8th Attempt to Achieve Declared 750+ km Glider Flight - Advanced Cross-Country - Chess In The Air

[@jean-michellamarre8008]

Congratulations from France. Bien joué ! I am a former glider pilot with only a few hundred hours of flight. I appreciate the detailed comments and the amount of work put to make them. And I like the distance you take to comment your own errors and/or achievements. Congratulations for the successful flight, and for the video.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Merci bien, Jean-Michel! Je n'ai plus que 500 heures moi-même. Je fais ces vidéos pour m'aider à apprendre plus rapidement. :-)

[@christianboulay]

I think you do a great job with your videos. By the way your are editing them (mainly with the written information over the images), they become very instructives. I look at them entirely and I imagine to be at your place in the cockpit and try to confront your decisions (whenever it is possible) with mines. So, I greatly appreciate your comments on the formers. I really liked this one ("8th Attempt to Achieve Declared 750+ km Glider Flight - Advanced Cross-Country") (congratulations by the way...), I found it really motivating. I'm a soaring cross-country beginner with my SZD55 and I subscribed to your channel so, please continue to publish...

[@ChessInTheAir]

thanks, Christian! I’m glad you find the videos to be helpful! I have learned a lot myself from making them. It’s a great way to review my own decisions, recognize mistakes, and learn for future flights.

[@LSVFlachkurbler]

one more thing: I think the most important thing when you fly a declared large task is to not abandon the task on the first difficulty. Because you will never find the weather perfect on every part of the large task. My major mistakes where always to take the first little challenge as an excuse to give up the task and continue with a free flight. It also helps to make a time table. At which latest time do you have to reach the last TP. If you fly 1000km, the last TP will always be late, you will always need to rely on the thermals working long enough

[@ChessInTheAir]

LSVFlachkurbler thanks, yes, good advice. I just published an article on what I learned from the seven failed attempts. This is one of the lessons. chessintheair.com/seven-failed-750-km-attempts-what-did-i-learn/

[@mikehayes1326]

GREAT video and your comments were awesome. Congratulations on completing your 750!!

[@ChessInTheAir]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thomaslemay8817]

One day, when I landed, every pilot in the lounge came over to ask me , "How did I stay airborne so long ?" I knew I had done a good job finding lift on that day . I had worked a shearline for two hours. Congratulations on your achievement. Well done well done, keep striving to improve .

[@williamstoertz]

In this era of corona, when so many of us cannot get out, it is like a life-saver to be able to virtually share online with this very interesting soaring video. Even though you may have made some unnecessary detours, such as over the Continental Divine -- it made the whole experience more interesting. Of what interest would have been a smooth flight in ever rising air, over rolling hills? Thaks for giving us this "life-saving experience" in this time when the whole world is going through its greatest trial ever.

[@joeworld3617]

Hands down best video about XC soaring. I love the subtitles. Pilot decision making. Sloppy flying that you can avoid. So much you can learn from this video. Good luck in your 1000 km. Also love your super safe no room for error approach, always aware of you options to safety.

[@ChessInTheAir]

thank you Joe!

[@paulhsv1121]

Outstanding! I enjoy your analysis and even more so appreciate your willingness to comment on what you did right and more importantly what you did wrong.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you get value from these videos. They’re fun to put together but also very time consuming. However, I always learn something myself by doing it as well. Happy soaring!

[@Tinker1950]

An excellent video - and I really enjoyed your helpful text, they give we new pilots very useful insight. Subscribed - and 'belled'.

[@desertpoj]

Top work and very informative. Thank you from England.

[@geoffreylotz3661]

I cant believe I have watched this entire video and the time literally flew past! So absorbing, so interesting, so informative....I don't fly yet but this sort of video just makes me more determined to get soaring here in Portugal. Thanks for the time and effort you have put into making this and uploading it, and thanks for taking us on this journey with you. Much appreciated.....muito obrigado. Oh, and well done on achieving this milestone after so many attempts.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Hi Geoffrey, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I just put up a few additional videos on my channel that you might like as well. Good luck with your training! Soaring is a fascinating sport and I promise that the learning never ends. :-)

[@geoffreylotz3661]

@@ChessInTheAir yip...i watched another one last night...😀

[@hankdelen7383]

