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Soaring the sky is an aviation podcast dedicated to sailplanes and gliding. Join Chuck as he talks with glider pilots around the globe. You never know who my be the next guest on Soaring the sky.
Episodes
3 days ago
3 days ago
Today we first join Barbora, The Gliding Junkie at The 37th FAI World Gliding Championships in Narromine, New South Wales Australia. Chuck will then be talking with our new guest pilot Max Fabricius in Germany as he shares his soaring journey with us as well as his very interesting day job as an Astronomer.
Later on this episode we join Sergio, The Soaring Master for a new segment about the tragic story of the world Class and the PW5. Join us now for all this and more for episode 144 here on Soaring The Sky!
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
On this episode we first join Barbora, our co-host as she is in the middle of wave camp in the Czech Republic. We then head to Austria to chat with glider pilot and author Simon Lemmerer! He will be sharing his aviation journey and adventures with us as well as taking us behind the scenes of his new book , The Art of Gliding. This book is sure to be a real treat for the soaring community! With stories from him as well as other pilots and packed with Pictures and lessons to be learned. Don't miss this exciting interview!
Sergio The soaring Master returns to us on this episode as he brings us a new segment titled "Where We are Heading"
https://wingsandwheels.com/the-art-of-gliding.html
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
On this episode Barbora shares her story flying and competing in Spain as she joins the Worlds top glider pilots to fly and soar thousands of Kilometers in hopes to become the next world champion. Join us now as Barbora jumps in her LS8 and soars through the many task of this amazing competition.
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Join Chuck & Barbora as they chat with Miguel Iturmendi, one of the pilots for an update on Perlan II now in Argentina. We will Also find out how you can join them live inside and outside the cockpit as they reach for 91,000 feet and a new world record! All this and more now on episode 141 of soaring the sky!
Sunday May 14, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Saturday Apr 15, 2023
On this episode we first talk to Jack Jenner Hall, one of the ambassadors of Aviation for the Department for Transport. Jack was first on the podcast at the age of 14 after he become Britians youngest pilot! Now 16, he has not stopped reaching for the sky, recentley he helped put together an aerobatic training for young people. Jack also shares with us some of his recent experiences like his first landout while soaring cross country.
Later on the podcast David McMaster gives us an update on his project to educate people more on team flying and, has some exciting news to share with us! David also has some advice on how to start the new soaring season off with saftey first! He will also talk about about his recent trip to Reno Nevada for the SSA convetion where he spoke about his trip to the Junior World's.
https://harrishillsoaring.org/
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexx5Iaff4sjVvbSezoJF4mlK2LZrGa4MvCS9wmdkJ18FUSsg/viewform
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Joe Aldrian joins us first to share his adventures. Joe started his aviation journey flying Sailplanes in the Airforce. He would then go on to fly many aircraft and currently is a captain flying the 787. Joe has logged almost 20,000 hours in the air so, as you can imagine he has alot to share with us Today. Also on this episode we have a new segment from Sergio the Soaring Master and this one is titled "Hilly Terrain" Join us now for another soaring adventure!
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Born on an Island in south east Alaska Michael Reid made his living as a pilot for 41 years, and retired from Alaska Airlines five years ago. After retirement, Michael decided to purchase a Stemme S12 motor glider, which he now flies out of Anchorage, Alaska. He will be sharing his aviation journey with us and will put us in the cockpit of his Stemme S12 as we soar among the highest peaks in North America. Michael has given us some great links for you below to checkout after you hear his story. Join us now as we go north to Alaska on episode 137 of Soaring The Sky.
Michael Read mareid@mac.com
Assembling a Stemme from a Cobra trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vtn-32cvY8
A short clip from a full length documentary made by an Alaska Airlines pilot about the 737-200 Combi airplanes before they were retired in 2007.
That’s me complaining about the early departure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu1x-uskA0w
Soaring Safety Foundation Incident Reporting Database: http://soaringsafety.org/forms/incident.html
How Michael gets a lot of his weather briefing: https://weathercams.faa.gov/map/-162.13732,58.75623,-137.7257,65.19178
Alaska has more than 200 weather cam locations throughout the state at airports, in mountain passes, etc. The FAA is starting to spread the program to the other states.
