Gliding Hundreds of Miles Over Nothingness - Full Flight

This is 98% of the entire footage of a 750km record glider flight from Nephi, Utah to Alamo, NV and back to Nephi. As you can see, there is not much out there near Alamo! Pretty scary when you are so far away from home without an engine and only your wits and the weather to help get you back home. The glider is an ASW27 and the airport I am landing at is Nephi, Utah. This was my first flight back in the glider after an unwanted vacation away from gliding so it made this flight even more special. Thanks as always for watching and for all your comments and support! Bruno - B4

[@s4nari]

Glad to have you back. Your content is what first made me interested in glider flight. Stay safe out there ♥

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for saying hi! Fun to help spread the soaring/gliding knowledge. So many people have no clue what we can do up in the sky. Cheers!

[@johnfoster1201]

Me too. It triggered me to start gliding lessons and get my glider license. Looking forward to posting my own videos once I get into my own glider.

[@s4nari]

@@johnfoster1201 Fly Safe Friend!

[@kim1lib]

@@johnfoster1201 pontoon t fish locator

[@paulhayden6292]

Thanks Bruno for a great look into cross country glider flight. For the final hour knowing end of day, end of task I pulled up my chair in front of my 55” tv and got your perspective of the cockpit. Besides what a nice clear day.

[@daxdadog]

The FAA, who couldn't save us from the 737 Max, managed to save us from Bruno, for a while. What heroes they are.

[@user-th3jl8mz7y]

Also they couldnt save us from the airshow organizer guys who gave Bruno that wonderful idea!

[@theflyingfool]

Nearly ****ed myself laughing at your comment - an absolutely spot on observation!

[@sparrowlt]

they are quite busy now saving us from having a spaceship operational....

[@dmc8078]

Let’s see what they do with Trevor Jacob, real hero. 🤔

[@jeremsgarage]

@@dmc8078 I’m pretty sure that Dan Grider is right on that young man.

[@williamstoertz]

My dad was a geologist with the USGS, based in D.C. But he took our whole family on field trips, mainly to Nevada: Elko, Ely, Wells, Gerlach, Tonopah, Las Vegas, Angel Lake, French Creek (S.E. Oregon), the Black Rock Desert. So coming with you on this venture from Utah (another one of our favorite haunts -- the Wasatch Mountains) -- was truly like a "trip home." Thank you for letting us see Nevada and Utah from the air!

[@ryanglover1940]

Great video! Cool to see the mountain at Milford. Brings back memories of flying my hangglider there 28 years ago.

[@1hornet1]

YES! It took me a few days but I got through this entire video too! Glad to see you still got it Bruno. Seriously, thanks for the effort in sharing these long videos with us!

[@jayconnors998]

I have not flown sailplanes as much as Bruno or maybe some of you...but there are times when you feel sooo relaxed..you want to take a nap..sooo peaceful and serene...and then..watch out... your heart is pumping and panic wants to set in...what a great sport!

[@soriba391]

I love these videos.... so glad that you are back.

[@ahmedwerfali6147]

Glad to have you back. We miss such long gliding

[@MikelLee]

Hey Bruno, good to see the full length videos again. Even at 5+ hours. :-) It's funny that people would watch an over 5 hour video, but the cool thing is that this really shows what cross country soaring is all about. Good job. I'll see you in Nephi summer of 2022. 1M.

[@alphonzo12345]

Agreed, it's funny that in today's world anyone would watch a 5-hour video, but I like to run videos like this on a second monitor while I'm working in software development. Bruno's videos were what first turned me on to gliders -- why fly a glider when you can fly a "real" plane with an engine. Then I watched a complete video of him flying for three hours without an engine and had to pick up my jaw off the desk -- I got no work done that day!

[@jirkamalej]

Well what else would you do on long January night in Canada ? Its a perfect mind training. Just watched the first hour of it. 00:38 10000 feet thermal up to 16000 feet at 00:44 thats 6000 feet in 6 minutes. What was his climb rate eh ? Then cruise under the cloud on the Edge of Vno, I was expecting little more push and then pull up again from 14000 feet top up. See how much one can learn in one hour. :D Read the sky, watch his sloppy turns flying twice in the same sink :D. Its great . I get hours in cockpit without sitting in one. Also great on treadmill. Cheers.

