GLIDERBOOKS Flight Training Blog

A Note to Sim Training Naysayers

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 16:02:33 GMT

One of the things that experienced glider pilots and instructors say is that even though they have tons of experience, they can NOT fly a glider well in Condor, especially on tow. There are two reasons for this that they need to understand.

If they are using a joystick on a table, they are controlling the stick using their shoulder muscles, not their fingertips like they would in a glider. This means that while they KNOW what to do with the stick, they have to learn a different way to cause those movements, which takes them back to being a beginner again. In the Mach 0.1, they would have their forearm resting on their thigh, just like in the real glider, and controlling the stick with their fingertips. We have found that at the conventions, CFI-G’s who say Condor is a waste of time change their opinion after flying in the Mach 0.1. Without exception, every experienced pilot was able to fly the tow on Condor when they were in the Mach 0.1.

Second, experienced pilots are hardwired to expect to feel the movement of the glider when they move the controls. When they don’t get this feedback, they instinctively move the controls more, leading to over controlling. Again, this makes some instructors think that Condor is not accurately modeling how a glider behaves. When a student, with little or no experience gets in the sim, they are controlling the glider based on visual cues, and don’t have the hard wired response yet of expecting to feel the gliders movement, so they don’t have this problem with over controlling.

Introducing an Updated Design for the Mach 0.1

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT

All of the Benefits of the Original Design

The MACH 0.1 allows students and pilots to do basic training, master core concepts, and explore new scenarios using soaring ﬂight simulator software in a realistic glider cockpit conﬁguration. The natural control layout includes stick, adjustable rudder pedals, spoilers, wheel brake, landing gear, trim, and a tow release handle.

Reduce time & costs involved in training
Make use of inclement weather days
Practice emergency situations
Concentrate on speciﬁc maneuvers
Keep students engaged
Enjoy more soaring time

Plus Updated Design Features

4x greater control precision
Integrated monitor mount
Simplified assembly
Modular, PCB-based design for increased reliability and serviceability

Still Available at the economical price of just $1899

Choice of Integrated Monitor Mounts

The new version of the Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit includes an integrated monitor mount. This keeps the monitor from accidentally getting knocked over.

The Standard monitor mount will fit monitors with an outside width of up to 24.25 inches. Many 27" monitors fit this criterion. This mount protects the monitor when the simulator is being moved. The screen of the monitor is set back from the frame, so it can be laid on a flat surface without touching. The standard mount accommodates monitors with a 100mm hole pattern.

The Large monitor mount will hold monitors with a weight of up to 20 pounds. The large mount accommodates monitors with either a 100mm or 200mm hole pattern.

Please Note: Instructor Remote is available as an optional add-on.
Computer, monitor, monitor screws, keyboard, mouse, and Condor software NOT included.

Simulator Training Doubles Solo Rates at the United States Air Force Academy

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

In the summer of 2018, the United States Air Force Academy began using Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpits as part of their "Glider Airmanship" course. The data collected from the course shows that the solo rate for students who completed the course in 2018 was more than double the solo rate of the previous two years.

INTRODUCTION

The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) offers its students the opportunity to fly gliders each summer in its Glider Airmanship course, AM-251. Over 300 cadets, along with a handful of ROTC students, are divided into three groups. Each group goes through an intensive three-week session of training, consisting of both ground and flight instruction. Students are given a maximum of 14 flights during the course. Due to weather, time, medical, and other constraints, not all students receive 14 flights. The USAFA defines course completion as either (1) soloing; or (2) completing all 14 flights without soloing.

In the spring of 2016, the USAFA contacted Russell Holtz about creating an Enhanced Training Device (ETD) consisting of the Mach 0.1 Glider Cockpit Simulator with lessons designed in the Condor 2 glider flight simulator program.

The requirements for the ETDs were that they be:

quickly and easily implemented
relatively low cost
reliable
effective at increasing the solo rate

The Academy purchased one Mach 0.1 for evaluation. In the spring of 2018, they ordered eight more units for use in the summer of 2018. Russell then developed USAFA specific training scenarios for use in the ETDs. Also, pertinent parts of his textbooks, Glider Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and Flight Training Manual for Gliders, were prepared as an online course supplement to be used in addition to the standard AM-251 materials.