Alaska Mountain Soaring Association, a fledgling glider club in South Central Alaska: http://www.akmtnsoaring.com/
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Today we will be soaring over the Sonoran Desert in Southern Arizona with our friend Eric Redweik from the The Tucson Soaring club. Cross-country soaring in this area frequently offers conditions conducive to flights in excess of 500 km while reaching altitudes over 14,000 feet.
With a field elevation of only 2,100 feet MSL it is common for pilots to reach altitudes of over 10,000 AGL in the vicinity of the airfield. A soaring playground for sure! Eric has been flying gliders since he was 13 and has a lot of soaring adventures to share with us as well as some saftey tips to help us all be safer and better pilots.
Sergio The Soaring Master joins us after our interview with another informative segment and this one is titled, Extended Glides.
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
The island of Tasmania can be found south of Australia seperated by a 240 kilometer stretch of water called the Bass Strait. We know Australia has many soaring clubs throughout the country and we have spoke to some of those pilots here on the podcast but I was curious if Tasmania had any active soaring clubs? We found one, in fact its the only one on the island and their we found our new friend and fellow aviator Robert Kennedy.
Robert got the aviation bug from His Father who was a World War II Pilot. As a young boy he enjoyed flying RC aircraft but later he discovered sailplanes.
Robert has been soaring for nearly 50 years. He Started his gliding training flying the K-13 then the Libelle. He said he also did lots of towing because tow pilots fly for free.
Robert has has enjoyed many differnt typs of aviation jobs throughout his life and spent 10 years of it as an Air Traffic controller, working in the morning allowed for flying time in the afternoon. He spent some of his time as a Civil Aviation inspector, ran a helicopter school and has flown everything from light sport aircraft, war birds, 737's and so much more. Robert has so many stories to share with us. We will also get into saftey with him so we all can learn from his experiences and be better and safer pilots.
Sergio is back with us today with another Soaring Master Segment and this one is titled Smoke & Fires. If you like what you hear today please hit the subscribe button and leave us a review. I hope you enjoy this episode!
Happy Soaring & Fly Safe
https://www.soaringtasmania.org.au/
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
On this episode Keith Eyler joins us and shares his aviation journey and adventures. When Keith is not fighting fires in the Air Tanker with Cal Fire, he loves intorducing and sharing soaring with others. He has over 10,000 glider tows as a tow pilot and has many hours logged in gliders as well. Keith began hanging out at airports at a very young age doing whatever he could to pay for his aviation training. He stacked up lots of ratings and would even end up eventually flying for the airlines. We will hear stories from his time flying in afghanistan, interesting land outs, flying over violent fires in the mountains and and much more. Below you will find some links to check out that he talks about during the episode. After our chat we will hear a brand new segment from Sergio, The Soaring Master about badge flying. All that right now on episode 134 of Soaring The Sky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-XMaLKl4c4
https://wingsandwheels.com/blog/post/transferable-skill-of-soaring
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
On this episode we will be soaring below sea level! In order to do that we will be heading to Isreal where we meet Natan Elsberg. He will be sharing his amazing soaring adventures over the Dead Sea and many other places! Natan has hundreds of hours logged in gliders and has also done alot of towing in Cesna 180s, Piper super cubs, Pawneees and more but, he enjoys flying gliders the most. He currently flies a Janus CM. Natan has visited and flown over 20 glider operations around the world but has been gliding in Israel since 2009. Imedieatly following our chat with Natan, (01:02:35) Sergio The Soaring Master joins us to talk about our soaring goals for the new year and some great ways we can accomplish them.
natan.elsberg@rdvsystems.com
https://www.facebook.com/100001242346488/videos/2050919814959410/
https://www.facebook.com/1560441998/videos/pcb.10216748897345706/10216748892825593
https://www.instagram.com/natan_elsberg
Natan Elsberg Aviation Bio
Age: 53 (Born 1969)
Hours: 1500 total, 700 Glider
Power: SEL, MEL, Instrument Airplane
Glider: FAA Commercial, Israel CFIG
Towed: Cessna 180, Piper Super Cub, Pawnee, *Eurofox
Owned a DA40 in a syndicate
Currently Own a Janus CM in a syndicate
Started flying at age 12, Soloed 172 at age 16
Started Gliders after 250 power hours at Penn State at age 20 (which changed the course of my life)
Visited/Flew at over 20 glider operations around the world
Gliding in Israel since 2009
Instructor since 2014
Sunday Jan 01, 2023
Sunday Jan 01, 2023
Your votes are in! What was the most downloaded podcast episode for 2022? Barbora, The Gliding Junkie joins Chuck to countdown and talk about the best of and most liked episodes on social media. They will also be playing some of the best moments of the past year.
