BREAKING a golden rule in GLIDING : a rookie MISTAKE that RUINED my cross-country flight.

It is a golden rule in cross-country flying: "Always try to stay above the ridges."
Why? Because the chance to hit energy lines of lifting air is higher and you are flying more or less
free of terrain. It is an easy to understand rule until the moment you get stuck below the ridges and slowly but steadily fall into a game over in cross-country
flying. Explore in this video how I dismissed this rule due to bad decision making and witness how I got wiped by strong winds from the high peaks down to the ground.
Please note that I am a learning glider pilot, sharing with you my experiences and the magic of soaring, including my mistakes and goodtakes, aiming to make this sport better and safer together.
Check out the flight at: www.weglide.or...
Date: 28.6.24
Departure: DASSU Unterwössen @deutschealpensegelflugschu7668
Outlanding: Zell am See LOWZ
Pilot: Christoph Wieland Blaas
Glider: LS4
Navigation app: www.xcsoar.org
Music: Augustin Raffo - Obsidia (artlist.io)
Weather time lapse: meteoblue.com and www.foto-webcam.eu
Flight analysis apps: www.weglide.org and www.ogoy.app
Thanks to Ute Hoffmann for planning and flying together. She did a very successfull flight just minutes away from me. It's worth to check it out: www.weglide.or...
Thanks to Hans for towing me from alpsflyingclub.at.
Thanks to the pilots of www.fcbronkow.de to help me to get back into the air and Helga vor the video, filming my final.
#aviation #crosscountry #soaring #glider #soaring #pilot #experience #thermal #pilottraining #alps #cockpitview #commentary #adventure #learning #flying

[@YOUTY209]

This kind of stuff needs to be shared more in hobbyist aviation circles - the "I made this mistake, then did the right thing and turned around" and not just the "I made this mistake, tried to force it and nearly died" videos.

[@flyneur]

Thanks so much for your feedback and sharing! 😃🙏💫

[@ronaldglider]

well, did not *dismiss* the rule - you *just **_confirmed_** it*

[@flyneur]

Thank you so much for your helpful feedback. I correct the title to "Golden Rule ignored"...I guess this is representing the content better.

[@sliceofbread2611]

this channel has a LOT of potential. no bullshitting, nice and undistracting music, a beautiful voice and great shots. keep it up! :)

[@flyneur]

Happy to read that you liked it and thanks for your encouraging feebdack!

[@lessainsbury8508]

Yes I think a lot of us can emphasize with that " Oh crap, I knew I should have gotten a little higher" feeling. Thanks for your time and effort to produce a great educational video that novice pilots can learn from, and seasoned pilots can relate to.

[@flyneur]

thanks so much for your motivating feedback.

[@matus4423]

Great video and production with straight forward explanation, thank you !

[@flyneur]

@@matus4423 thank you for your feedback! 😀✌️🙏

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

I thought that too. It's tempting isn't it.

[@naserreyhani2531]

Every time new excitement comes, and I get impressed how you clearly explain it. I'm a big fan, and hope soon I try my first joint fly. Please keep sharing your passion. Thank you ☀️

[@flyneur]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback. It is encouraging to create the next video! And I keep fingers crossed that weather and timing make you to fly very soon!

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

Well done you! I'm going to look into it as well. A new thrill at my age might just be the end of me, LOL!

[@michaelschollbauer8865]

Wahnsinns video, die aufnahmen, die darstellung der flugroute, bissi theorie, bin begeistert

[@flyneur]

Freut mich zu lesen! Danke für dein ermunterndes Feedback!

[@PilotAndrea]

Really very special shots! And the valuable information you share is as exciting as a thriller. Please keep it up, we can all benefit from it! Always happy landings Andrea

[@flyneur]

thank you dear andrea for your motivating words!