ENHANCED TRAINING DEVICE

The Enhanced Training Devices (ETDs) consisted of:

The Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit
A PC running Condor 2 Soaring Simulator software
Custom Training Scenarios

Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit

The Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit is a commercial product of GLIDERBOOKS.com, that features a realistic control layout, including stick, adjustable rudder pedals, airbrakes, trim, landing gear handle, and tow rope release. The device also features an “instructor’s remote” that can be used to practice rope breaks and airbrake failure with students. A supplied keypad, which rests on the pilot’s left thigh, provides convenient access to all the functions typically accessed through the full keyboard. The device is made from furniture grade PVC pipe and is quite durable.

Condor 2 Soaring Simulator

Condor 2 is a commercial soaring simulator software program. It uses state of the art physics and advanced weather models to depict glider performance and handling accurately. The flight school function allows for the creation of custom training scenarios. The glider’s initial position, altitude, and attitude can be set along with precise weather conditions including winds, turbulence, and thermal activity.

Custom Training Scenarios

Simulator training has the unique advantage of making it possible to practice individual elements of a maneuver separately before having to put them together in the correct order to perform the entire maneuver. For example, to complete a landing, the student must be able to:

Maintain a constant airspeed.
Fly along a straight line.
Control the gliders descent angle.
Fly the round-out, or flare, to transition from final to the “hold-off”.
Fly the “hold-off” as the glider’s speed decreases until it touches down.
Maintain a straight heading on the runway while “taxiing” after touchdown.

In the real glider, the elements must be completed in this order. As a student performs one aspect of the maneuver, they must immediately transition to another element that they may not have mastered, or even practiced. It would be more efficient if the student could learn and practice each of these skills independently, before having to combine them. Breaking down maneuvers into distinct elements is the philosophy behind the training scenarios developed for use in the ETDs.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Selected sections of the textbooks, Glider Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (GPHAK) and Flight Training Manual for Gliders (FTMFG), were provided to the AM-251 students.

GPHAK covers the principles that a student must understand to apply during flight. These include such things as glider familiarization, aerodynamics, performance, medical issues, and radio communications.
FTMFG explains how to perform each of the flight maneuvers, including the purpose, procedure, common errors, and a completion standard.

Having this material available can help ensure that both the instructors and students are working from the same knowledge base and that all of the instructors are teaching the maneuvers to a consistent standard.

This material was made available as an online course and included review questions for all the topics. In the first two sessions of AM-251, the students had access to the online course. The third session, for unknown reasons, did not get this information until very late if at all. While unintended, this natural experiment did provide an opportunity to see what effect the material had on student success.

TRAINING

The week before the start of the first summer session, Russell traveled to Colorado Springs to train the instructors on how to use the ETDs, and also stayed to observe the first week of the course. The instructors in this course consisted of a handful of officers, assisted by a large number of cadet instructors. Cadet instructors are students at the USAFA who have completed AM-251, along with another course that trains them to be instructors: they do not have anywhere near the training or experience of an FAA Certified Flight Instructor in Gliders (CFI-G).

While all of the instructors were working off of a common syllabus, during this time, it was clear that there were large discrepancies in how individual instructors taught the maneuvers. One of the advantages of observing the instructors training students on the ETDs is that these discrepancies could be identified and discussed, and a “best practice” agreed upon so that all students would receive consistent, high-quality training.

Each instructor worked with three students at a time on the ETDs. One student would “fly,” while the other two observed. This allowed the students to learn not only from their own mistakes but also from those of their classmates.

RESULTS

Analyzing the data in this type of “study” is always a challenge. Uncontrolled variables make it difficult to make a direct comparison from one year to another. In this case, the two most significant factors were that the number of students increased in 2018, and the number of flyable days decreased significantly.

The number of students in the program increased 5% -- from an average of 326 students in 2016 and 2017 to 343 students in 2018. The number of sailplanes and tow planes stayed the same. However, more days were lost to weather and other factors in 2018. These factors combined to decrease the average number of flights per student by 22%, from 12.4 to 9.7.

