Crazy Glider Descents: Instructor Reacts!

Can a glider do a beat up with the brakes out? Sure can! And an unconventional way to join a circuit...

Some updates and corrections:
- Sonds like the other plane is static, on a pole!! From those familiar with the airfield. That makes much more sense :)
- Likely the brakes were NOT open the whole time as seen by the airbrake lever. That makes more sense too.
- Apologies I pronounced Puchacz wrong, should be 'Poo-Hatch'.
Thanks to all those who pointed out those things!

Original video of first clip:

✈️ Follow your club members and friends on PureTrack:

👕 Buy Hats, Yaw Strings, T-Shirts and Hoodies:

📷 Equipment in this video:

☁️ SeeYou Cloud 2 month discount off your first year's subscription to, use the coupon code: PUREGLIDE

👕 Soaring XX Awesome Flying Clothing and Gear
Coupon Code: "PUREGLIDE" for 5% off your order

🌦 SkySight weather forecasting discount coupon code: PUREGLIDE for TWO months discount off your first year of subscription.

😃 Follow PureGlide on Facebook:

☕️ Buy me a coffee! Support the channel with a donation:

00:00 Full Brakes Descent?!
04:16 Spin into circuit?!

[PureGlide]

Some updates and corrections:
- Sonds like the other plane is static, on a pole!! From those familiar with the airfield. That makes much more sense :)
- Likely the brakes were NOT open the whole time as seen by the airbrake lever. That makes more sense too.
- Apologies I pronounced Puchacz wrong, should be 'Poo-Hatch'.
Thanks to all those who pointed out those things!

[philipgreenwood]

I learnt to glide in the 70's at Lasham in the UK; my instructor was Polish and crazy as a box of frogs. I was close to going solo and I had a winch tow to 1400ft in a K13 and he said leave the circuit and do 3 full spins to the left. Ok I said and did it and recovered. I was now at about 600 ft and he said now two to the right. I said "Are you sure?" He said "Yes" I did it and was at about 200' at the upwind end of the airfield. He said "Now get back". I started the downwind leg and cut in about 1/2 way down the leg to land safely on a disused cross runway.
The whole reason it turned out, was to make me make decicions in a stressfull situation. Went solo shortly after that and it certainly made me a better pilot!

[jbmatey]

Hi there ... I use to fly gliders at RAF Gaydon in the Midlands U.K. ... On the last flight of the day we use to winch launch then dive down over the main road roll out and land close to the perimeter fence so that we could roll the gliders into the hanger ... I got grounded for one month !!! The midland red bus driver complained “ it scared him “ ... in that month I became brilliant at winching 😀

[gliderfan]

Puchacz is said Pooh-hatch and means Uhu (Eurasian Eagle Owl - Bubo bubo).
At 0:38 the reopening of airbreaks is clearly audible. During the low pass you can see the blue handle in full forward position.
I was trained in this glider and do my yearly checks (including spin recovery routine) in it. Flew my first solo in it. Fun fact: SZD-51 Junior is designed as next-step solo glider for training and first xc. The single-seater has very similar flight characteristics to Puchacz, so the transfer is barely noticeable (Junior is quicker to react to control inputs).
The old school of making gliders in Poland required diving tests - Bocian (Storch) and Puchacz had to be flown in dive with air breaks open without exceeding VNE. I remember that in tests of Bocian they exceeded 300 kmph in a dive because the test pilots were sure they are about to make tests without the breaks open... Nothing happened. The dive test was standard at least in Poland (RWD, PZL, PWS) before WWII and it was continued after the war as well. It is perfectly possible and safe to do that dive.

My instructors do not recommend turning with breaks open, but at least in Puchacz it is perfectly doable.

[RafMov]

Hi there. This is Turkish İnönü Gliding Centre I have visited few years ago. Looks like not airshow but some demo flight. I think they closed A/B on final just before low pass and climb and partially closed for flare and touch down. Airplane is just static display on the pylons on the ground.

