by Jim Hanson
I was recently reminded why I like gliding:
• It gets you into the air.
• It’s a chance to improve your aviation skills and airmanship.
• It can be some of the cheapest flying you’ll ever do.
• It requires the assistance of friends.
• It offers some of the best aviation fellowship there is.
Yes, gliding (like all forms of aviation), CAN be expensive – but there is an economical alternative – auto launch or car tow – or launching the glider when towed by a pickup truck. I recently had the opportunity to do it again, after a layoff of some years.
I first learned how to car tow from Mr. Bob Nady – a former director of the Soaring Society of America. Bob was such an advocate of car tows that even the license plate of his Chevy 454-powered pickup “Ol’ White” stated “Car Tow.” Bob was a member of the soaring club “Silent Knights” of Ames, Iowa. Silent Knights had a program that ought to be emulated throughout the country; they taught kids to fly. They used a couple of old Schweizer gliders—airworthy, and paid-for.
The group would provide a free glider ground school for kids age 13-18 (you can solo a glider at age 14). The airplane and the instruction were free, but it came with a price. Upon completion of the ground school, students were given flight training by the members of the Silent Knights. They had to help assemble and maintain the gliders, keep them looking good, move them to the flight line, and act as ground personnel – running wings, checking the pattern for traffic before launch, keeping track of tows and time aloft, and putting the gliders away afterward. I like that idea – it teaches responsibility and makes kids a participant – not a spectator.
A good portion of them did get their ratings – and many stayed with Silent Knights – advancing as glider flight instructors – and paying back the benefits they had received to yet another generation. Unlike airplane-rated private pilots, a high proportion of pilots getting glider ratings continue to fly for life.
One must always wonder “why the difference?” Why do glider pilots stay with the sport? I believe there are many answers – all related.
• Obtaining a glider rating is difficult. Unlike airplane flight training, you have to assemble a combination of a glider, an instructor, a wing runner, and a tow pilot or car-tow driver, and you need favorable weather.
• Glider pilots thrive because of the difficulty in getting the rating… They work hard for it!
• Just as important as learning to fly, the social side of flying gliders is important. Watch a glider flight operation…you’ll see people assisting. When the flying is over, the group often goes out together to socialize, sometimes bringing the family together at the airport. That’s something rarely seen these days at the airport, but common at glider clubs. Even during the winter months while gliders are in storage, these pilots get together because they truly like each other.
• Gliding is relatively inexpensive. There is no engine to maintain or gas to buy. The airframes are simple, and the avionics are few. Yes, the super-gliders can be expensive, but there are plenty of economical gliders out there. Since you need people to glide, the sport is tailor-made for club operations. Some clubs even save on hangar rent by keeping their gliders in their trailers. It takes only a few minutes to assemble, and the assembly process can be enjoyable.
• Gliding is pure sport. There is no pretention of it being used as business travel. Glider pilots fly for the pure FUN of flying!
Back to launching gliders behind vehicles.
Car tows are far more prevalent in Europe, where avgas can run $15 a gallon or more. It is an economical way to get launched, and on favorable days or in mountainous terrain, the glider can often get “out and away” and achieve climbs to altitude. The real benefit in the U.S., however, is flight training – a chance for students to get flight time 10 minutes at a time…a chance for them to perfect their aircraft handling skills and the energy management of their motorless aircraft in performing takeoffs and landings.
Last fall, we held a “glider regatta” at Albert Lea, Minnesota. A regatta is not a contest… It is simply a collection of pilots who get together to fly and socialize with one another over a long weekend. We had about a dozen gliders, and a little over twice that many pilots.
I received a phone call from Greg Klein, director of the Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, S.D. He asked if I minded if he brought over a motor glider to the regatta. Minded? Of course not! Greg said that he would give a motor glider ride to anyone that asked: glider pilots, airplane pilots, prospective students, aerial applicators, or students at the flight training school. I asked what was in it for him. “It’s the way I fill my classes,” he replied. “Every person that rides in the motor glider becomes a salesman for our school. If anyone asks about attending a school, they are going to recommend ours!” I had to admire his willingness to get off the airport and go hunting for students, instead of waiting for the phone to ring. His classes were full!
Greg must have given 40 rides in his motor glider, and we all had a good time. He mentioned that the school program had rebuilt a Schweizer 2-22 for an owner who paid the cost of the materials, and that they did the annual inspections on a Schwiezer 2-33 for another owner, who in turn, gave glider rides to students. He also described how the training aircraft in the program had been built up with “sweat equity.” They needed a tow plane, so they acquired a derelict Cessna T-41 (a military Cessna 172, powered by a 210 hp engine) from U.S. Air Force federal surplus property for $1,000. It didn’t make financial sense to pay to have it restored, but it would be possible if the labor was free, and LATI had a number of students who needed to learn to repair sheet metal and engines, and update avionics. The aircraft was trailered back from California, and restored over a period of 3 years.