https://www.instagram.com/glidingjunkie/
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Adriana Barragan grew her passion for life, beauty, science and freedom. During her childhood and teens, she was exposed to disciplined arts and sports that would let her develop her spirit and realize the power of the mind. Raised near the International Airport of Guadalajara, airplanes made her wonder. She had a revelation while learning basic aerodynamics on the internet. She was filled with pure passion and excitement. This was the most amazing applied physics she had ever read and represented the greatness of invention. Her learning and joy for flight only grew from that day.
At age 15, Adriana confirmed her vocation for aviation while feeling reflected in the book “Running from Safety: an Adventure of the Spirit” by Richard Bach. Soon she realized that Flight Testing combined everything she loved, defining her pursuit to become an Experimental Test Pilot. After making her vocation public, her family could only show concern.
Regardless, she took the steps to become proficient in English and applied to MIT, ERAU, and Wichita State University. After receiving letters of admission, she camped on her roof during a clear night where she made her affirmation. This journey promised her everything – adventure, growth, romance, achievement, freedom, joy – and so her family understood this “bug”. Six months before coming to the US, her family supported her to get a private pilot’s license in Guadalajara. Later, she graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University in December of 2014. She worked as a research engineer at the Computational Mechanics Laboratory of the National Institute for Aviation Research for 3.5 years, 3 years as an Experimental Flight Test Engineer at Gulfstream Aerospace, and 2 years as a Maneuver Loads Engineer at Gulfstream Aerospace.
Adriana has been flying since 2010, besides her Private Pilot Certificate, she paid for her Instrument rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate, Flight Instructor Certificate, Glider rating, and a bunch of aviation specialty courses including tailwheel, aerobatics, soaring events, and sea planes. After almost 10 years working as an engineer, Adriana “retired” the corporate world to start ORKA. She currently helps people obtain Private and Commercial Pilot Certificates, Tailwheel endorsements, and supports many students through her remote Online Course.
Her vision is to lead those with a burning aviation desire to the finest flight instructors/coaches/teachers and aviation specialty courses. Because in her aviation journey, aiming for elite training and education, she found most training institutions were leaving gaps of knowledge and experience. ORKA will be the trusted platform to find effective, high quality training and vocation to teach. ORKA shall connect people, specially those new to aviation, to the richness of the aviation community. A network of humble, caring, available and talented individuals with deep knowledge and sharp skills. ORKA shall bring together educators, flyers, engineers, competition pilots, recreational pilots, etc, who have something to teach and want to teach.
Like the flight test of an airplane, Adriana found developing skill and knowledge in a pilot benefits from the disciplined approach we use in Flight Test to expand the envelope. But this time, she was to dedicate her career to develop ”ability” to fly an aircraft to its full capabilities.
Sometimes you are so focused on what you want that you forget what you need.
https://www.facebook.com/flyorka
https://www.instagram.com/fly.orka
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
On Today's episode we head to Belgium to chat with Wim DeCrooK, a competition paraglider pilot with over 1000 hours. Before finding his sweet spot in the cockpit of a sailplane, Wim competed alot! He was ranked 2nd in the Serial class at the British open in Spain in 2019 and 3rd overall at the Mossella Open in France also in that same year. His best soaring season in a paraglider he flew more than 140 hours. These are just some of his accomplishments. Wim will share some of his adventures & experiences, like the time he ended up being stuck between two thunderstorms and some how managing to escape and land unharmed! Another time he found himself landing in a swamp and soon after standing in his underwear pulling off leeches from his body. Wim has learned alot about soaring and talks about his transition into a glider and what we all can learn from this amazing journey!