Congratulations Clemens! Great video and much appreciated by all soaring pilots

[@SuperReasonable]

It’s very interesting watching someone else’s decision making. I have been wriggling in my seat throughout because in many cases I would have done something different. I’m not saying for a minute my decisions would be better, just different. Overall, I would have been a lot more aggressive with a glider full of water in those conditions. Well done on showing the video, it was a lot of fun. Also congratulations on making it. I’ll never forget my first 750, it meant so much more than any of my other badge flights.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Hi Robert - I appreciate your feedback. Yes, I am still flying fairly conservatively, especially in areas that I am not familiar with (about 50 pct of the terrain was new to me). Much of the terrain we fly over is completely unlandable and I have a lot of respect for that. I know I have to get faster to get to 1000k. :-)

[@OlDuckOffroad]

Have to admit i was a bit upset, i watched the whole video but did not get to see the finish. still pretty cool, thank you.

[@armandcharbonneau2055]

Great flight and video documenting the expedition. Obviously there was a lot of planning, expertise and experience that went into this achievement. Reading the write up on the first seven attempts made watching the flight of triumph much more educational. Whiskey Alpha Yankee was honored to be the official observer. Thanks so much for making this video so I could see more than just the launch.

[@michaelgrohe3307]

I love your videos. So educational and still entertaining to me. I can imagine how much work you put in them. Please keep it up. 🙏🏻

[@PhilippePOIGNANT]

Awesome achievement Clemens! And super cool to watch!

[@ChessInTheAir]

Philippe POIGNANT thanks Philippe! Are you flying at all in NC?

[@PhilippePOIGNANT]

ChessInTheAir Not at all unfortunately. I need to focus a bit more on important matters ;)

[@PhilippePOIGNANT]

ChessInTheAir By the way, I would have chosen C too! Sounded promising...

[@nathangrimes641]

Nice flying! Congratulations on making it.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Many thanks!

[@Bleemus]

Excellent. Love the informative subtitles.

[@chrisbaker951]

Amazing don't think I'll ever reach your standards as a pilot so will just be happy to go solo then take it from there. Brilliant👍

[@ChessInTheAir]

Thanks, Chris. It took me about 3-4 years to get to where I am today but there's no end to the learning in sight. That's part of what makes soaring such a great sport. The complexity of mother nature is astounding and some of the mystery will probably always remain. I wish you all the best on your journey!

[@chrisbaker951]

@@ChessInTheAir Thank you and Happy new year from us all in UK

[@LSVFlachkurbler]

your definition of "getting low" is funny. Thanks for sharing.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Yes, it’s all relative... low for me is when I’m getting close to being out of glide range from a good landable area. And most of the terrain is not landable without breaking anything so I generally try to stay in glide to airports.

[@brushitoff503]

That was bloody fantastic mate! Loved every second & thank you for sharing an epic adventure!

[@ChessInTheAir]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jasonmcconathy9254]

Clemens, Congratulations on a major accomplishment! Really excited for you. Fantastic flight and video. And, you have no idea how helpful this is for a low hour pilot. Between smoke, wind, and work we’ve been skunked for the last three weekends in Steamboat. Excited for this weekend but hope we see some clouds! Would like to connect regarding a flight together this fall. Thanks again for what you do.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Hi Jason, yes, hope to get to fly later this week now that the smoke has cleared (I hope it lasts). Next complication is that the runway at Boulder is being re-paved starting next Tuesday. The glider runway is supposed to remain open but can be used by power planes also. Depending on actual traffic volume this may make it difficult to fly this fall. We'll have to see.

[@ronbranham4307]

Really enjoy watching the decision procession selecting clouds and or streets to take. Found myself leaning my iPad into the thermals! Well done !

[@gabytabak100]

Great video, Thank you for sharing. I wish to fly your area in the future. Flew similar distances in SA.

[@ChessInTheAir]

It’s a great place for soaring. Fairly technical but very scenic and rewarding.