In the meantime, a Schweizer 2-37 motor glider became available at the USAF Academy at Colorado Springs. The motor glider had been used to train cadets in the mountainous region, but the Air Force was changing its flight-training program and no longer needed the aircraft. LATI snapped up one of the four aircraft released. Similarly, a Ximango motor glider (manufactured in Brazil and sold as civilian aircraft around the world) became available at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. They picked that one up too!
With the Cessna T-41 up and running, it was able to tow the gliders restored by LATI during the annual “Soaring Days.” The students who sign up for the optional flight training receive glider time in the two motor gliders, as well as time in the T-41.
LATI was involved in ethanol aviation fuel research using an American Champion Aurora taildragger. Upon completion of the research period, rather than financial compensation, LATI was able to keep the airplane, and students now can receive tailwheel time as part of their training. As word of their needs spread, the school also received several non-flyable aircraft, including a Boeing 727 from Federal Express, an ex-Army U-21 (unpressurized King Air turboprop), a beautiful and well-equipped Beech Sundowner, a Seneca II, a pressurized Baron, and a Lear 24. Though these aircraft will never fly again, they are being maintained well in the A&P mechanic training program.
At Albert Lea, I mentioned to Greg that with all of this young talent in the A&P program—and the unusual concentration on gliders—that he ought to consider incorporating glider ground launches behind vehicles as a way to get his students into the cockpit at minimal cost. I told him that several other glider CFIs and I would conduct the training. We settled on the dates of April 17-19, 2015 so we could get the first class trained before they graduated, and the students in there first year class would be available to help with next year’s event.
In addition to the gliders available at Brookings, S.D., the Black Hills Soaring Club provided a remarkably restored 2-22, and a whole crew of experienced flight and ground personnel to operate it.
Paul Randall – dealer for the Pipestrel line of modern motor gliders – offered to bring a demonstrator over for the event. Harry Thompson offered to fly tow in the Citabria, and several other experienced glider pilots and instructors volunteered as well. This was coming together nicely. However, as they say about “the best-laid plans of mice and men………” there are always problems… This time, it was the April weather in the Great Plains states. A spring storm dumped 5 feet of snow on the Rockies, where Bob Lynn (who was to conduct the auto-tow ground school) was stuck, unable to attend.
CFI-G (Glider) Steve Fischer, the Black Hills Soaring Club (including two FAA-designated pilot examiners) and I all collaborated on the effort. We trained the students as well as the glider pilots on ground-launch safety and procedures, and as so often happens, we re-trained ourselves in the process.
We took extra care to include the Watertown airport staff so they would be cognizant of what we were doing. The airport staff was wonderful—filing the NOTAMS for us, coordinating the arrival and departure of scheduled flights, providing safety vests and handheld radios, and filling animal holes in the turf prior to our use.
The day started with a pancake and sausage breakfast for workers and glider riders alike, courtesy of Lake Area Technical Institute in exchange for the generous services of all the glider instructors, pilots, and designated pilot examiners. (Didn’t I tell you that glider people are very social?). After breakfast, we concentrated on the ground launches first.
As each person became proficient in one aspect of the ground launch, they were moved to train at another position at the glider end of the tow rope, moving gliders into position, loading passengers, hooking up the tow line, taking up slack and running the wing. All the while, experienced personnel and the field operations officer – the “head honcho” of the operation – monitored them.
Though the first hour or so moved slowly while training, people became comfortable with the operation, and the tempo picked up. There were the inevitable traffic conflicts, but the trainees and the experienced personnel did exactly what they were supposed to do, and halted the operation to prevent any problems. In the meantime, the three motor gliders were conducting operations—getting people into the air for a 20-30 minute ride, including shutting down the engine for full glider operations.
We were having fun now! We were having so much fun, that people didn’t want to break to eat or drink. Greg solved that problem by bringing cases of bottled water on ice and a truckload of pizzas for the crew. (Is this a good day, or what!) We were tired at the end of the day, but it was a “happy tired.” We all went out to eat, and hit the sack early; there was another day tomorrow!
On Saturday, everyone arrived early. Maybe it was the promise of another free breakfast, but more likely, everyone was looking forward to having another day of fun! The weather forecast initially was for wind and the possibility of rain, but the wind was okay, and the rain stayed just south of Watertown.
