the computation for you, it is a good exercise to draw them out for a few of the most used fields. See the latest TP List. Several tables of glide distances for the glider to be flown showing:  the glide ratios that are applicable for wind changes in 5 knot increments for each glide ratio the number of miles the glider will travel per thousand feet of useable altitude for each glide ratio Glide Calculator. Using a scaled ruler, you may calculate the distance you can glide, based upon the wind.  The left side, the vertical axis of this ruler, is units of nautical miles.  Horizontally across the top is the headwind component in knots that you expect to encounter during the glide.  Here is the chart without any expected glide curve.... If you are using a 30:1 ratio, you will draw a line from the intersection of 5 miles and 0 wind speed and project it to the right.  Here is such a chart using approximate values for a Duo Discus polar curve at a certain wing loading... You should have simple tools such as these to aid you in your calculations.  You must be prepared to do such calculations quickly and accurately in-flight, in the event that the glide computer becomes inoperative. In a single seat glider, few pilots are able to use such a calculator, thus you need to have some mental notes. Every pilot has these "Rules of Thumb" and you should establish your own and practice using them. Click here to see a full size page of the glide ruler, and print a copy for your use, but remember, you must enlarge it to the scale of the chart you are using, AND you must draw the curved  lines on it based on the expected glide ratio of your glider.   Polar Curves You should be familiar with the polar curve for the ship you are flying.  You should know what the factory has stated about your glide ratio. To provide illustrations and points of discussion here are a few polar curves. Hopefully we will get a few more (send me a jpg or tif copy of your polar please.  - send it to gliding@sonic.net - thanks.) Here is a polar curve of an ASW-24 Each of these illustrations have the 15 meter configuration, with water ballast on board, highlighted in yellow.  There are three sets of red dots on each illustration.  The red dots correspond to the speed and sink rate at best L/D 200 fpm  300 fpm. Here is a polar curve of a DG800B Here are the approximate numbers for these two curves: ASW24             DG800B Speed (kts) L/D Speed (kts) L/D Best L/D        62/140 fpm 45     58/120 fpm 48 200FPM 76 38     74 37 300FPM 93 31     90 30 The points here are: The polars are remarkably similar To achieve max L/D you need a slow speed At 90 kts, L/D is about 30:1 - that is far removed from best L/D These numbers a for a glider at maximum weight - full ballast For a lighter glider, the speeds are considerably slower It is recognized that these polars are optimistic These polars represent optimistic numbers.  Pilots flying these ships find that a 30:1 calculation is not overly pessimistic, and some of these same pilots will often report from experience, that 30:1 is a more practical estimate.