[@DraconaiMac]

Thank you so much for posting these! Its a dose of sanity in a busy day.

[@manwinkler]

Beautiful - thank you for sharing! 🙏

[@lessainsbury8508]

Just finished watching this for the second time. Even better the second time around.

[@morethehedgehog8215]

Best ASMR videos on KZbin.

[@richnfamous59]

I enjoy your long videos. back in 2016 I was very ill and watching your vids as I lay in bed kept my spirits up. thanks

[@Chakra_Bliss_Energy]

What a beautiful day and gorgeous country and mountains.

[@dmc8078]

Great videos Bruno! Your videos are motivation to get to Moriarty NM. and get into the air.

[@Twobarpsi]

A perfect winter movie! Snowing and heavy ice here tonight! I'm going to soak all these glorious scenes of warm summery Utah in with aplomb! Thanks for documenting this Bravo 4!!

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for watching! Cheers.

[@rubenmartin3107]

Thanks for sharing Bruno as always. Could you please do a video showing us around your gliders? The bits you like about them, the bits you don't.

[@roland5359]

Beautiful - thank you for sharing! 👍👍👍

[@lynwoodjones]

Just found you and immediately subscribed! Totally fascinated! Awesome! Thanks! 🤗

[@jozefvrabec6261]

We're glad you're back. Nice video. I fell asleep 3 times, I set the video speed 2 times. Thank you. :) :) :)

[@kittykat999a]

Hey! Glad you’re back!

[@upublic]

absolutely amazing screensaver! :)

[@hertelden3434]

Have a nice flights Bruno.

[@michaelegert1284]

Looks like realy great fun. And the view is just amazing 😊👍

[@Rahhhhhnman]

Just wanted to say thanks for the upload Bruno

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for watching and saying hi!

[@williamstoertz]

It's a long flight "over nothingness" as you say. But I feel attracted to keep watching, three or four times already. Why? Because each moment is "alive"--I feel I'm with you in the moments of anxiety, of hanging in there, of hope, and of relief when you get good lift after a long dry haul. Really worth sticking it out. And you certainly couldn't land out!

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for flying with me!!! :) I am so happy to hear you are able to feel the emotions I am going through as we fly through this amazing yet scary and desolate landscape of the west. Thanks for sharing! :)

[@williamgalinaitis4684]

Its great to be back flying. Even though I am sitting in VIrginia, in the mountains, in snow and I don't own a sailplane. I feel warmer just seeing you in shorts.

[@cageordie]

Yeah! Thank you! Looking forward to watching all of this tomorrow. Too late right now.

[@GrantGrove]

Nice save. And that was over “nowhere”. Glass off at the end… fun flight. “Cloud Dancer”.

[@powellriver100]

Happy to see you back flying !

[@boyds_fishing]

Yeeeees your back

[@kevinkc3onohelijeepworld953]

Great to see you back flying 😉 I missed it dearly. Not sure if I like the new camera it kinda softens the drops and movement of the glider 🤔 think the old setup made us feel like we were in the cockpit with you ☺️

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for watching. Agreed with your assessment. I need to figure out how to turn off the stabilization. I don’t like it either.

[@tombrennan3973]

"good stuff" as he parks it *perfectly* after an amazing soar... 🙂

[@notthefeds4147]

Glad you’re still flying.

[@onthemoney7237]

Watching again what a day that was 👍

[@DamnDiesel]

Keepem coming............Thanks

[@beozzie690]

Nice one B4! Love the full videos, have it playing while I’m doing a outdoor cook for 16hours... Would like to fly with you...

[@Jedduh]

So good! Love it

[@Tepnox]

Beautiful scenery! I really liked the new GoPro footage - pretty smooth and well stabilized. Do you have an active gimbal stabilizer installed or is it the automatic digital image stabiliziation?

