Soaring the sky a glider pilot‘s Podcast

Our guest pilot on this episode of the podcast is Tony Condon. Tony learned to soar in central Iowa while attending Iowa State University. He is the President of the Kansas Soaring Association and lives in Wichita, KS with his wife Leah. He works as a charter pilot and is a Designated Pilot Examiner. Today Tony will share his story and some amazing adventures he has had along the way. In 2015 and...

Rob Cluxton currently flies a triple seven with the Airlines but his adventure started at the age of 19 at Caesar Creek Soaring Club. Rob will share his adventures not only soaring in the United States but other spectacular places as well. Rob has flown 20 different types of gliders and owned or shared 6 different types.  Later Daniel Sazhin joins us for our Soaring Safety Segment. And we will be...

JP Stewart 2021 U.S Club Class World Team Member and SSA chairman of the Youth/Junior Committee loves soaring sailplanes and just about anything that flies. At an early age he flew RC but soon discovered gliders. This year alone he has flown two 1000km, two 750km and two 500km flights.  His career has also given him a chance to fly in some amazing places. One story he shares with us today is a fly...

On this episode of the podcast we talk with Rosita, also known as Pilot Bambi on Youtube, a glider pilot in the Netherlands who soloed in the DG 1000 at the age of 15. Now 22 she continues to fly and has organized camps for young aspiring pilots and finds so much joy in carrying on this tradition. She also enjoys encouraging people to jump out of her airplane? She loves sharing her aviation advent...

Hanicka Treslova from the Czech National Gliding team joins us on this episode. With both her parents being pilots she has been around aviation her entire life. She has competed in two Junior World competitions and four Woman's World competitions and other competitions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Today she shares her journey and aviation adventures soaring the sky. Later on the podcast Dal...

On this episode we first head to central Chile in South America and join David Flint. He is a glider pilot flying his Libelle H-301 enjoying the beautiful Andean playground. David will share with us what it is like flying over the Andes mountains and soaring with condors! He will also share with us his aviation journey. [20:33] On our soaring safety segment Rich Mataus joins us for some safety tip...

Our guest pilot originally from the West Midlands England was inspired to fly at a young age. From bird watching to R/C planes and home simulators, to experiencing flights in various aircraft. Martin Orchard wouldn't discover his passion of soaring till later in life. Join us as he shares his aviation adventures.  Also on the podcast today we will hear from Gaetano Benicasa an airline pilot in Ita...

Bill Daniels a retired aerospace engineer and glider pilot joins us on this episode of the podcast. Bill has over 6,000 hours in gliders picking up an FAI Diamond badge along the way. Bill also has over 6,000 hours in powered aircraft. He has written extensively on winch launching with many articles in Soaring Magazine. Today he talks with us about his soaring adventures and has an offer for you t...

Don't miss this episode of the podcast! Our guest pilot joins us with over 30 years of experience and is a soaring master. Dale Masters has logged over 15,000 hours in the sky and loves a challenge when it comes to finding lift. Dale says he has found a way to fly in thermals that may surprise you. He is the author of the book "Soaring Beyond The Basics" and blogger. He loves sharing his aviation...

On this episode James Alaggio talks with us about his adventures soaring in a place where you can get a 1000 foot tow and stay in the air for hours. James has been flying gliders since he was 13 and since then he has flown all over the world. James is a member of the U.S Aerobatics Gliding Team and Hawaii makes a great place to practice his programs. When he is not in the glider he finds himself i...

On this episode we join our guest pilot Engin Kurutepe in Berlin Germany as he shares his adventures with us flying the LS4 and more. Engin is also a software engineer and has been working on a project to help glider pilots obtain more info before getting into the air. He will talk with us and share how you can check out this future product that can help us all be better and safer pilots. Also on...

On this episode we join Barbora Moravcova in the Czech republic. She has over 1,000 hours in the cockpit and earlier this year competed in the Women's World's Gliding Championships in Australia. She has also flown in the Junior World's in Hungary. Hear how her adventure began and how she has taken her love for aviation to the next level as she shares with us her story on Soaring the sky.  www.soar...

