You rock! Thank you for sharing our Discus-2C. I've watched your videos since the earliest news releases about the sim so to think that one day you would be showcasing our work is insane!
In my opinion, as someone who got his licence first on gliders, then ULM(LSA equivalent), I think glinding teaches you A LOT of useful skills, like energy management, and good rudder usage. And also, gliding feels incredibly rewarding whenever you manage to catch a thermal.
I spent holidays for about 3 weeks in total learning to fly gliders. We flew the Blanik which was an old type all metal 2 seat in line glider. I got very near to going solo but just not quite. Our instructor was an ex RAF chap who was a bit crazy. I tended to be a bit slow in recovering when we did stall spins and the next thing you would hear was the instructor saying your too slow - look we can get a loop out of this! Next thing you knew was you were upside down. We didn’t have water ballast or the fancy electronics of that Discus-2C. We also got to fly a powered glider. We did both winch launch (a tractor towing the cable) and aero tow. Great fun. I’m glad gliders are finally showing up in MSFS.
I love the Discus 2C. My favorite combination on a Saturday afternoon. Discus 2C + Mesh Terrain Region (Any) + HP Reverb G2 = A journey to appreciate nature 🌍
That was fun to watch Mark After teaching gliding and power gliding for over 30 years you made all the classic mistakes. Nevertheless we all did during our training. Thanks for bringing this wonderful experience to your channel!
I have flown gliders for over 30 years and owned three different ones. I had a Discus B and it was one of the best I ever had. Yes it takes skills as any pilot would know. Maybe try some thermalling next.
I have flown real world gliders and powered aircrafts for 40 years. To my wiew gliding is the purest and most rewarding form of flying. I´m happy that gliders now have found their way to MSFS.
a few time i went up in a real glider Loved it and it did not have a eletric motor so imagine now they do. I love the silent only wind blow gliders have.
I love this glider. I’m new to sim gliding and have tried all of the freeware gliders I could find. This was by far my favorite so I bought the payware version. It’s challenging and extremely enjoyable; it reminds me of sailing in many ways. It’s very peaceful and quiet, and you have to learn to use what nature provides instead of relying on engine power. Yesterday I soared from the top of Mt Fuji (cheating, I know) to Tokyo, over 80 miles. I was still at around 5000 ft so flew all around Tokyo before bleeding off altitude and landing at Haneda airport. The flight was an hour and 20 minutes of pure enjoyment and relaxation.
I like SIM gliding. 2000' over Lasham, release, a few aeros and then land. It takes timing, good speed and energy control, every landing is different and thus the circuit has to be modified accordingly before one runs out of talent and lift! Two of my buddies have flown gliders as did my dad, helped him to go solo in a GA taildragger at only 9 hours (when such things were allowed circa 1969/70).
I have had a couple of one-day glider experiences I have to admit it is a bit of an unnerving experiences to be flying in the real world with no engine to keep you airborne. Quite an enjoyable experience though, even got to bring it in for a landing which was cool. I am looking forward to giving gliding a try in MSFS when they are better supported by the sim, really does bring another rather unique way of using the a sim.
I picked up one of the old style wooden gliders on sale... And promptly got distracted by other things 😃. This has reminded me to have a go. My Grandfather taught glider pilots during (and after) the war so I've always felt slightly guilty that a prefer having a big engine on board 😃
Gliding usually requires much finer flying skills than powered flight as a high standard of rudder/aileron coordination is essential for safety and efficiency. It also requires much more skill in energy management, judgement of height, trimming, pitch control, tow-plane stability, winch launch accuracy and many other skills, including ground handling which again is generally a lot harder than powered aircraft control. If you are a qualified glider pilot your powered flying will also improve.
I enjoy MSFS but have never tried a glider. just low and slow for me and enjoying it even more with my new chip I put in my computer looks even better.
