First Glider Flight Lesson (with Soar Truckee, in Truckee/Lake Tahoe, CA)

martinsaviation.blogspot.com/ My first ever glider lesson. I scheduled a flight with the kind people at Soar Truckee, out of the Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK). We flew over the Sierra Nevadas, Donner Lake, and Lake Tahoe. It was amazing to see the area I'd grown up vacationing in from the air.
Music credit goes to the song Dreaming by Smallpools
Read more from my flight on: martinsaviation.blogspot.com/
We flew in an Schweizer SGS-2-33 Training Glider out of the Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK). I really enjoyed my first glider flight. I'd recommend Soar Truckee to anyone out there!
Thanks again to the Soar Truckee Team,
-Swayne Martin
Twitter: @MartinsAviation

[@hpshiker]

That was weird watching that. It's been 35 years since I flew a 2-33 and all of a sudden I started remembering details from my lessons. We didn't have cameras, nor headsets, only a dirt runway and Piper Super Cubs for tow planes. My best and worst memory was that most of my lessons were sled rides from a 3,000' tow, but one day on about my third solo the lift was unbelievable. It was all thermals. I was getting 1,000' a minute and they were everywhere, the next thing I new I was at 8,000'. I had never seen the airport from that high, I couldn't believe it. My instructor told me to stay around the airport, it would have been nice to explore a little. All of a sudden I remembered I was running out of time with the airplane and then I had to do something that no one wants to do on a day like that, full dive brakes back down to the pattern and return the glider. Oh well it was still cool. I took lessons at Sailplane Enterprises in Hemet, CA. Some yahoos I don't know if it's politicians or what had the glider operation shut down some years back, really torques my shorts. My instructor was the owner Don Slotten. I did some research about a year ago looking for him. He wrote a book about his adventures over the years as a glider flight instructor. I wonder if I did something to make it into that book. I know he must've been somewhere around 50 back then so he must be pushing 90 by now. I hope he's doing good I enjoyed my time with him. I was 18 and didn't have a lot of money and the drive was about a 140 miles round trip so I never got my glider license. I did take up powered planes a few years later and got my license. Maybe one day I will go back to gliders. I know some skills in gliders helped me in powered planes. When I took my check ride the examiner failed my engine on down wind and told me I couldn't use the flaps. They're mechanical flaps I said, it's pretty much impossible for them to fail. No flaps he barked back at me. The slipping skills I learned flying the 2-33 came in handy since I couldn't use flaps. It was in the city nowhere to land except the airport so I kept her high, I didn't want to come up short. I was high on final and had to do S-turns and slip very aggressively to get her down. I landed halfway down a 3000' runway. I said that wasn't pretty. The examiner said yeah, but in real life you would have saved your passengers. He said I'm not going to keep you in suspense any longer, congratulations you pass. Thanks Don!!!

[@levelat350]

I really do like those old Army Air Corps Colors on the Schweizer 2-33.

[@SwayneMartinPilot]

Thanks so much! Glad you liked it

[@levelat350]

I love those AAC Colors.

[@maryannlaverty-auxier4172]

<----At Awe!!! Feels like I was there with you!!! Ahmmm...Mayyyyy..Zzzzinngg!!!

[@aviationraps9983]

Nice!!

[@SwayneMartinPilot]

Dreaming by Smallpools

[@SAXASIANGUY]

What song is this

[@levelat350]

At the end of the video. You look like one of my cousins.

[@alienabductoreleven9775]

I really hated flying the 2-33's. I think that Blaniks are way better for flight training.