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
For this edition of the podcast Scott Manley joins us to talk about how we can use simulation as a powerful tool to learn and also have some fun while we are on the ground. Scott has been an educator and flight instructor for years but recentlry he has been teaching students online all over the globe using condor the soaring simulator. He has so much to share about how we can get the most out of our simulators and have fun while doing it. We also reached out to you the soaring community to find out how you use Condor. Some of you left your coments on social media and some of you recorded your responses on our website and we will be sharing those with you today as well.
Sergio the Soaring Master has a new & interesting segment for us also today and this one is titled "The Days Script". As always we would be greatful if you hit the subsribe button and tell your friends what they are missing! We greatly apriciate you sharing the podcast and growing the soaring community. Enjoy The Show!
Virtualsoaring.eu
CondorSoaring.com/sceneries/
SoaringTools.org
Cumulus-Soaring.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zboY_f3TzEw
soaringthesky.com
patreon.com/soaringthesky
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Today we will be hearing from two guest pilots! first we will head over to the soaring capital of America, Harris Hill In New York state and chat with our first guest pilot David McMaster! David comes from a large family with lots of aviation history that he will tell us about and share some of those soaring stories at Harris Hill and other parts of the World. David Also competed at the Junior Worlds in the Czech Republic this past summer so he has a lot to share with us!
Later on this episode we will chat with last years OLC Rookie of the year, Laura Stern, she flies out of the Offenburg Gliderport located on the western edge of the Black Forest in Germany. I really enjoyed hearing her stories and I know you will as well. Stick around after our guest pilots for another super informative segment from our friend Sergio The Soaring Master. Sergio's segment this time is titled "Deviation" Join us now for another episode packed full of great soaring content here on Soaring The Sky!
https://www.instagram.com/mcmaster_99/
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
On this episode we will first head to the great Northwest where we find John Foster, our guest pilot soaring over the rocky mountains in Montana. Now this is in a part of the soaring world we have not heard too much about here on the podcast so I was happy when he reached out to us to share his adventures & journey and how he plans to help build the soaring community there. John also flies a Phoebus that has some super interesting history that he will share with us. Later on this episode we will be talking to Doug Fronius, this years winner of the Dust Devil Dash. This was the 38th year of the competition and its always alot of fun. One of the unique things about this event is that you can compete in any glider and in fact, In years past, Doug himself flew his 1943 LK 10 and won! Today he will be breaking down the competition and also his flight in his ASW 20. Also on this episode we will be hearing another great informative segment from Sergio The Soaring Master and today he talks about Take off Emergencies & how we can be safer & more prepared.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgaFIffpm8-JVKxR-zvKedQ
https://www.facebook.com/john.foster.311
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
On this episode we first join Photographer, Videographer & glider pilot Georgia Schofield of New Zealand! Today she shares her gliding adventures soaring all over the world, recently visiting several glider ports. Georgia also has already competed in a couple National competitions where she placed 1st and 2nd. She also has had the incredible opportunity to soar the face of Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. Georgia has recently helped out at the Women's worlds as a photographer & Videographer, her profession. Also on this episode we will jump in the cockpit with our good friend Barbora Moracova and experience soaring in the Women's Worlds as she shares her flights and experiences during that event. Later on this episode Sergio the soaring master brings us another informative segment and this one is about flying gaggles safely in a competition.
https://www.instagram.com/georgiasphoto/
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Western mountain air often generates super-charged thermals, endless convergence lines, and very high cloud bases - epic conditions for epic flights. On this episode we join Clemens Ceipek from Chess in the Air on a soaring journey over the 55 tallest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and his declared 1000 km FAI triangle flight across the entire state - the first ever such flight in Colorado. But there's also a dark side to such extraordinary conditions: when the air goes up extremely fast, it can come down even faster. Extreme downdrafts can be totally invisible - and when you encounter them at a low altitude, they can be a deadly and sometimes an inescapable trap. Shmulik Diementstein, one of the most experienced glider pilots in Colorado, recently died in just one such microburst accident. Clemens will also discuss with Chuck what may have happended on that day and how we can learn to recognize and better avoid this deadly trap."
(00:44:49) Sergio, The Soaring Master brings us a new segment and this one is about a part of the flight envelope that we don't hear much about, the yellow arc (the caution airspeed range) Join us now for episode 125 on Soaring The Sky.