I've flown in gliders a few times and they (and helicopters) always made me slightly nervous with having no engine (or wings) but landing a Glider is an art in itself as there's no go around afaik 😁
You shouldn’t be nervous. Gliders have an amazing glide ratio. 20:1 up to 60:1. If you’re 1 Mile up, you can glide for 20 miles, or 60 in a top class one. Plenty of distance to get to the airfield or a paddock. A Cessna 182 has one of the best glide ratios of all aeroplanes at 8:1. A lightweight Robinson R22 is 3:1. A wing suit with professional 2.5:1 (yes 2.5 not 25), Parachute 3:1, Paraglider without motor ave 10:1 AND a 747 🥁17:1 😱. All these assume you get no sink or lift and you fly at perfect “best glide speed” found in the POH. Interesting hey?
Love the title. Gliding is most definitely NOT for wimps! LOL I know, because I went up with a CFI, back in the early 90s, with a soaring association. It takes a LOT of work, and careful calculation, along with a lot of skill to stay aloft and land safely. You should try it without a working airspeed indicator. Dirt-dobber made a nest in the pitot tube. DEFINITELY not for wimps! LOL Thanks for the video.
Each time a pilot saved his broken down machine with more than 100 passengers on board, he was a glider pilot (Sullenberger Airbus 320 Hudson River, but also Airbus 330 Transat 236 Toronto Lisbon or the Air Canada 767). Each time a guy who felt his machine and not a "flight engineer".
I’ve flown a glider a couple of times with an instructor, what surprised me was just how noisy it was in the thermals, wasn’t able to tell how the audio was in your flight.
Those same friends kept posting and even created a separate section in their discord group and took the glider also for a flight and it’s the opposite of what’s sparky does normally but yes it’s great way to relax and enjoy breathtaking scenery in the alps and become part of the weather that greatly predict your flight what I’m not used to with lots of power of one of the many planes I own but I recommend it also to everyone to have a go.
Love sim gliding. If you think the Discus is good then try the LS4 and AS33. Used to glide a lot in FSX but it was poorly supported. Hopefully, 2020 will do a better job. Thanks to the 3 aircraft above haven’t flown a powered aircraft in about a month. Try the challenge of flying with with the FES but not using it.
Same. I’ve been an instructor for 23 years. 100 times safer than a powered plane. Anyone can do it but like most things, takes a fair amount of skill to be good at it. My longest flight was 6hrs 45min. Have a trial flight in a 2 seater. If it’s a winch launch it feels like a rocket, faster than a jet! (Non-military) If it’s a tow launch it’s like flying in formation until you release the tow cable.
@@stephengoad6886 It was awesome. It was only single strand fencing wire that would snap often! Quick rejoin and drag it down the grass strip with an old car, no doors and a big hole cut into the roof to lookout for other gliders (used to tow the gliders around with it too), wait for the radio call from the pilot, wind it back in with the old 5 litre V8 motor bolted onto a towable farm cart. A seat, handbrake, pedal clutch and lever for a throttle. All very agricultural! lol The cable drum was directly mounted to the motor dead ahead, with part of an old gate that was supposed to save you when the wire came hurtling back at you after it snapped under full strain. There were so many joins in it, lolol. Rev her up, brake off, clutch out and lever steadily full forward…0 to 1200 ft in no time at all. Pilot releases the cable and the small drogue (a cut off wheat bag tied to the hook with some old rope) slowed its fall - a little. A strong crosswind on takeoff was crazy! Almost like getting slung up there with your wingtip where your nose should be and the other wing tucked just under the crosswind. I miss it. I was club secretary but Haven’t flown since June 2013 after a horse gave me a wheelchair parting gift 🎁 , lol Worse was the club had their first accident about a year later when two died after crashing about 40 yards from the runway. Fixated on making it back to the runway, common error that rarely ends well! There were dead flat paddocks all around the airstrip for 100 miles in every direction. Flat as far as you could see. Flat, hot and dusty. Mid 40’s °C in the summer Mid Dec to late March. We flew thermals obviously, not even a hill within an hours flight, let alone a mountain range. 3 1/2 hours away was the closest ridge soaring in our snowy mountains. Anyways, they stalled and died in one of those hot, flat, dusty paddocks that they should have landed in. 