On this episode we talk with Walt Rogers, Discus 2a pilot and a weather guru. Walt started his Soaring adventure in southern California at El Mirage in the 1970's and became a contest pilot in standard class gliders in the 1980's. Walt has been involved in the Voyager flight around the world as well as the Perlan II project and  World Gliding Championships.  Also on this episode we launch our new...

Today a young pilot joins us from Oerlinghausen Germany to share his aviation adventure flying sailplanes and taking it to the next level soaring cross country. Max Brune grew up around aviation with his parents both being glider instructors. His first flight in a glider was at the age of four. He later earned his license to fly at sixteen. Since then he has built up over 400 hours in his log book...

Today we talk with Dennis Linnekin, Airline Captain, Tow Pilot & Glider Pilot. Dennis has flown gliders all over the U.S and has had the chance to experience different soaring conditions. He has flown in many competitions as well and brings us some great stories and knowledge that he has gained along the way. Dennis has over 30,000 hours logged with 1,800 of those in gliders. He has flown many dif...

A U.S and World record holder in soaring joins us today. Daniel Sazhin has completed many badges including a 750Km as well as the 1000km. He also holds a world distance record as well as distance records in New Jersey. To check out a list of his many soaring achievements go to www.soaringeconomist.com  Daniel will share with us his soaring adventures but will also tell us how we can still fly duri...

Landing out is always a possibility while Soaring. Our guest shares with us a close call he had while having to land out. Ulrich Beinert joins us to share his story. From using one of the original Microsoft flight simulators to having an aviation career flying the A320 and the A380, he finds his way to gliders and discovers what he says is REAL flying. Join us now as we chat with our guest aviator...

On this episode of the podcast we take a flight across the United States to do some Soaring in Southern California. While there we talk to Matt a glider pilot that has been Soaring since the early 70's. He has had alot of experience flying different gliders and in different Soaring conditions. He will also share with us how he escaped some interesting situations in the air. And share with us some...

On this episode of the podcast our guest pilot joins us from the state of New York where he flies with the Civil Air Patrol. He shares with us some of his adventures. On one occasion the canopy opened while in flight ! He will also talk to us about the challenges of a student pilot. Matthew will also share with us something his club is doing to make it more affordable for young people to fly. Join...

Today our guest pilot is Asvath Ravichandran. Asvath left his home country to pursue his masters degree in Germany where he discovered gliders and soon started his soaring adventure. Asvath has flown the ASK 13, Schleicher K8, Ka6E, Piret SZD-30, K4 and the Duo Discus. He now holds his private pilot glider rating and also has finished his masters in computational aerodynamics. He will share with u...

On this episode we rejoin Brian Utley to hear the rest of his aviation adventure that really was started after seeing aircraft flying overhead during the Battle Of Britain. Later he would Soar all over the globe and into the record books with records that still stand today. Brian also tells us about teaming up with the National Aeronautical Association of Contest and records board and Felix Baumga...

On this episode of the podcast we talk to a glider pilot and member of the Soaring hall of fame Brian Utley. Brian's interest in aviation started at a very young age in Europe at the start of World War II with the sky above him filling up with aircraft. He will share with us what it was like living in the middle of a war. Then later he will share his life of soaring and how he discovered gliders a...

On this episode of the podcast lady aviator Ines Engelhardt joins us. She is a competition glider pilot flying near Berlin Germany who has just returned from flying In the 2020 Women's World Gliding Championships. Today she talks to us about her aviation journey and her recent competition in Australia. All this and more now on Soaring The Sky.

On this episode of the podcast we talk with Keith Schwab a glider pilot with a PhD in physics who didn’t always love flying in fact, While on a commercial flight crossing the Atlantic in some very extreme turbulence he found himself stuck in the bathroom gripping the handles that caused him to develop a serious fear of flying. Then something happened in 2014 while hiking one of the mountain peaks...

On This episode we take a soaring journey with our guest pilot Gaetano Benicasa an airline pilot from Italy who also loves flying gliders. He just returned from Namibia Africa, one of the most spectacular soaring sites on the planet. He will share his story and we will learn why Namibia is such an amazing place to fly gliders but also the importance of taking precautions and staying safe flying in...