[FinalGlideAus]

I highly doubt an SZD-50 would have the energy to do that low pass and pull up with the brakes open. Those things have an impressive stopping force.

[ridgesail]

He clearly looks at the wing long enough during the climb out to see the brakes are closed. That's the whole point of his pilot skill display... Controlled dive w brakes, close brakes and climb out, open brakes for nice short steep landing.

[SDR-fnhr]

This is at the İnönü airfield in Turkey. I have visited this airfield during an Air Cadet exchange program

[lumbeseggel]

Hi Tim, I think the airbrakes were closed during the low pass... at 0:20 you can see that the blue handle is in a forward position. So in my opinion the brakes were extended first and then retracted again. I also think that the speed would have decreased much faster if the brakes had been applied the whole time. But in the end - unnecessary recklessness. It goes well a few times and at some point we read an accident report about it. Simply stupid.

[marcinpolar]

Brakes were closed during ascend, you can see the handle in a front position, and in one moment the wing without them is visible too

[MrSilentPilot]

Hi Tim, just as you comment that you think the airbrakes might be open during the pull-up we get a clear view of the airbrake handle apparently (I don't fly the Puchacz, but it appears to be) fully forward!

[StefanoBorini]

It's called an energy dump. My instructor taught it to me as a technique to get through strongly turbulent/high wind shear final approaches, because you simply descend way above the stall speed, and yet the horizontal speed is not very high because, well, strong winds. It scares the shit out of you if you are not trained in it, but it's very effective.

[christopherleveck]

I used to love slipping into my landings. Once, with my instructor in the back, the day before my I was slipping like I normally did, and she says can you slip the other direction if you need too?
We were about 100 feet off the ground, I reversed the controls and slipped the other direction.
She INSTANTLY threw up all down the back of my neck....
I had JUST gotten a new haircut less than an hour before that. It was a super hot day. The vomit made a slap sound when it hit the back of my freshly shaved neck and it went all the way down my back into my shorts and when I stood up all down the back of my legs and then between the bottom of my feet and the top of my flip flops.
It made a HORRIBLE squeeking sound as I walked over to the hose hanging next to the door of the bathroom.
It turned out she was pregnant and at that moment, didn't know it.
She didn't get a drop on her. The smell was so bad I threw open the canopy well before we stopped and cracked it when we hit a bump where I left the dirt and hit the grass on my way to the hose. I used the sidewalk like a

[GlideYNRG]

Spinning over a built up area, especially at that It'd be tea and bikkies and a stern talking to for me and a kick up the arse to drive it home.
116kt vne for the Puchacz. Looks like the aircraft in question is on a pole near the swimming pool, would make me look twice if not familiar with the strip.

[TheGrundigg]

The tow plane we see in the 1st clip is actually just a monument next to the hangar. You can see it clearly in the window at 2:58 and earlier as they are overflying the field.

[StewartBarton-el]

That first clip is at Inonu Turkey.
We flew there in the first World air games. It is a pre military airforce training field. All airforce train in gliders first. Flew with Billy Walker and Brian Chesterman. In PW5's

[wearemany]

2:08 ..it looks to me like the a-brakes were stowed during the energy climb out. Cool video BTW. 👍😎

[EnniodBleu]

Victor Foxtrot! Spent a few hours in that one about 20 years ago. Still at the same club by the looks of it.

[richglider]

Some more innovative ways to introduce unnecessary risks there .. never ceases to amaze!

[markmcgoveran]

I really love watching your videos and I have for some time and I'm studying aviation with all of my mathematical ability. When any aircraft turns it doesn't fly as well as it does going straight. I'm studying to be a paraglider pilot and that landing the first glider did was exactly what they tell me to do I'm to swoop down go up turn around swoop down again until I get to the approach height and then I make a 90° turn and fly into the wind. When I watch your gliding tapes I like to try to understand how your glider works and see if it relates to how mine works. Thank you very much for the corrections I was putting pen to paper in my mind so to speak and figuring that you couldn't have that much breaking action and come back up for the second swoop.