😒 Bloody idiots!, So unnecessary. CASA and police went through everything, even interviewing me 1/2 dozen times even though I was out of the club and hadn’t been there in over 12 months. It was hard on everyone there that day, and the fact it hung over everyone’s head for months. Questioning everyone all the time, going through every sheet of paper in the office, reviewing procedures and operating handbooks, log sheets, training records, instructor proficiencies etc etc. I was quietly happy I wasn’t in the middle of all that - very stressful as anything found lacking could have lead to very serious charges. We were only a small club out in the countryside, we had a ball but took safety seriously. All were cleared in the end with a ton of new operating procedures to follow in the future. Gliding here in Australia couldn’t be more different to GA. It’s not regimented, not really standardised,no pilot exams, no pilot license, nothing formal at all really. Very very casual and every club does things differently. Anyways, I think I just wrote a novel - sorry guys, Michael
Not at all, I have tickets to fly both in real life , gliding is often more challenging as you have to use skill and knowledge to get from a to b and back to a again, otherwise your calling for a cab lol. Engines are also rather useful, if you gave me the choice side by side it would be incredibly difficult to choose. Sometimes the peace and tranquillity of soaring is just awesome especially when joined by a feathered friend also looking for or enjoying the lift
Instead of trying gliding on a computer try it in the real world.I have done it was an unbelieveable expierence .No sound other than the wind and a mavellous view many miles away .
Another great video. Im curious about gliders but except for power off landings (and that 1 engine failure) I have 0 experience. Why reducing ballast makes climbing harder?
Reducing ballast moves what is known as the polar curve for that glider to the left. Basically your best glide speed reduces. This is good for beginners as you can then spend more time in lift. Ballast is primarily used for competition where speed counts so you want your best glide speed to be as fast as possible. So if you’re learning or just sight seeing, best to start with no ballast (or minimum required to have CG in limits). Enjoy!
ok, so gliders never do a straight in approach! and you would never get that far away from the runway in the circuit... downwind leg is usually 800m to about 1km parallel to the runway center line
shhhhh as I watch this video and since it is a glider we must remain silent like listening to some Classical music at Kingsway Hall or more like being recorded. As I am not into Gliders I do respect Glider pilots and it is the close to a bird as one can do.
Why would it be for wimps? Sure , this is a simulator and the worst that can happen is you reload the flight. In real life however, glider pilots have balls of steel. You have to know how to use wind and updrafts to keep yourself in the air. There is no motor to save you (unless you have one that has a small motor for emergencies).
I used to have an Aerosoft Discus for FSX, it was actually pretty good and challenging to use thermals and ridge lift. I recall doing a flight around Stewart (?) in Canada which turned into a 2-3 hour and a reasonable distance covered. If you simply take off and resign yourself to landing when you run out of altitude yes it’s rather mundane. If you find lift and gain a few thousand feet and start covering some distance it’s very rewarding and a completely different experience. It will be interesting to see how much improvement there will be when gliders are better support. Yet to try them in MSFS pretty much for that reason.
You rock! Thank you for sharing our Discus-2C. I've watched your videos since the earliest news releases about the sim so to think that one day you would be showcasing our work is insane!
In my opinion, as someone who got his licence first on gliders, then ULM(LSA equivalent), I think glinding teaches you A LOT of useful skills, like energy management, and good rudder usage. And also, gliding feels incredibly rewarding whenever you manage to catch a thermal.
I spent holidays for about 3 weeks in total learning to fly gliders. We flew the Blanik which was an old type all metal 2 seat in line glider. I got very near to going solo but just not quite. Our instructor was an ex RAF chap who was a bit crazy. I tended to be a bit slow in recovering when we did stall spins and the next thing you would hear was the instructor saying your too slow - look we can get a loop out of this! Next thing you knew was you were upside down.
We didn’t have water ballast or the fancy electronics of that Discus-2C.
We also got to fly a powered glider. We did both winch launch (a tractor towing the cable) and aero tow. Great fun. I’m glad gliders are finally showing up in MSFS.
I love gliders! The way of flight them is just pure fun for me, absolutely perfect. Thanks for this great Video!
I love the Discus 2C. My favorite combination on a Saturday afternoon.