[@greggdavis]

I watched the whole thing, awesome Bruno! thanks for posting the full flight! -I'm planning to come out to Nephi with our Boulder Club this summer if it all works out - hope to see you again!

[@BrunoVassel]

Hey Gregg - Thanks for watching and saying hi. I will be headed out your way flying a safari the second half of June. Hope I don't miss you in Nephi!

[@greggdavis]

@@BrunoVassel Cool! SSB is talking about July16-24, 2022, so I hope you'll be around! Will you be flying around Boulder in June? I live up nearer to Salida and the Sangre de Cristos in Fairplay, CO, which is in South Park. Thanks for the reply!

[@BrunoVassel]

@@greggdavis Nice! My trip is June 18 to when I finish. Here is the route. Should be a fun adventure. goo.gl/maps/nHf1sdwTd8Zpwgy97 Maybe we can meet up in the air on my leg from Granby down to Creede?

[@beebee766]

Bruno - excellent. A good meaty long vid for the complete 'being there' experience. Would be good if we could see altitude, airspeed, distance to TP etc. Not sure how you could achieve that. The vario indicator is clear and sound just ok. 12 kts thermals in a full 360!!! Jeez we are lucky in UK to see 3 knts for half a turn! Nicely done matey.

[@scottbacken4853]

Just so unbelievable cool.

[@davidj9977]

you make great content... btw, i like the closer in camera where we can see your instruments and altitude a little better.

[@nathangrimes641]

Beautiful flight! Loved the final glide. It took me a couple of days to watch it all. I would love to do a flight like this. If you could give a little more information on how far out you are, agl and speeds, that would be great. I’m glad you’re back in your glider. Maybe someday I could fly with you. Happy landings!

[@BrunoVassel]

I agree with all your ideas. The problem for me is just time to spend doing editing for this kind of thing. Sharing these videos is fun but sitting for dozens of hours editing is not. Double edged sword getting more cameras, editing, actually making it better. I just don't have the time to spend at this stage in my life. Hopefully someday.

[@nathangrimes641]

@@BrunoVassel I appreciate you doing any videos. It’s impressive to see what a glider can do. I’m planning on getting my glider rating this year. Your videos have inspired me.

[@BrunoVassel]

@@nathangrimes641 nice! Please Keep me updated with your progress. You will love it!

[@nathangrimes641]

@@BrunoVassel I have my glider rating now and a glider. I’m ready to go fly with you! Afton this June then Nephi later 😎👍. You could even come fly the Wind Rivers with me. I’m stoked to go fly.

[@davidrelite6239]

Welcome back....

[@GeorgeCee]

AMAZING !

[@shadeburst]

I preferred your older generations of GoPro that showed the instruments more clearly and helped me to understand your decisions. That was a good flight.

[@ScoopDogg]

I never knew they could stay up that long, blown away by the length of fly time

[@jirkamalej]

They can even fly in the night on the ridge, with a good wind, or good friends making campfires in the line :D

[@PeterCampbell1940]

Hey Bruno, sorry I missed your birthday--hope it was good with a fun flight. Nice to see you back in the air. I am about half way through this video. BTW, I still have those old instruments for anyone who might want them--Air speed and vario, both in knots. Not current state of the art, but might be good for someone just getting into the sport with their first glider. If anyone knows of someone who could use them, let me know. All I would ask is for the postage from California. If anyone is interested, let me know and we can figure out how to make the transfer.

[@BrunoVassel]

Hi Peter, Thanks for taking the time to say hi. Good luck slogging through the entire flight. Haha. It gets better I think the second half so hang in there. Thanks for the offer on the instruments. I don't know anyone who is interested but will keep you in mind. Best, Bruno

[@glidingadventures]

Awesome video, would love to see the trace. Are you going to the worlds in Australia next year?

[@1hornet1]

I'm an hour in and can tell you are not anywhere near as chatty as before. I'm going to watch this whole video like the others if it takes me all week!

[@Doug_Morgan]

Cool this is a long one, I will link it and watch it all later today.

[@NoTengoIlusiones]

Beautiful Video. Bruno can you make a video of the all avionics, instruments you have [showing while flying]? Cheers and thank you.