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Friday Aug 12, 2022
David Krautter grew up flying at a small airport near Huntsville, Alabama named Moontown. He received his private pilot's license at 17. He attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta and studied aerospace engineering. David got into soaring in 2010 after he graduated, flying with the Mid Georgia Soaring Association. During that time he started competing and working on improving his cross country skills. David moved to California in 2018 and purchased a LS-6. He spent the last year completely refinishing and modifying the LS-6 with new winglets and other modifications. Two months after refinishing it he landed in Lake Tahoe during the Truckee Regional contest....David is here today to share his story and the events that led up to that crash. We greatly appreciate David's willingness to share his story so we all can learn from it.
Later on this episode Sergio The Soaring Master brings us another very informative segment about glider polars. All this and more now on episode 124
of Soaring the Sky!
Friday Jul 29, 2022
Friday Jul 29, 2022
Clemens Ceipek from Chess In The Air is joining us from Colorado. He will be talking with Bruno Vassel & Dan Wrobel in Utah about their recent Soaring Safari they completed. You may have followed some of their journey on Facebook. Their adventure included 5 states and approximatly 1,800 miles. With a Ground Crew & a refurbished glider winch from the 1960's. They take us through each leg of this journey and share their experiences along the way. From rope breaks to landing out in a farmers field while cattle surround the glider and a bull standing guard near by. They tackled some of the highest mountains in the United States and some of the most unlandable terrain.
Sergio, The Soaring Master is back with another great segment and this one is about final glides. All of that now on episode 123 of Soaring The Sky.
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Friday Jul 15, 2022
On this episode Chuck talks with Amelia, a glider pilot soaring in the United Kingdom. Yes her name fits her very well as you will soon find out. At just 15 years old she is already making an impact on the sport. She loves sharing her soaring journey on Instagram and already has over 60,000 followers! Ameila also recently was ask to be the roving reporter for the buildup to the 2022 Woman's Worlds and she has already interviewed several pilots that will be in that event this year there in the U.K in August. As you will hear today Amelia is always so excited to share with the World this amazing sport and has lots of soaring stories she shares with us today.
(57:00) Later on this episode our good friend Sergio The Soaring Master is back with another very informative segment and this one is about discarding thermals.
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
On this episode our guest pilot is Steve Keltie. Steve's father was an engineer so, he has been around aviation since he was very young. Hanging out at the airport watching test flights and soaking up all the sights and sounds he could. Steve even had the opportunity as a kid to be around aviation royalty Bob Hoover and other well known aviators. Steve sits down with our producer Mitch and shares some stories about catching thermals above pineapple fields in Hawaii, cargo gliders invading Japan? Steve will also share with us a flight that caused him to walk away from the sport for a bit. He talks about some great experiences flying his LP-15, a very unique glider with an interesting history! After Mitch's chat with Steve we will join Sergio The Soaring Master for another new segment. This one is about sailplane improvements.
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Friday Jun 17, 2022
On this episode we head to Las Vegas Valley Soaring where we chat with Jay McDaniel! What's it like soaring in the desert heat and monster thermals? Join us now as we hear some crazy stories and personal experiences Jay shares with us that include, Area 51, UFO's, mid air collisions and Potato Guns? Later on this episode Sergio the Soaring Master is back with another segment titled "Bounced Landings" All this and more on episode 120 of Soaring The Sky, a glider pilot's podcast
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_uS0NF1gEwjT4h6gALQqdBdmcw-resfY/view?usp=sharing
Thursday Jun 02, 2022
Thursday Jun 02, 2022
Today we will first head to the Czech Republic and talk with our good friend Barbora Moravcova, She is a member of the Czeck Repubulic Women's gliding team and has just finished competing in the 15 meter class of the FCC Flight Challenge competition in Slovokia, flying her LS8. Unfortunately the first day of that competition was a rough one to say the least. Barbora chose to share this with us in hopes that we all can learn from it and be better and safer pilots. She will also share with us how she worked through it, since she recived the news while still in the air and had to get her glider safely back on the ground. She will talk about her plans for the rest of her soaring season and take a look at the Women's Worlds she will be competing in later this summer in the United Kingdom.
Later on this episode we join Jack Jenner Hall in Great Britain, a 15 year old glider pilot who just won his first aerobatic competition and currently working on being a flight instructor. Jack has been flying gliders since he was 11 and aviation is his passion like many of us.