Discus 2C + Mesh Terrain Region (Any) + HP Reverb G2 = A journey to appreciate nature 🌍
A very nice production and equally pleasant narration. Thanks!
I took a flight in a real world glider last year and it was a total blast!
That was fun to watch Mark
After teaching gliding and power gliding for over 30 years you made all the classic mistakes. Nevertheless we all did during our training. Thanks for bringing this wonderful experience to your channel!
You can take the pilot out of the bush, but not the bush out of the pilot 🤣😂🤣
I have flown gliders for over 30 years and owned three different ones. I had a Discus B and it was one of the best I ever had. Yes it takes skills as any pilot would know. Maybe try some thermalling next.
I have flown real world gliders and powered aircrafts for 40 years. To my wiew gliding is the purest and most rewarding form of flying. I´m happy that gliders now have found their way to MSFS.
a few time i went up in a real glider Loved it and it did not have a eletric motor so imagine now they do. I love the silent only wind blow gliders have.
I love this glider. I’m new to sim gliding and have tried all of the freeware gliders I could find. This was by far my favorite so I bought the payware version. It’s challenging and extremely enjoyable; it reminds me of sailing in many ways. It’s very peaceful and quiet, and you have to learn to use what nature provides instead of relying on engine power. Yesterday I soared from the top of Mt Fuji (cheating, I know) to Tokyo, over 80 miles. I was still at around 5000 ft so flew all around Tokyo before bleeding off altitude and landing at Haneda airport. The flight was an hour and 20 minutes of pure enjoyment and relaxation.
Sounds wonderful 😀
I like SIM gliding. 2000' over Lasham, release, a few aeros and then land. It takes timing, good speed and energy control, every landing is different and thus the circuit has to be modified accordingly before one runs out of talent and lift! Two of my buddies have flown gliders as did my dad, helped him to go solo in a GA taildragger at only 9 hours (when such things were allowed circa 1969/70).
I just bought this and I’m looking forward to mastering gliding.
I have had a couple of one-day glider experiences I have to admit it is a bit of an unnerving experiences to be flying in the real world with no engine to keep you airborne. Quite an enjoyable experience though, even got to bring it in for a landing which was cool.
I am looking forward to giving gliding a try in MSFS when they are better supported by the sim, really does bring another rather unique way of using the a sim.
Great video! I have discovered the joy of soaring in MSFS 2020. Very challenging and rewarding. Oh yes, the beautiful scenery too!
I picked up one of the old style wooden gliders on sale... And promptly got distracted by other things 😃. This has reminded me to have a go. My Grandfather taught glider pilots during (and after) the war so I've always felt slightly guilty that a prefer having a big engine on board 😃
Gliding usually requires much finer flying skills than powered flight as a high standard of rudder/aileron coordination is essential for safety and efficiency. It also requires much more skill in energy management, judgement of height, trimming, pitch control, tow-plane stability, winch launch accuracy and many other skills, including ground handling which again is generally a lot harder than powered aircraft control. If you are a qualified glider pilot your powered flying will also improve.
Like you, I've never had much interest in flying gliders but I think I will buy one just to try. Looks like fun!
I enjoy MSFS but have never tried a glider. just low and slow for me and enjoying it even more with my new chip I put in my computer looks even better.
I've flown in gliders a few times and they (and helicopters) always made me slightly nervous with having no engine (or wings) but landing a Glider is an art in itself as there's no go around afaik 😁
You shouldn’t be nervous. Gliders have an amazing glide ratio. 20:1 up to 60:1. If you’re 1 Mile up, you can glide for 20 miles, or 60 in a top class one. Plenty of distance to get to the airfield or a paddock. A Cessna 182 has one of the best glide ratios of all aeroplanes at 8:1. A lightweight Robinson R22 is 3:1. A wing suit with professional 2.5:1 (yes 2.5 not 25), Parachute 3:1, Paraglider without motor ave 10:1 AND a 747 🥁17:1 😱. All these assume you get no sink or lift and you fly at perfect “best glide speed” found in the POH. Interesting hey?