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for watching. I have both on the ground and in the air. Please check out the videos on my channel and you will find them. They are probably around 5-7 years ago

[@johnfoster1201]

Maybe its just my bad hearing, but i find it hard to hear the beeping of your vario in the video. Glad to see you making videos again, Bruno.

[@rogeratygc7895]

It's good to see another video of yours after so long! If it isn't rude to ask, did you notice any temporary loss of skill after so long on the ground? I would have been scared to fly over such terrain even if on top form.

[@BrunoVassel]

Hi Roger - thanks for the kind words. I have been flying so long that I didn't feel unsafe by any means. I guess you can say this was an aggressive task for not having flown my glider in 10 months. I could feel when thermalling next to the mountain right after tow that I was thinking more about the thermalling and circling than normal, but when you are close to a mountain you can't afford mistakes. I think my thermalling and speed picked up over the hours in this flight. I landed back feeling in top form (for me) and that shows the rust got knocked off a bit. Thanks for watching and commenting! :) Bruno

[@christianniemeijer97]

Great video! My home airport is in the Netherlands, due to the fact we have a temperate climate and no mountains, we're lucky to even get above 3000' AGL. I'm curious, when you see cloud bases like 18,000 ft in Utah, do you have to think about bringing oxygen or something like that?

[@johannesgaida3137]

You can actually see (and hear!) him using a pulse demand oxygen system in the vid.

[@christianniemeijer97]

@@johannesgaida3137 Yes, I see now! That's incredible...

[@victor-emmanuel7485]

We've missed you Bruno

[@pbyt3869]

Awesome, I’ll like to get into gliding but I can’t find any glider clubs in my city…

[@jme104]

You're lucky to have thermals that go to 18,000 ft, here it's 7,000 at the most but we enjoy too.

[@flaparoundfpv8632]

You should be thanking the FAA for making you so much better at paperwork.

[@denniscollins9682]

Bruno, What sort of battery setup do you have for your flight instruments? YX

[@schloemo]

Thanks Bruno! Can you explain why you chose this particular out and return? Why not go east, southeast, south or straight west? Was it the weather that looked good in this direction or something?

[@BrunoVassel]

Great question! There is restricted airspace to the west. The winds are normally from the southwest so I wanted to fly into the wind and have a tailwind on the way home. The cloud streets flow parallel to the wind so that is why I had one cloud after another going there and back. Fun stuff!

[@patcojack]

Thursday,May 12th,2022 10:00 pm MDT-Bruno,there are 2 parallel WAVE clouds over Cache Valley right now, with a Gibbous nearly full moon...Ever think of flying in "The Logan Wave" at night ? There have been "Full Moon Flights" over Green Point along Lake Michigan Dunes by "Green Point Flyers" hang glider pilots...in "perfect conditions".

[@mfinegan]

Really interesting to see actual technique flying cloudstreets without circling; I don't often get to do that for more than 10 miles. What kind of digital altimeter is that in your panel? Do you like that better than a traditional round "clock-face-type altimeter? If so, why?

[@BrunoVassel]

Hi Mike. The altimeter is called an AIR Control Display that I purchased from Craggy Aero. I LOVE IT!!!! It is super sensitive but not twitchy, easy to read, and just plain looks cool. You can even get a small battery pack backup in case your main batteries die. I 100% recommend it.

[@aviathor7565]

Hey Bruno, what a flight ! With cloud bases at 18k, low winds and 15kt thermals, it doesn't get better than this ! Wow ! Looking at the map, is it possible to go soaring from Spanish Fork ? I'm asking since it is closer to SLC.

[@BrunoVassel]

Thanks for watching! Spanish Fork is way too busy of an airport to conduct glider operations out of. It is also the airport where I lost my license for 7 months from the FAA. If you haven't seen that video yet you need to search for it on my channel. Cheers!