[@kiri101]

I'm proud to say I pre-empted what the lesson would be without being a pilot. However, you did very well in talking through the human factors that guided you to break this rule despite knowing it. Gliding looks beautiful, but I think I'll stay on the ground! xD

[@flyneur]

Thanks so much for your kind feedback! 😃🙏💫

[@dermick]

Very impressive flying and video production! I fly with a motor and FLARM so try to keep away from you guys - it's always interesting to better understand gliding to be sure to avoid flying in places you might be. Thanks for sharing!

[@flyneur]

very glad that the information was useful for your flying. yes, we share all together a great place up there in the skies and by exchanging information and technologies such as flarm we can improve all so much! 😀

[@the.flying.adventure]

Another great production. I can't decide if I'm jealous or glad to be missing out on the low-level scratching around!

[@flyneur]

dear master of low-level-scratching (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIOpgqOvpdV-p9Usi=9ELHiCJbc0IQjSxE), I hope you will be back soon for team flying. As soon as you will smell fresh cut pastures up in the clouds, feel the heat in the cockpit and get high from the breathtaking views from low-level flying, I am sure you can make your decision without doubt...

[@alexwertheim2596]

Excellent video, narrative and pace!

[@flyneur]

happy to read that you like it! thanks for sharing!

[@cabanford]

Sounds like a classic "flush" down into the Valley. Has nailed me many times doing XC on my Enzo3 😮😉

[@flyneur]

@@cabanford absolutely…a royal flush…down to earth…🤣

[@ChrishyRP]

Great video and explanations! Your shots, comments and visualisation are so valuable! Thank you 🎉

[@flyneur]

@@ChrishyRP thanks so much for your motivating feedback! 😃

[@gcorriveau6864]

Amazing scenery and so many fascinating options for soaring. Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a safe out/option.

[@flyneur]

Thanks for your kind feedback!

[@williamk5998]

Great video so well done. I'm a commercial single engine and IFR pilot and this stressed me so much. To fly there even in a piston single would be stressful and no engine at all so much more so!

[@flyneur]

Yes,with or without engine it can be stressful. But the great thing about aviation is that there are ways and procedures to somehow handle these situations as best as possible. For example I fly always with 2-3 landing spots (airfields or just fields) in mind, that I can reach at any time. That calms down a lot. Thanks so much for your kind feedback!

[@petrsedlak4761]

I like your style of flying. No fiddling with the stick. I can see this very rarely. Just few pilots really understand this. Plane has its own stability that works way better and in your favor than you can ever do by wobbling with controls. Your flight is nice example of how it works. Flying in thermal weather in mountains is anything but calm and smooth ride. Yet you keep the stick steady, which makes your flight more steady. And the landing... I loved that one.

[@flyneur]

Honestly, it took me a few hours to fully understand just how remarkably well-balanced this glider is. Every time I am so much impressed by this outstanding engineering. It is not from this world...🤯🙃

[@eugeniobb]

I did the exact same mistake in southern France a couple of years ago. ended up in a narrow valley in the shade and downwind. luckily i had been briefed about an emergency landing spot nearby and managed to land safely.

[@flyneur]

happy that you could make a safe landing. I guess it shows that having landing spots in mind always is so crucial, os decision can be made quick. Adn as well flying is much more relaxed when you know at least 2-3 landing spots you can reach at any time in flight. thanks for sharing your experiences!

[@BenHirashima]

Excellent production!

[@flyneur]

thank you for your kind feedback! hope to fly one day together!

[@tommy000010]

Thank you for making this video ! nice content

[@flyneur]

you are very welcome! thanks for your feedback!

[@bigbazar5226]

First engaging gliding video I have ever seen, subscribed!

[@flyneur]

@@bigbazar5226 Thanks for your kind feedback, you are welcome!

[@williamk5998]

I agree. I think someday I’ll get a glider add on +/- commercial.

[@flyneur]

very happy to read that gliding might become something you like to do! do you have a glider club nearby?

[@williamk5998]

@@flyneur Yes. KRLD in the Washington state desert. A few self launching gliders here. I flew in a glider in Vermont about 40 years ago, my only experience with one. We did a lot of aerobatics on a day with a lot of lift. I threw up, not the best outcome!