Electric sustainers will climb you at +5M/S at your minimum winch speed (Vy). For a single seat fiberglass glider that will be no slower than 110 Km/h
I haven't tried gliders in this sim yet, but I certainly will. Looks fun! 😃
Love the title. Gliding is most definitely NOT for wimps! LOL I know, because I went up with a CFI, back in the early 90s, with a soaring association. It takes a LOT of work, and careful calculation, along with a lot of skill to stay aloft and land safely. You should try it without a working airspeed indicator. Dirt-dobber made a nest in the pitot tube. DEFINITELY not for wimps! LOL Thanks for the video.
I did fly gliders. I got to be an instructor as well. Loved it!
I only fly gliders now apart from your fly ins!What a great sim we have.
Each time a pilot saved his broken down machine with more than 100 passengers on board, he was a glider pilot (Sullenberger Airbus 320 Hudson River, but also Airbus 330 Transat 236 Toronto Lisbon or the Air Canada 767). Each time a guy who felt his machine and not a "flight engineer".
I’ve flown a glider a couple of times with an instructor, what surprised me was just how noisy it was in the thermals, wasn’t able to tell how the audio was in your flight.
Those same friends kept posting and even created a separate section in their discord group and took the glider also for a flight and it’s the opposite of what’s sparky does normally but yes it’s great way to relax and enjoy breathtaking scenery in the alps and become part of the weather that greatly predict your flight what I’m not used to with lots of power of one of the many planes I own but I recommend it also to everyone to have a go.
Love sim gliding. If you think the Discus is good then try the LS4 and AS33. Used to glide a lot in FSX but it was poorly supported. Hopefully, 2020 will do a better job. Thanks to the 3 aircraft above haven’t flown a powered aircraft in about a month. Try the challenge of flying with with the FES but not using it.
Hi Mark,
brilliant video. As always I may say.
Of course I fly gliders.
Thank you and take care
Enjoyed that, nice one Mark. Don't think I'd like to go up in a real one!
Same. I’ve been an instructor for 23 years. 100 times safer than a powered plane. Anyone can do it but like most things, takes a fair amount of skill to be good at it. My longest flight was 6hrs 45min. Have a trial flight in a 2 seater. If it’s a winch launch it feels like a rocket, faster than a jet! (Non-military) If it’s a tow launch it’s like flying in formation until you release the tow cable.
It was an amazing experience 😀
When I was learning to fly in gliders it was said that the winch launch was similar to an English Electric Lightening climbing with full reheat on!
@@stephengoad6886 It was awesome. It was only single strand fencing wire that would snap often! Quick rejoin and drag it down the grass strip with an old car, no doors and a big hole cut into the roof to lookout for other gliders (used to tow the gliders around with it too), wait for the radio call from the pilot, wind it back in with the old 5 litre V8 motor bolted onto a towable farm cart. A seat, handbrake, pedal clutch and lever for a throttle. All very agricultural! lol The cable drum was directly mounted to the motor dead ahead, with part of an old gate that was supposed to save you when the wire came hurtling back at you after it snapped under full strain. There were so many joins in it, lolol. Rev her up, brake off, clutch out and lever steadily full forward…0 to 1200 ft in no time at all. Pilot releases the cable and the small drogue (a cut off wheat bag tied to the hook with some old rope) slowed its fall - a little. A strong crosswind on takeoff was crazy! Almost like getting slung up there with your wingtip where your nose should be and the other wing tucked just under the crosswind. I miss it. I was club secretary but Haven’t flown since June 2013 after a horse gave me a wheelchair parting gift 🎁 , lol Worse was the club had their first accident about a year later when two died after crashing about 40 yards from the runway. Fixated on making it back to the runway, common error that rarely ends well! There were dead flat paddocks all around the airstrip for 100 miles in every direction. Flat as far as you could see. Flat, hot and dusty. Mid 40’s °C in the summer Mid Dec to late March. We flew thermals obviously, not even a hill within an hours flight, let alone a mountain range. 3 1/2 hours away was the closest ridge soaring in our snowy mountains. Anyways, they stalled and died in one of those hot, flat, dusty paddocks that they should have landed in. 😒 Bloody idiots!, So unnecessary. CASA and police went through everything, even interviewing me 1/2 dozen times even though I was out of the club and hadn’t been there in over 12 months. It was hard on everyone there that day, and the fact it hung over everyone’s head for months. Questioning everyone all the time, going through every sheet of paper in the office, reviewing procedures and operating handbooks, log sheets, training records, instructor proficiencies etc etc. I was quietly happy I wasn’t in the middle of all that - very stressful as anything found lacking could have lead to very serious charges. We were only a small club out in the countryside, we had a ball but took safety seriously. All were cleared in the end with a ton of new operating procedures to follow in the future. Gliding here in Australia couldn’t be more different to GA. It’s not regimented, not really standardised,no pilot exams, no pilot license, nothing formal at all really. Very very casual and every club does things differently. Anyways, I think I just wrote a novel - sorry guys, Michael
Love flying gliders.