Check out Jack's YouTube link below
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24dczaxHqscIgPG5v-wCzA
Friday May 20, 2022
Friday May 20, 2022
Our friend Zach Yamauchi recently caught up with Gordon Boettger, Gordon has added a whole new meaning to "cross country" soaring as you are about to hear on this episode. He has been soaring pretty much his whole life. He soloed at 14 and has not looked back. Gordon holds 5 US distance Records and has Multiple crosswind and downwind flights beyond 2000 km, including flights done in a Kestrel from the 1970s.
He began his professional aviation career in the Navy, and now flies for FedEx. Gordons true passion for aviation is in the glider and finding the perfect conditions to grab another long distance flight.
Finally, a reminder for us all before we let him tell his story, "Gordan is a highly experienced aviator, and has a lifetime of experience that has enabled him to do these amazing flights safely and legally. The experiences we are about to share with you are for educational and entertainment purposes only and are NOT a substitute for formal flight training or mentorship."
Later on this episode, Sergio The Soaring Master joins us for some great information and advice on speed to fly. Join us now for this exciting episode as we bring you episode 118! Enjoy the show!
You can find Gordon on instagram @grboettger where he has shared some amazing shots from the glider.
If you are able to to help us grow the show please go to www.patreon.com/soaringthesky or www.soaringthesky.com if not please share the podcast with your friends and fellow glider pilots.
Friday May 06, 2022
Friday May 06, 2022
Morgan Hall has just experienced an amazing uncharted soaring route flying wave in the sierras. What an adventure he had! You can open the OLC link below and follow along with us as he tells us about this crazy ride in wave. Morgans family has a deep aviation background that goes all the way back to World war II. So, its not a suprise that he was determined to start his own aviation journey. So, he traded his computer for his first aircraft, an ultralight. Soon after he discovered hang gliders and flew them for over 15 years before discovering sailplanes. Join us now for this amazing soaring adventure here on Soaring The Sky!
https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/gliding/flightbook.html?st=olcp&rt=olc&pi=38592&sp=2022#
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Friday Apr 15, 2022
On this episode we chat with Rudi Schlesinger, glider pilot and airline captain. Rudi started flying gliders in 1998 and later flew competitions including the Austrian Junior Nationals in 2002, Junior Worlds In Slovakia in 2003 and later that year he was invited to a training camp with Geaorge Lee in Austria. Rudi flew his first 1000k flight in 2010. He was Austrian National Champion in 2012. He had 2 World Records in the 13.5m class in 2020. On this episode he shares some crazy stories like the time he flew around the tower at the Vienna International Airport in his glider! Rudi also enjoys flying gliders in other parts of the world when ever he gets the chance. He has flown in Germany, Japan, Isreal, Denmark, switzerland and the United states. Stick around after our chat with rudi for another new segment from our friend Sergio The Soaring master as he talks about Cross Country Checks. All This and more now on Soaring The Sky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo56UcCP26LxgSVCiHPTbwg
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
On this episode we head to Fayence France to chat with our guest pilot Christopher Fleming. Chris took the opportunity as an airline pilot to soar in as many locations as he could but, found his soaring paradise in the Alps. He decided to move there so he could fly more often. Today we chat about his many adventures and the important things he has learned along the way & what it takes to fly in that kind of tarrain with little to no landing out options. We also get into thermaling, convergence, wave, cockpit updates , exterior glider care, Flarm, and even chat about the new 360 camera that he just started using for his flights on his Feyance Soaring Youtube channel. You can find the link below. Chris is a big promotor of cross country soaring as well . Stick around after our chat with Chris because Sergio The soaring master has another great segment for us and this time its about effective thermaling. So Join us now as we bring you episode 115 here on Soaring The Sky!
https://www.youtube.com/c/FayenceSoaring
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Ian Brubaker started his aviation journey in 2006, first flying powered in Cessnas, then sailplanes, and then moving on to hang gliders. Hang gliding has been his primary form of aviation for the past several years and he has been teaching it since 2015, holding a basic instructor and tandem rating. Ian also holds a B.S. in Space Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Ian's passion and expertise is to make flying easy to understand and fun to learn by leveraging both his practical and theoretical background of aviation. Ian Joins our Producer Mitch to chat about his adventures flying Sailplanes, Hang Gliders and what he enjoys about each one and what we can learn from flying different types of aircraft.