[@Fantomastube]

I used to fly gliders, but there are no hills/mountains in my country at all, just fields and forrests. To gain altitude we used thermals from highways, freshly plowed/harvested field, big parking lots, etc. Actually, you can get pretty far when following a thermal from a highway.

[@flyneur]

Lucky if you have forests. They are great for thermals! May I ask where is it? Thank you for your comment!

[@Fantomastube]

@@flyneur Hi, that was in Belarus almost 20 years ago. That was a good time... Unfortunately such things are not possible today.

[@suttoncoldfield9318]

I'd be anxious gliding over a flat countryside, never mind like this with all the hills getting in the way.

[@flyneur]

These hills are powerful sources of energy, especially with the lifting air currents. As glider pilots, we try to befriend them, but always with great respect and humility.

[@goffe2282]

I used to fly gliders but never in mountain ranges.... this just looks scary af, but I'm sure you have control of the situation. Not getting the thermals is one thing, putting yourself in a situation where you are not able to land safely is another, and you never seemed to reach that, even though spinning so close to mountains would scare the bejeebers out of me.

[@flyneur]

Yes, I agree that flying close to terrain needs a lot of attention, concentration, procedures and can be very much exhausting. I fly close to terrain always with overspeed and with the yaw straing slightly away from the terrain, so always I can immediately turn out into the valley. Of course keeping 2-3 landing options always in reach is always present by own experiences that mountain flying can be scary but it is an outstanding experience and difficult to put in words but worth to try.

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

Interesting video for someone like me who understands next to nothing about gliders. 🙏

[@flyneur]

Happy to read that the language and explanations are not too much overjargonized…how about boarding a glider to understand more?

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

Mm. Never considered that! I will make enquiries. I spotted one while hiking north of Edinburgh on Tuesday. It was being towed by a small plane. I think it would be a real buzz having already enjoyed a gift of a powered flight in a two person plane and flew a few moments ‘by myself’😊

[@flyneur]

@@TerryMcGearyScotland Glider clubs are almost everywhere and mostly you will find there welcoming pilots who make it easy for guests to board a glider with an experienced pilot and get into the sky. Its easier to get into the air as it looks like…

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

@@flyneur Thanks for that! I think there may be one less than 10 miles away. Time to Google!😕

[@atakd]

Me too. I tried gliding once but the 'instructor' was awful. He hardly spoke to the extent that I wasn't sure whether it was me or him who was controlling the plane. Wish he'd been as good at explaining things as this video.

[@steverpcb]

You need to watch Bruno Vassel !

[@flyneur]

I am a big fan of his videos!

[@petersmythe6462]

Powered aircraft pilots must consider gliding to be pure insanity.

[@flyneur]

😆

[@voornaam3191]

During the nineties, a Dutch gliding club had a group going to Switzerland, flying in the mountains as beginners. So, there was an introduction to mountain gliding. It looks so simple, until you know about all the nasty effects of wind and weather in mountainous terrain. A very funny warning was, there are certain spots where you can enter a certain valley, but you got to think about that, because if you can not make it back to that altitude again, thermals do start disappearing, you are going to land somewhere. Tiny problem is, you may be a 100 miles away from your airport, by car and glider trailer that might be 600 miles away. Oops.

[@flyneur]

thanks for you comment. yes, these are truly the challenges of gliding, its line speed chess in the air, no game like the other, and so many steps possible to think ahead and something always to learn from…

[@richardbieber9323]

Klasse Video!!😊

[@flyneur]

Danke 😊

[@jumpingtree7521]

very nice video, danke

[@flyneur]

Ich danke dir!

[@jodokf]

Super geiles Video danke

[@flyneur]

danke für dein motivierendes feedback! 💫🙏

[@KjetilBalstad]

Imagine if an American TV production narrated this... It'd be 5 times longer having repeated some very exaggerated points of danger and near death experiences 50 times with a movie trailer voice and before and after commercial segments, while pushing the expense as far as possible...