The relationship between the number of flights and the number of solos is not linear. No one will solo in the first several flights. One would expect the total number of solos to increase significantly with increased flights. This non-linear relationship is seen in the data for the different sessions. The first session had an average of 8.3 flights per student, with 30 of the 115 students soloing, or 24%. The second session had an average of 9.6 flights per student, with 31 of 115 students soloing, or 27%. And the third session, with an average of 11.2 flights per student, had 40 solos out of 114 students, or 45%.

Solo Rates of Students Who Completed the Course

Due to the variation in the number of flights per student, the most accurate measure of the effect of the ETDs on student performance is to look at the number of solos among those students who “completed” the course.

In 2016 and 2017, 43% of the students who completed the course soloed. In 2018, with the addition of the ETDs, 89% of the students who completed the course soloed. The number of solos for students who completed the course increased by 110%, more than doubling the rate of the previous years.

Even with the 22% decrease in the average number of flights per student from 2016/2017 to 2018, the number of solos still increased by 9%.

Supplemental Materials

In the first two sessions of AM-251 in the summer of 2018, students read and answered review questions covering the material before they took their flights. In the third session, this information was not given to students.

In the first two sessions, 100% of the students who completed the course soloed. In the third session, the one where they did not use these materials, the solo rate was 77%. While this is not enough data to make a firm conclusion, it suggests that studying the supplemental material did have a positive effect on solo rates.

Glider Damage

In previous years, the USAFA glider fleet has suffered significant losses due to damage incurred mostly during hard landings. Data is not available for this, but anecdotally, squadron instructors noted that this year’s damage was significantly lower than prior years, with only two hard landings resulting in damage to a glider. In previous years up to 70% of the fleet suffered damages from hard landings.

Simulator Durability

One of the significant concerns that the Air Force Academy had about the Mach 0.1 Glider Cockpit Simulator was if it would be able to stand up to cadets using them for six hours a day, five days a week, for the nine weeks of the course. For the duration of the three sessions, there were no broken parts on the simulators, and only two switch failures, which were quickly replaced.

CONCLUSIONS

The data shows that the use of the ETDs more than doubled the solo rates for students who completed AM-251 in the summer of 2018.
Supplemental materials, provided in the form of an online course, also had a positive effect on solo rates.
Anecdotally, ETD use decreased damage to the gliders.
The durability of the Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit was more than sufficient to meet program requirements.

APPLICATIONS FOR CLUBS AND FBOS

The results of this study indicate that glider clubs and FBOs that incorporate simulation training into their curriculum should see a decrease in the number of flights it takes a student to solo, and a decrease in the damage to their equipment.

In addition, commercial glider operations can increase their revenue by training multiple students at once with a single instructor, or by providing evening or winter courses, when actual flying would be impossible. Simulators can also be rented by students to practice by themselves before or after a lesson with an instructor.

For both clubs and commercial operators, simulator training can keep students involved, even when the weather isn’t good for flying, leading to fewer canceled lessons, greater student retention, and more students getting their license.

As the USAFA learned, using a simulator is also an excellent way to teach instructors how to teach since an experienced instructor can watch an instructor candidate interact with a student while teaching.

Versions of all of the material provided to the USAFA, as well as the Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit, are available from the GLIDERBOOKS website.

GLIDERBOOKS Academy Introduces New Course: RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The radio plays several roles for the glider pilot. It enhances safety by letting you know about other air traffic near you. It is a way of obtaining information about the weather and special use airspace activity. And it allows you to keep in touch with other gliders, and your crew while on long flights. This course teaches you what you need to know to communicate precisely, efficiently, and confidently using the radio. The course is broken into three main sections. The first part, Radio Technique, introduces you to the functions of the radio and covers some basic radio phraseology, such as the phonetic alphabet and how we format a radio call. https://academy.gliderbooks.com/courses/radio-communicationsWho You Are Talking To teaches you about the different entities that you'll be communicating with on the radio, what services they can provide, and how to address them. These include other aircraft, Flight Service Stations, and ATC, or air traffic control, which is comprised of Tower and Ground control, Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and Approach and Departure Control. Finally, When to Use the Radio gives you many different examples of radio calls, starting out at non-towered airports, then towered airports, and radio calls that you might make on long cross-country flights, and how you would use the radio during an urgent or emergency situation. The course also includes some useful downloads and resource links.