[@etiennedemalleray1828]

Very nice flight indeed ! Although it is obvious you made a few mistakes that slowed you down, this must be the kind of flight you remember for long when you look at your logbook. Lucky you to fly in such a place with such gliders. All the best.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Merci beaucoup Etienne! J'essaie d'apprendre de mes erreurs - donc je dois les identifier. ;-) Et, oui, Colorado est un endroit fantastique pour piloter des planeurs. :-)

[@beozzie690]

Just happened upon your channel.. As a TBM driver, I’m just now getting a rating to fly gliders as well.. Got my eye on a JS3 Rapture.

[@nicolaspilot7189]

Congratulations !

[@kipongstad787]

Hard to believe that a video on soaring would hold you attention for almost 2 hours...but it did. Great video and commentary. It's one thing to read about streets, convergence, etc. but another to recognize it real time the way you do though out this video. Thanks again. Do you have any video for you climbing/ flying in wave?

[@ChessInTheAir]

Glad you liked it. I don’t have a good wave video yet. Our wave system here can get pretty wild ;-)

[@yunanaminuddin8507]

nice vdo..educating

[@ibraheemtalash5094]

Next time i would like to see the instruments too)

[@KeithWhittingham]

Anybody know what that "ching ching" alarm is at, for example, 14:32

[@ve6fly]

where and how do you place your camera to obtain this view?

[@michaelderflinger5002]

with timecode (starting with 0:00 in the description youtoube automatically generates chapters for the video: 0:00 Launch at G08 2:27 #1 Starting Blue 10:43 #2 Finding a Way to TP1 38:45 #3 A TP in the blue 45:05 #4 reconnecting w/ the clouds 47:46 #5 Getting to TP2 1:11:00 #6 Through the Blue Hole 1:32:45 #7 The Race Against Time 1:40:57 Conclusion

[@ChessInTheAir]

Cool, I had no idea you could do that.

[@michaelderflinger5002]

@@ChessInTheAir ...I don't know if those chapters are added after the video is published. But you can copy the timestamps from the comment. Congrats on that achievement. I would also have chosen option C over the divide. It was really interesting to see that your concentration was lower during this part.

[@jme104]

IN 50 years of gliding I never heard of a tow rope breaking or inadvertant release .

[@ChessInTheAir]

Interesting. While I never had a rope break myself we have had about 1-2 tow rope breaks per year. Mostly in rotor turbulence. But they do happen. We also had an inadvertent release this year due to the Tost ring being worn and slipping out of the release mechanism in an ASG 29. Tost rings must be inspected - the tolerance is much smaller than one may think.

[@wesk123]

I can't work out how with 14000ft bases and 10knt climbs all over the place how 750km isn't classed as local soaring! If you want a challenge, come to the UK and do it in a standard class glider!

[@ChessInTheAir]

haha. yes, in theory it is possible to do a “wimpy 1000” - a 1000km flight with 6 OLC legs, without ever leaving glide range of the home airport. No one has done it yet, requires the right day.

[@ibraheemtalash5094]

What was tow cut altitude?

[@kelvinvanbaalen6495]

Nice flight! What camera are you using?

[@rickdeckard7470]

Question - How did you learn so much about cross country flying? Did you have a mentor, team flying, reading a lot books, seminars, or youtube vids? What would you recommend for those pilots that have done 100km+ flights near their home airport, but want to venture out...luv your vids great flights/educational advise.. thx and keep them coming!

[@ChessInTheAir]