[@flyneur]

🤣👌

[@yaldayazdani8354]

عاليه ويدئوهاي شما 😍

[@flyneur]

thanks for your kind feedback…happy to read this from a flying enthusiast from iran!

[@cameronlukewilson281]

Amazing.

[@NilsNone]

You are flying in the mountains. I life in NRW near the dutch border.... How and Where would you catch updrafts without mountains? (My hometown in 50m NN and the highest point is at ~70m NN) I am no Pilot I have no idea I am just a bit curious right now

[@flyneur]

thanks for your question! in the flatlands glider pilots look out for triggers of these updrafts. these are surfaces which heats up from sunshines, such as smaller areas of buildings, fields, forests or even power plants and we avoid humid surfaces like lakes or swampy areas. but the best indicators of updrafts are if course nice bubbling cumulus clouds…could I answer your question a little bit?

[@NilsNone]

@@flyneur yes. Thanks

[@Skyclimber2301]

Nice vid, but the distance to the clouds is partly far too close !

[@flyneur]

thanks for your feedback!

[@davidalhoff7190]

Mutig an der Schmittenhöhe so rumzukratzen. Bei gutem Flugwetter hast du da auch viele Gleitschirm und drachenflieger.

[@flyneur]

@@davidalhoff7190 ja, das hätte man wohlmöglich auslassen können und direkt an den hauptkamm, anstatt in den lees zu fliegen und in der nähe von seilbahnen etc. etwas zu retten. gleitschirme waren an dem tag so gut wie gar nicht unterwegs (ich vermute es war der stramme westwind)…mit dem video hoffe ich das andere piloten klüger entscheiden können…

[@fulcrum811]

What software do you use for glide path visualisation? The one with red line and red shadow bellow it touching the groung?

[@flyneur]

actually, glider pilots do not have a specific "glide path visualisation". I use math and a simple flight computer to calculate the estimated height of arrival. I hope I did unterstand your question correctly...let me know if you are interested how to calculate during flight...

[@fulcrum811]

@@flyneur no, no, I thought what softwater are you using to make videos? The one that shows the path above the terain

[@adb012]

@@flyneur In the video you show a 3D reconstruction of the path the glider took superimposed with the terrain. You mark the path with a red line as we can see the reconstruction of what the glider was doing. That is the question of what software you use to do these graphic representations.

[@flyneur]

@@fulcrum811 ah ok, it is: ogoy.app/

[@flyneur]

@@adb012 🙏👍

[@muwatter]

30 degrees right at @2:18, would that have made a difference?

[@flyneur]

…I thought about this option but the problem would have been the same: not able to cross the ridge to the better side…and this ridge is several kilometers long, and I was doubting to reach little gaps with enough safety altitude… thanks for your comment! 😃🙏

[@kirkglundal4289]

Why did you choose to fly on the leeward side of the Sausteign ridge? Wouldn't it have been safer to stay on the windward side for ridge lift? Better chance of a thermal too, yes? Glad you did not have a landout and you were able to make an airstrip!

[@flyneur]

…the arrival was too low to jump over the ridge to the better side…there was only 20-50m left and that felt too risky…and yes that jump would have saved most probably the whole flight…going sharp right was not attractive because of shadow, lee sides and a continuous ridge for several kilometers…so I decided for the big valley with an airfield close by…it was a dilemma, caused by my mistake to fly to low… thanks for your comment and observations! 😃💫🙏

[@TerryMcGearyScotland]

@@flyneur Big decisions needing a cool head which you evidently have. Well done!

[@flyneur]

@@TerryMcGearyScotland thank you for your motivating words. these decisions in flight feel often like real pain, especially when you have to choose from only bad choices the less desastrous…🥵

[@choppergirl]

you look like you are in pain

[@flyneur]

…no worries, I guess its just tense sometimes that my face is not relaxed at all…😅…I cant hide it…