[@aviathor7565]

@@BrunoVassel Thanks for the reply ! Yes, I knew about that dreadful adventure of yours... glad everything is sorted out ! Looking forward for your next long videos, it is of high value for us mere mortals trying to get to 500k with 4 kt thermals ;)

[@edtheduck6219]

Great flight and video, especially for us in the northern hemisphere who are sitting in the frost and fog. What time constants have you got in the vario? Each to their own, but I would get really annoyed by the needles and audio flailing round like that as it’s not really telling you much, at least not much that you can react to.

[@BrunoVassel]

I almost always am flying with full water. That dampens the feel of little bits of lift and sink. I have kept the vario timing pretty short to help overcome sometimes not feeling the lift due to momentum of the glider's mass forward. I am not sure if that is complete crap but that is what I was thinking. What do you think for heavy gliders?

[@edtheduck6219]

@@BrunoVassel Whatever works for you. For me, I generally set somewhere around 2-2.5 secs for damping as bursts of “lift" shorter than that are a) a lot of the time gusts confusing the vario and b) not something you can centre on and/or make an informed change to your trajectory because of. It’s like noise and annoys me after a while. You fly a lot in the mountains, so obviously see what untruths are sometimes told by the vario when you can check absolutely at that moment whether you’re going up or down. Generally, I use feel to centre backed up by the vario shortly afterwards. Averager is key. I have ~2,000hrs in the ’27, lovely machine, and although I don’t own one any more it’s still my first choice when renting or borrowing away from home. Flies very nicely with water, as you know, but the feel is still there IMO. We all have different styles of flying, which often produce nearly the same result but look weird to each other. When teaching XC I often say do whatever you feel is necessary to make the averager read 0.1kt more, which is the true judge of technique. I have a theory that we mentally adapt to a particular vario and its foibles, and build in compensation. Very different using a beat-up mechanical in a Club glider to something like a Sage or Air vario...

[@BrunoVassel]

@@edtheduck6219 Great response. Thinking more about my setup, the reality is that I set up my instruments when I installed them and haven't touched the settings since. I guess I have just gotten used to it like you said.

[@chezzap4717]

This is the 2nd best gliding video I have ever seen Bruno. The best one was you doing a couple of loops over the air and car show a while ago. FAA. FFfffttt!

[@user-th3jl8mz7y]

Bruno, long story short, did you change batteries in GP9 or did you run it off USB power brick from the beginning? And you were shooting 4k with no shutdowns?

[@davidoswald9275]

Image how far you can talk on a ham radio at those altitudes. :)

[@jamesjanota985]

Can you make this same type of trip with a sweitzer or an older glider?

[@patcojack]

Can I log this as air time Bruno ? What are your instructor fees ? Looked like a "repeat" around the 1 hour and 40 minutes till 1 hour and 50 minutes...you were down to 9,000 something and scratching for lift until you rose back up to over 12,000 ... looked like the same "mines" and roads and altitude there ? Liked the view where the Nephi 9 hole course is visible for a moment after you released tow ...Played it a few times [green!]

[@BrunoVassel]

Glad you enjoyed the ride. The first part of the video is showing the flight at the 2 hour mark when I am low and feeling nervous. It then goes to the tow and says 2 hours earlier. Sorry that wasn't very clear. I haven't played that course yet. From the air it doesn't look all that interesting. Haha. Cheers.

[@patcojack]

@@BrunoVassel Finished the view. Demonstration of cloud street running on return from Alamo was an amazement. Liked the chance to "rinse the glider before landing.

[@mine1username]

Crazy question, but do you have to wear a bag in case you have to go to the bathroom during these long flights? I wouldn't be able to last 2 hours without going. lol

[@jeffdunlap2754]

That's a long time in the cockpit

[@mrpaz410]

Hi bruno, where would one look to buy a glider? thanks in advance :)

[@GeekInTime]

As a newcomer, I have to ask this question. How do you hold your bladder for 6 hours?

[@juhakettunen7971]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGWxpIp3mJh3n7c

[@tomeraltman7491]

There are pee systems, like tunes that run out the bottom of the glider or (ideally bio-degradble) plastic bags

[@gahazebrouck]

At 800 feet one normally give up all hopes and focus on finding a place to land. Did you really consider landing on the bushes?