Not at all, I have tickets to fly both in real life , gliding is often more challenging as you have to use skill and knowledge to get from a to b and back to a again, otherwise your calling for a cab lol. Engines are also rather useful, if you gave me the choice side by side it would be incredibly difficult to choose. Sometimes the peace and tranquillity of soaring is just awesome especially when joined by a feathered friend also looking for or enjoying the lift
hi,I fly gliders nearly solo however still got my lookout to perfect.
Yes. Yes it is.
🤣
Instead of trying gliding on a computer try it in the real world.I have done it was an unbelieveable
expierence .No sound other than the wind and a mavellous view many miles away .
Another great video. Im curious about gliders but except for power off landings (and that 1 engine failure) I have 0 experience.
Why reducing ballast makes climbing harder?
Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear enough…having ballast on board makes climbing harder. 👍
@@SimHangerFS Lol I know nothing about gliders.
I would have easily believed some weird CG magic was at play 🪄
Reducing ballast moves what is known as the polar curve for that glider to the left.
Basically your best glide speed reduces. This is good for beginners as you can then spend more time in lift. Ballast is primarily used for competition where speed counts so you want your best glide speed to be as fast as possible. So if you’re learning or just sight seeing, best to start with no ballast (or minimum required to have CG in limits).
Enjoy!
PS, any level of detail on polars is beyond the scope of that reply 🤣. And me mostly! Interesting stuff though and worth looking up if interested.
@@SoaringGuy Now you tell me! 😂
Superb!
ok, so gliders never do a straight in approach! and you would never get that far away from the runway in the circuit... downwind leg is usually 800m to about 1km parallel to the runway center line
You can tell I am a complete novice! 🤣
Shame there is no glider in the game to try. Not want to pay that amount just to try if i like it.
Free gliders coming in November 👍
Only real tough men can handle the white knuckled adrenaline charged thrill ride which is called gliding.
shhhhh as I watch this video and since it is a glider we must remain silent like listening to some Classical music at Kingsway Hall or more like being recorded. As I am not into Gliders I do respect Glider pilots and it is the close to a bird as one can do.
based on the title, hell no!!!
flying without engines is kinda hardcore :p
I would reason the other way, with engines is for wimps! haha
🤣
Why would it be for wimps? Sure , this is a simulator and the worst that can happen is you reload the flight. In real life however, glider pilots have balls of steel. You have to know how to use wind and updrafts to keep yourself in the air. There is no motor to save you (unless you have one that has a small motor for emergencies).
Exactly the point I make in the video!
I did a few of the glider missions/task in FSX; but kinda boring in a simulator in my opinion
Yeah….until you start running out of altitude! 🤣
I used to have an Aerosoft Discus for FSX, it was actually pretty good and challenging to use thermals and ridge lift. I recall doing a flight around Stewart (?) in Canada which turned into a 2-3 hour and a reasonable distance covered. If you simply take off and resign yourself to landing when you run out of altitude yes it’s rather mundane. If you find lift and gain a few thousand feet and start covering some distance it’s very rewarding and a completely different experience. It will be interesting to see how much improvement there will be when gliders are better support. Yet to try them in MSFS pretty much for that reason.
Gliders are for people who can really fly.................. power planes ae for ham-fisted simpletons - bit like manual and automatic cars......