Young Eagles to Soar

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

GLIDERBOOKS.com is partnering with the EAA to bring glider training opportunities to Young Eagles participants.

Launched in 1992, the Young Eagles program has dedicated more than 25 years to giving youth ages 8–17 their first free ride in an airplane. This first flight opens the door to a complete EAA Flight Plan that includes an EAA Student membership, free online flight training, free first lesson, and access to flight training scholarship opportunities. Sporty’s supplies the free online training for power planes. GLIDERBOOKS Academy will now supply the free online glider training. Young Eagles participants will have access to a one-year subscription to GLIDERBOOKS Academy’s “Fly Gliders! - Young Eagles Glider Training Bundle” which includes courses on glider familiarization, instruments, and aerodynamics. This package is valued at $95.

GLIDERBOOKS Academy has been working with the EAA on the goal of increasing youth interest in aviation. Beginning flight training in gliders allows young people to fulfill their dreams of flying at a younger age and at a lower cost. Students are allowed to solo in gliders at only 14 years old and can get their private license at 16.

With a general decline in the number of people involved in aviation, we hope to increase interest and provide an avenue for these youth to explore all that aviation has to offer.

GLIDERBOOKS Academy Introduces New Advanced Seminar on Soundings

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Atmospheric Sounding data provides a pilot with the most detailed description of the state of the atmosphere at a specific location. A sounding is simply a plot of the vertical distribution of the temperature, dew point, wind speed, and wind direction. However, with this information, and the knowledge to interpret it, a glider pilot can determine:

What type of clouds will be present, if any, and their altitude
How high thermals will climb
If there will be thunderstorms in the area
If mountain wave conditions will exist

In addition, airplane pilots can determine:

Icing levels
Smoothest cruising altitudes
Best cruising altitudes based on wind and direction of flight

If you have always wanted to be able to interpret soundings, but found them to be incomprehensible, this course will help you to understand the phenomena of adiabatic heating/cooling and atmospheric stability, which are the key to understanding the data. You will also learn how to use the Skew T/Log P diagram to determine how the properties of a parcel of air change as it moves up and down in the atmosphere. With this background knowledge, actually interpreting the soundings data will be simple!

The Mach 0.1 Simulated Glider Cockpit Goes to Holland

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, I had the pleasure of visiting the Netherlands ZCNOP glider club in Marknesse. They had recently purchased a Mach 0.1 simulator from us and I was interested to check in and see how it was working for them.

It was a picturesque soaring day when several members of the club and three board members from the Dutch Gliding Association met us at the clubhouse to talk about how they are using the simulator and the potential for its use in other clubs. The Mach 0.1 is set up in a corner of their clubhouse on its very own “flying carpet”. When we walked in there were several people crowded around watching as someone flew the simulator. The club members see that as a great strength of using the simulator -- the ability to learn as a group from instructors, more experienced pilots, and each other.

While they have only been using the Mach 0.1 for a few months, and do not have any hard data yet, from what they have seen so far, they are expecting a 20% decrease in training time with using the sim. The standard practice at this club is to have morning briefing at 10:00. They have designated 9:00-10:00 as simulator training time where an instructor works with 4 students for an hour, each getting 15 minutes of “flying” time. Club members have been showing up earlier and earlier to get time on the sim before their time in the air. On bad weather days, the sim may get flown all day long.

Besides the training benefits, one of the greatest unexpected benefits they have seen is the increased camaraderie between new club members as they get to know each other through showing up early and using the sim.

They have also been able to take the Mach 0.1 into the community to introduce others to the sport, even using it as a fundraiser by raffling off ”flight time” on the sim.

Dutch Gliding Association board members Lonneke Halsema, Noah Verhoef, and Ed Westerhof were interested in ZCNOP’s experience with using the sim and wanted to share that experience with the other 40 Dutch clubs in hopes of encouraging, and possibly helping to finance, the adoption of simulator training in all of the clubs. I appreciate the warm welcome we were given and encourage anyone visiting the area to go visit them. We look forward to working with them to help increase the efficiency of training and bring more people to the sport of soaring in the US and abroad.