On this day, I had another element of our weekend – “teaching the teachers.” During my years as a fixed base operator, I had a number of people come out and tell me “I always wanted to be a pilot, but my teacher told me I had to have 20/20 vision” (that hasn’t been true for years), or “My teacher told me I’d have to give 8 years to the Air Force to be a pilot” (used to be good advice, but with the cutback in military flying, they don’t build time rapidly as they used to).
Another problem – the common lament of many youth programs like Young Eagles – is “they won’t let us into schools to let kids know this is available.” This needs to change, and the way to change this is to make sure that teachers and high school counselors have accurate and up-to-date information.
What the aviation community needs is an “Educate the Educators About Aviation” (EEAA) initiative. I believe the Office of Aeronautics in each state should lead this. In Minnesota, this is the MnDOT Office of Aeronautics.
The Minnesota Office of Aeronautics has a long history of education activism. The agency has developed an education department over the years, which includes a lot of the material teachers and counselors need. There is material there for elementary grades through high school graduation. Best of all, since the Office of Aeronautics is a government agency, it is not perceived as having an agenda, and this is crucial in getting aviation education into schools.
I asked Greg Klein at Lake Area Technical Institute for a favor. Since LATI is an educational organization, I wanted to “Beta Test” my theory.
Today, STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is the “buzzword” in education. Aviation incorporates all of those disciplines. I asked Greg to find 25 teachers for me to participate in a give and take session on providing the information they need to prepare students for an aviation career, and in return, we would give them glider and motor glider rides. Greg asked for volunteers at a South Dakota STEM conference, and after explaining that this was to help the teachers do their jobs, he quickly filled the 25 slots. Considering that some teachers drove almost 8 hours one way on a weekend, at their own expense to attend, I think the program had an impact.
Educating The Educators
We talked about the current and future demand for pilots, aircraft technicians, and other aviation professionals, and how students can start preparing in school now for these careers.
We presented materials available through the aviation industry, including the wealth of information available online from the Minnesota Office of Aeronautics. Since the teachers involved were heavily loaded towards algebra, calculus, geometry, and physics because of the STEM conference, we produced four lesson plans involving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and broke that down further for middle and high schools.
I further explained how the Office of Aeronautics cooperated with us on a trip I was involved with through Central and South America to the Antarctic. MnDOT provided the website, classroom posters, and teachers produced 60 lesson plans about what we would be experiencing on our trip. The result was nearly two million hits, as classes followed along on our blog.
I presented the teachers with contact information for EAA, AOPA, Sporty’s Pilot Shop, Ace Camp, and CAP – all organizations that will provide free or low-cost training and flight experiences for students.
The encouraging takeaway for me in this meeting was that while teachers might be wary of “yet another mandated program to teach,” once they found out that they were being provided the tools to teach classes they were already teaching and they would be able to teach it in a new and interesting way, they were ready to adopt the program.
After we left the classroom, we adjourned to the hangar, where LATI instructor Jim Behnken spent 20 minutes preflighting a glider for the teachers. The airframe itself provides many “teachable moments” about aerodynamics and aircraft control. The teachers toured the impressive facility at LATI, and the airplanes the students maintain. Then, it was on to the flight line! The teachers were able to experience ground launching and the aero towing of gliders, plus the operation of motor gliders (flown by Greg Klein, Tony Wiegman, and Paul Randall).
Though there were some initial fears, nearly every teacher elected to try each type of glider flight. There were smiles all around as they came down, and their cameras were loaded with photos and videos to share with their fellow teachers and their students, along with what they had learned in the classroom. A written debrief in the days following revealed real enthusiasm on the part of the teachers!
All in all, it was a superb weekend! All goals were met. We qualified the LATI students on all ground launch procedures and positions, and we certified and recertified 14 glider pilots and instructors on the positions. We engaged in a good
dialogue with 23 STEM teachers on using aviation as a way to make Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fun and relevant, and we all had fun in the end.
We made new friends, and it went so well that there are already plans afoot to do more of these events in other locations. As for the teachers, we received superb feedback. They drove hundreds of miles at their own expense to experience this and to give us suggestions on implementing this program. Everyone stated that they will use much of what they experienced in their classrooms for years to come.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Hanson is the long-time manager of the municipal airport in Albert Lea, Minnesota. Jim is “UP” for almost anything aeronautical. He has spent his entire life having fun with aircraft and people interested in aviation. If you have questions or suggestions on this program, contact Jim Hanson at 507 373 0608, or via email at jimhanson@deskmedia.com.