Hi Rick - this is a great question! The short answer is a combination of all the above plus some other factors. It starts with really wanting to do it and then committing the time to learning and challenging yourself to progress step by step. The first and perhaps only true pre-requisite is that you have to have the skills and the confidence that you can stay up for as long as there is lift. If you can do it near your home airport, you can also do it elsewhere. I suggest you set yourself some short tasks near your home airfield first and fly them. They can be all in glide range of the airport and you can go around a task several times in one flight. Challenge yourself to fly those tasks as fast as possible. This will test and develop your skills and give you the confidence you need to venture outside of glide range. Getting outside of glide range for the first time can be a big mental hurdle. You can overcome that hurdle by ensuring that you have a plan in place in case you have to land someplace else (e.g. you know you have friends that will be glad to come and get you should you have to land elsewhere). Do not go cross-country without that because you will fear landing out. This is bad because if you are afraid of landing out you will be inclined to take stupid risks to avoid it at all cost. (This is basic human psychology: we will take stupid risks to avoid what we view as a negative outcome.) But it you are comfortable with the idea that one day landing out will happen and "today could be the day", you can be relaxed about it and concentrate on flying instead. And if the day comes that you land someplace else look at it as a fun adventure. (Obviously you need to know where you can land safely as part of your flight preparations and then always stay in glide range of a landable area. This is not hard to do.) I video-taped a great talk by one of my friends and mentors - I highly recommend you watch it. You can find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWjZoJiFgJaHmKs. One thing that helped me personally is to try to learn something from every flight. E.g., from time to time I write flight reviews of my own flights - what went right and what went wrong? What will I do differently in the future? This is a great way to progress. You can do this in a simple notebook or you can do what I did: I created a public blog where the peer review keeps me honest. You can find my blog and my personal flight reviews on my website: chessintheair.com/ Finally, I also recommend that you practice with the Condor soaring simulator, especially during the off-season. It's a great way to stay current when you can't fly for real but the best way to progress is to fly multiplayer online races against other pilots. I wrote several articles about this, I suggest you start here: chessintheair.com/condor-from-starting-to-racing-a-brief-guide-for-beginners/ I hope these tips are useful! Good luck with your journey!

[@rickdeckard7470]

@@ChessInTheAir Hi CITA… Thank you for taking the time to respond back to my question and providing so many good tips. Your suggestion to fly tasks at my home airport as fast as I can is a good one. Like you said step by step. My longest flight was 5 hours to date, but I need to learn how to fly a convergence line. I am planning on buying a glider so that I do not need to use the ones at the club; I can fly more and be more comfortable if I land out. I do have some club members that could help me with a retrieve in case I do land out, the going rate is a good dinner and beers. My flight instructor had me start a flight diary, I will start using it again, good suggestion. I started record my flights with a Gopro as well so I can review them later. I have been thinking of trying out Condor for some time, but you convinced me I am going to get a license. Your tips were very useful and much appreciated.. thx again!

[@michaelderflinger5002]

17,000ft is as high as you may get because of airspace near Denver? 20k ft cloud base is even for this area ridiculously high I guess.

[@ChessInTheAir]

20kt cloud base is not unusual. It can be up to 22-23k. Class A airspace above the United States starts at 18,000 so we always have to stay below that unless we have a specific clearance from ATC (eg into a wave window).

[@mydogdidit]

Wow, what an achievement! I am new to this, having 20 flights over the past couple of months, 4 solo. I watched your entire video and without having something like this, I don't know if it is possible to comprehend cross country soaring. Thanks much, it took quite a bit of work to do a video such as this! BTW, did you say somewhere early in the video that your Ventus sailplane can do 70:1? I read of specs of 46:1 but that is a 15 meter.

[@ChessInTheAir]

Hi Bill, thanks for your comment and great to hear that you started on your own gliding adventure! The best L/D of the Ventus in still air is 48:1 but the trick is to find and follow lines of rising air, often called “energy lines” - this way it is possible to achieve much better effective glide ratios, often even gaining altitude in straight flight (which makes your glide ratio de facto infinite). Of course all energy lines end somewhere (or you lose them) but they are usually the biggest factor as to why pilots can achieve fast XC flights. Cloud streets are often an indicator of the location of energy lines but there are multiple potential underlying causes for why they exist in the first place (e.g. convergence of different air masses, convective lift lines organized by the wind, ridge lift, and wave lift are the most common ones).

[@josephinebennington7247]

Where’s the toilet stop?

[@ChessInTheAir]

Josephine Bennington pretty much wherever you like ;-)

[@dnch]

the other guy on the radio sounds like Trump:D

[@301stSpartan1]

Great video - thanks for sharing thought processes. TECH QN: From the shadow, it looks like you are running goPro with external power. Would you mnd sharing your setup?

[@cceipek]

Sure - I currently use an Osmo Action and have it plugged into a simple portable power bank battery (kept in the side pocket) via USB cable. (I have used various GoPros before but they tended to shut off at random times for no apparent reason. The Osmo seems more reliable although not perfect.) I use the biggest memory card approved for the camera (it’s important to use one with fast recording speeds) so I can start it before take off and just leave it on. I like to just focus on flying only and not think about the camera… hope this helps.

[@301stSpartan1]

Thank you for the information on camera/battery, Clemens!