Later on the podcast our friend Sergio, The Soaring Master brings us another segment and this one talks about the 5 ways we can improve our soaring. Join us now for episode 114 of Soaring The Sky, a glider pilot's podcast.
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
This episode’s guest host is glider pilot and YouTuber extraordinaire – the one and only Bruno Vassel! Bruno joins us from Utah, and even in the small world of soaring, this will be his first time to ever connect with the legendary Stefan Langer. Together their gliding videos already have over 85 million views, and they have inspired countless thousands of people to take up or at least try flying in a glider. In this episode, they share their journeys and the various adventures they’ve experienced along the way. You don’t want to miss this one!
Later on this episode, Sergio The Soaring Master brings us another one of his feature segments., where he talks about the importance of flying new types of sailplanes, and how it can help us be better glider pilots.
https://www.youtube.com/c/StefanLangerVideoBlog
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrunoVassel
www.patreon.com/soaringthesky.com
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
We are excited to have glider pilot and project manager of the AK-X flying wing, Dominic Poppe with us. Join Tom Coussens, our guest host, as he gets the full story from Dominic behind the scenes at Akaflieg Karlsruhe in Germany. What does it take to design and build such an amazing aircraft?
Later on the podcast Sergio The Soaring Master will join us to talk cross country soaring and turn points. Join us now for another soaring adventure now on episode 112 of Soaring The Sky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtk6WKPD-yeOH4Sl_Bjd4_A
Monday Jan 31, 2022
Monday Jan 31, 2022
On this episode we chat with world famous aviation photographer and glider pilot Tobias Barth! Many of you have seen his incredible images taken all over the World. Since 2019 the "Aviation Calendar", Soaring edition has exclusively used his pictures. His work has also been featured in Magazines and other media. What does it take to get all those amazing shots while flying sometimes only a wingspan apart from the other aircraft? Tobi started flying gliders at the age of 13 and never looked back. He continues to enjoy soaring and many of those flights you will find him with camera in hand looking for that next great shot. You can find thousands of images on his website. (see show notes for link)
(01:05) Sergio The Soaring Master brings us another great segment and this one is titled "Flying Old Timers" Everyone, if given the opportunity should take a flight in these amazing time machines. What can we learn from these vintage aircraft?
https://www.pictrs.com/tobias-barth-photographie
https://www.instagram.com/tobi.barth.photographer
Monday Jan 17, 2022
Monday Jan 17, 2022
On this episode our friend Tom Coussens catches up with Zach Yamauchi who just had a 1039 Kilometer Flight in
mountain wave in the Sierraas. Zach takes us along on this flight so we can see and feel what it's like to experience this amazing flight and what it takes to fly in wave. Stay tuned after Tom & Zach because we have another new segment from Sergio The Soaring Master and this one is titled "Flaps" All this and more on episode 110 of Soaring The Sky!
Monday Jan 03, 2022
Monday Jan 03, 2022
On this episode we bring you several short soaring stories from glider pilots all over the globe & celebrate another exciting year here on the podcast. From Crash landing in the Frence Alps to bailing out after a mid air collision. These are just some of the stories you will hear now on this episode of Soaring the sky.
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Monday Dec 20, 2021
On this episode we bring you a guest host and a guest pilot! Barbora, AKA The Gliding Junkie on Instagram is a member of the Czech National Gliding Team, Flight Instructor and comes from a family of Aviators with both her parents being pilots. Any free time she has you will find her in the cockpit of her LS8. Barbora chats with our producer Mitch about her recent adventures flying at Wave Camp and other interesting flights she has had. We will also bring you a fun new segment where we chat with our guest pilot about some crazy scary soaring Youutube videos and what we can learn from them. You can find links to those videos below. So join us now and get your soaring fix with Barbora, The Gliding Junkie.
soaringthesky.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OULQ1yMVclE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkXpJcb3wjM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCh9tvGSOk&t=49s
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Hello Soaring community and welcome back to the podcast! This is our second bonus episode from some of our most played interviews and this time we bring you our chat with Stefan Langer! So grab your favorite beverage and enjoy our chat with Stefan.
https://www.youtube.com/c/StefanLangerVideoBlog
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Our guest today is Zach Yamauchi a 23 year old glider pilot and Aerospace Engineer currently working for a company foccused on unmanned aircraft. Zach learned how to fly gliders while attending Cal Poly. He also had the oppertunity to work on the Nixus project, The first general aviation project using a 28 meter wingspan glider using fly-by-wire technology. Zach will share with us more on this project as well as other soaring adventures he has had.