[@KHos73]

After 5/6 hours in the seat I'd be wanting a toilet break, pronto probably :) I guess you need very strong bladder controls too, not just pilot skills.

[@Paul-vh6ul]

Bruno edited out his pee breaks, or maybe he was wearing an external catheter under his shorts. Rest assured, he was drinking water and peeing periodically on a five hour flight.

[@DNModels]

Oh snap! I am playing this and starts from the air. Why not ground, why, why?

[@blubb9004]

Just watch a little more, you get at least part of the tow. I think it's well edited that way.

[@BrunoVassel]

I forgot to remove the lens cover first 45 seconds. I had sound but no video. I’m sure I would lose most watchers if I kept it. 😂

[@jirkamalej]

Tow is boring anyway.

[@andrewclarkson1551]

Me: doesn’t seem like Bruno’s 7 month ban was rly necessary FAA: we don’t talk about Bruno

[@totalkarband]

How is the gliding speed?

[@legPhase]

It might be a very stupid question: what do you do if you have to take a dump?

[@LotsOfInternetTubes]

Gorgeous flight, how do you pee?

[@joepdeboer8724]

So what is the story behind not being allowed to fly for 11 months the FAA? Really curious

[@user-th3jl8mz7y]

Just check his "210 Day FAA Suspension Done" video description.

[@MG-ko6jf]

wait a second. Pardon me if I'm ignorant in the glider stuff - you flew at 700MPH in a glider?

[@Bear049]

Keto and once you’re past the carb flue you will 😍

[@annyonny1224]

Earth sure looks FLAT from up there.

[@BrunoVassel]

Nope - it's not. It is round and you are probably a bot I am talking to.

[@annyonny1224]

@@BrunoVassel It can be both flat and round at the same time, much like a dinner plate or a penny.

[@BrunoVassel]

@@annyonny1224 Maybe you are not a bot. A good friend of mine became a flat earther and it drives me crazy. The amount of work it would take to spoof all of the rocket launches and space video if the world were not a ball/sphere/round/you know what I mean just does not add up. The idea that someone wants to control us so they say the earth is round instead of flat, again, just doesn't add up. My life is the same if it is round or flat. By the way, it is round.

[@annyonny1224]

@@BrunoVassel Hey that's cool but I mean NASA has had 50 years of great big budgets to work with, it all really goes back to the alleged moon landing and the root of all evil, greed/money. And, well, maybe the more religious minded among us wouldn't struggle to imagine why the devil might devise to fool us about the existence of God - because if Earth is in fact flat, wouldn't that then prove God exists? 🤨🤔

[@BrunoVassel]

@@annyonny1224 Nope - doesn't prove anything about God. It can be a square, flat, triangle, and it doesn't have anything to do nature/God. I'm sorry that you are worried about devil working so hard to fool us all. I'm happy that I'm not worried about such stuff. Good luck to you and I'm happy to not worry about it and burn in hell some day as I am sure you think I will.

[@shoedil812]

Saugages.

[@rianmonnahan]

As punishment, you should send the FAA a copy of your video. Then again, they would probably watch all six hours looking for infractions. :(

[@blubb9004]

08:20...speeding up to 700mp/h? That is rather much for a glider... :))

[@brushitoff503]

Easy calculation, 70 Mph played at 10 x speed ha ha! Maybe just a funny thought though

[@BrunoVassel]

I figured ground speed at that point was 100 mph. So 7x sped up.

[@jirkamalej]

@@BrunoVassel You could speed it up 7.5 to Mach 1 :D

[@Lizlodude]

Challenge accepted.

[@Lizlodude]

4:15:40 Gopro down! The stabilization is real confused lol. We shall resume tomorrow.

[@Lizlodude]

Challenge completed. Excellent flight!

[@Bootrosgali]

Makes you think engined flight is a hoax! Lol,

[@Wilhuff_T]

Too much fast forwarding. I'm out.

[@AB-hu2uw]

EARTHS FLAT THANKS FOR CONFIRMING

[@BrunoVassel]

You are probably a BOT but if you are real I’m sure there is nothing I could say or show you that you are dead wrong. Globe baby!