The Advantages Of Learning to Fly A Glider Plane Over A Regular Airplane

Have you ever tried to fly a glider plane? If not, you may be wondering about the difference between a glider plane and a regular airplane. In the air, they are pretty much the same. The difference is that a glider doesn’t have a complex engine similar to a regular airplane. Some gliders don’t have any engine. Others have motor system designed to extend the flight period.

It is not really difficult to learn how to fly a glider plane. In a regular airplane, you will have to be familiar with aircraft mechanics and how its engine works. In a glider plane, your focus will only be on thermodynamics and controlling the glider according to the direction of the wind. In your childhood, you might have used to play a paper plane. This is a typical example of a glider.

Nevertheless, glider planes also have many similarities with a regular airplane. Glider planes today have wheels for flight and for landing purposes. The wheels are also built in the same way as they are supported with wheel bearings like Timeken wheel bearings. The designs of the couch and the body are quite similar, too. However, learning to fly a glider plane has several advantages over a regular airplane, and today we will go over these.

1. Fly Solo at Younger Age

Flying a glider plane or a regular airplane is more enjoyable if you do it solo. However, this is only possible if you reach a certain required age. No matter how good you are at flying a glider, you will have to wait until you reach the right age as prescribed by the law.

The good thing about flying a glider plane is that the age requirement starts at 14.This is much earlier than the requirement to fly a regular airplane which starts at 16 years old.

2. Cheaper

You’re probably wondering if flying a glider plane is as expensive as flying a regular airplane. Apparently, it is cheaper to fly a glider plane. It will only cost you $35 per hour while flying a Cessna 172 will cost you around $100 per hour.

3. Less Noisy

Definitely, a regular airplane is much noisier than a glider plane simply because an airplane has an engine working while a glider plane only uses a motor system at the very least. Usually, most gliders don’t have any engine.

4. Skills in Using Less Energy

In flying a regular airplane, you depend on the engine in order to move. There are times you need to depend upon your skills to use thermals to float toward the direction of the wind until you get to your desired path. This skill can easily be developed when you start flying a glider plane.

5. Ideal Stepping Stone to Fly an Engine-Powered Airplane

It is easy to learn how to ride a motorcycle when you first learned how to ride a bicycle. The same rule applies to flying. When you first learned how to fly a glider plane, you are already halfway through flying a real engine-powered airplane.

Conclusion

Flying a glider plane is fun and exciting. This is why it has become a sport and a recreation, too. While enjoying the experience of flying high in the sky, you can also feel how it is like to fly a regular airplane. This will help you a lot especially if you really have a plan to become an airplane pilot.