If an instrument rating can lower your premium somewhat...does a glider rating do the same? Lowflybye?

I'm sure there are some statistics somewhere to support or refute this assumption.

zane wrote:If an instrument rating can lower your premium somewhat...does a glider rating do the same? Lowflybye?

I'm sure there are some statistics somewhere to support or refute this assumption.

I don't know about statistics, but I had over 1000 hours of glider time by the time I got around to owning a power plane, and the underwriters just laughed at me when I said I was an experienced pilot.

I never could understand why they thought that if I could fly a glider 300 miles without an engine I couldn't fly a Cub with an engine from A to B.

Go figure. As far as airplane actuarial tables are concerned, gilders don't exist.

Rocky

I was going to say that it hasn't helped my insurance any, but looking at my policy now (Avemco) it says any new rating or additional training (aerobatics included) saves you 5% on your annual premium. It is my opinion though, that being a proficient glider pilot makes you so much more aware of what that mass of air you're flying in is doing. And that can be a very good thing ie: flying through that warming Idaho canyon on a mid summer morning. I don't chase any of the badges, races or competitions, but give soaring 2 thumbs up...
Take care,
Rob

Zane,

If you are looking for an excuse to check out gliding, my advice is "just do it!!" I visited these guys http://www.wvsc.org/ just for kicks the last time I was in Portland, and they seemed like a pretty good soaring club. They have a nice field and a well-populated club. I'm sure you've heard the stories from the glider gurus about the hazards of getting your rating with a club (namely, it could take awhile), but it might be worth checking out.

Granted, I'm only a fledgling soaring pilot, but it's been a really good experience so far for me!

Sara

Only when your engine quits!


Idaho SuperCub

tailwheel girl,

I have been to the Willamette Valley Soaring Club field. It is really nice... I was driving back from the coast on Hwy 26 and a Pawnee caught my eye and I nearly whipped a 180 in the freeway.

The prospect of being able to fly the Pawnee sounds like fun too...I just need 10 more hours of tailwheel time and a high performance endorsement.

I really think the west Willamette Valley would be a great place to go soaring though, and dodging aircraft on the Hillsboro ILS sounds like a fun maneuvering exercise.

I spent almost 1000 hours out front of gliders in a Pawnee, and about 10 hours in gliders - enough to solo and one 3 hour solo flight. I'd say, even if it doesn't buy you any breaks on insurance, it's worth the time and investment to make you that much better of a stick and rudder pilot. Many of the skills I learned in the glider world have translated to backcountry flying. Warm and cold sides of the canyons, visualizing air movement as a fluid (like water in a river), etc. I'm pretty sure sitting in on a glider ground school lesson about landing out helped me earlier this summer when I in fact "landed out" in a 206.

Just my opinion.

John

zane wrote:The prospect of being able to fly the Pawnee sounds like fun too...I just need 10 more hours of tailwheel time and a high performance endorsement.

High performace endorsment for a Pawnee? Surely you jest.

In spite of my cynicism about the insurance industry, I agree wholeheartedly with Low & Slow....getting glider experience was the absolute best training I ever got.

However, if you want to get glider experience that will help you in mountain flying, Portland is not the right place to get it. I had 1500 hours of glider time and had been a CFIG for 30 years when I joined WVSC in 2000 thinking to get back into soaring. My experience was very negative. I left the Club in disgust after two years. I felt that there were only half a dozen competent glider pilots in the whole Club and I just could not abide the petty politics. Not that there were not plenty of nice people, I just felt that the standard of flying was very unprofessional.

I'll admit I have pretty high standards after 38 years of mountain flying and being a CFI for 30 of them. To me, high standards of instruction and competency and mountain flying are inseparable, and I think the accident statistics bear that out.

By all means go get a glider rating, but do it for the fun and learning experience, not for any insurance issues, and try it at different places.


Good Luck,


Rocky

Student Pilot wrote:

zane wrote:The prospect of being able to fly the Pawnee sounds like fun too...I just need 10 more hours of tailwheel time and a high performance endorsement.

High performace endorsment for a Pawnee? Surely you jest.

Pawnee has an O-540 = high performance endorsement.

jmtgt wrote:Zane you should have done the soaring in Minden. Supposed to be one of the best places to soar in the US so I am told.

Where is Strata when ya need him for info.

John

I know, the best stuff was in my backyard when I lived in Reno. There is another thread around here somewhere in which Strata gave a whole lot of good info, and we had a good soaring discussion.

This thread was mainly just to ask the insurance question, to which it looks like the answer if unfortunately NO.