(01:11) Listener logbook. Christopher Stevenson returns with a new listener logbook as he chats with some west coast pilots about some recent winter flights they had.
(01:13:50) Sergio the soaring master is back with us with a brand new segment called, should I stay or should I go. All this and more now on episode 107 of Soaring the sky!
Sunday Nov 28, 2021
Sunday Nov 28, 2021
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.
perlanproject.org
soaringthesky.com
patreon.com/soaringthesky
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
Saturday Nov 20, 2021
Gavin McClurg is an, author, adventurer, public speaker and host of the podcast Cloudbase Mayhem. He has flown in Alaska being the first person to traverse the full length of the Alaska range by foot and paraglider. He became the first American to complete the toughest adventure race on earth the X-Alps. Gavin shares his amazing journey with us now.
Later Sergio The Soaring Master joins us for another segment about cloud flying. All this and more now on episode 106 of Soaring the sky!
https://www.youtube.com/user/bestodyssey
Instagram @gavinmcclurg
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Our episode today includes stories about getting caught in dust devils, low saves and Space X? Our guest Tom Coussens has experienced all that and more! Tom's aviation journey starts when his Dad spots a P-51 Mustang back in the mid 50's and then learns to fly so he can buy one! After his first solo in a Citabria at 16 Tom received his private powered license at 18. He later starts a career as an aerospace engineer and ends up working with Space X.
(17:43) In 1986 Tom finds his way to gliders and the soaring adventures begin! Being a powered pilot already, Tom also starts towing gliders as well. He currently has over 3,400 tows! Sit back and enjoy this amazing journey as we soar into episode 105 on Soaring The Sky.
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
Tuesday Oct 26, 2021
On this episode of the podcast we head just outside of L.A and join our Co Producer Mitch! He is going to share with you his interview with Glider Pilot Howie Bohl, Howie comes from a long line of aviators starting with his great grandfather who started flying in the 1920s with the Army ROTC and eventually flying for United Airlines. His Grandfather was also an Airline pilot as well as his father. Howie started flying at age 13 in gliders and soloed on his 14th Birthday. He then started flying Powered and soloed at 16. He later became a tow pilot and continued to fly gliders and then he himself started flying with the airlines. Howie has flown all over the world and not just for the Airlines but also in gliders. Today he shares with us some of those adventures.
Also on the podcast today Sergio the Soaring Master is back with some advice on Blue Days! All that and more now on soaring The Sky!
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Monday Oct 11, 2021
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 into the real glider he stays connected with the soaring world through Condor wearing his VR glasses where he can fly anytime day or night. Join us now to hear Ben's aviation journey and adventures now on soaring the sky.
https://esport.sgp.aero/news/44-ben-fest-world-champion-of-the-1st-virtual-sailplane-grand-prix
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
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 returns from the National Junior Competition in the netherlands. He has been there before but this time as a coach. Join us now for this and so much more!
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
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? All this and some great stories Tim shares with us as well.
(44:38) Flying Simon brings us another Simon Says segment and some stories about some gliders you probably never knew existed and the people that flew them.
(48:45) Sergio The Soaring Master shares a lesson in cross country and checkpoints.
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
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 sailplane.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFlKFCFhuoacr_qCYu1I5Q
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
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 another lesson to be learned. This one is focused on the mental battle we go through before landing out. All this and more now on Soaring The Sky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzq-jHW8EupBpGaDgapsDvw
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
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 soaring reporter heads to the Soar Safari in Lone Pine California and interviews some of the pilots about their flights.
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
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 gliders.
(43:35) Sergio shares a story about a glider pilot crossing The Andes in 1964 with no working Radio in The cockpit! Join Sergio The Soaring Master as he tells this amazing true story about the first successful crossing of the Ades in a glider. All this and much more on episode 97 of Soaring The Sky!