Can a 747 PILOT fly a GLIDER? Why you should start with glider flying! Explained by CAPTAIN JOE

"Can a 747 PILOT fly a GLIDER?" - Well, yes, if all four engines flame out! 🙂

Seeing an experienced pilot such as Captain Joe vomiting is kinda of comforting to me as a fresh student pilot because I sometimes get sick in the air, so seeing someone who’s much more experienced getting sick shows that no one is immune to it.

As a flight attendant I initially battled with air sickness myself. It is such a comforting feeling knowing that this can happen even to the most experienced pilots. Thank you for your openness, Joe!

Speaking as a young glider pilot myself, I also get sick when sitting in the back without being in control for too long. As long as you've complete control yourself, airsickness won't really appear to most people. On top of that, filming and having an eye on the camera causes instant sickness for most people which is the reason we advise first-timers not to use their phones. :)

Thanks Joe for the great day flying with you! Next time we will skip the Salzstangen and then we will fly into the Alps ;)

I love flying gliders, either RC or full size. Its like sailing a boat, where you harness the winds or thermals to stay aloft or keep from turning the motor on. For me there is nothing like it.

I lasted 5 minutes in a glider before i filled the bag, but it's a fantastic way to fly. You can learn so much about flying in a glider. Love the vid

Flying gliders will definitely hone your stick-and-rudder skills. I earned my pilot certificate in gliders and added an airplane rating a couple of years later. I always used to joke that it would be no big deal if the engine quit because it would just reduce to the previous case.

A first KRplus video for me was a video from Balleka's channel. He was a glider fan, and also he was a 747F pilot. I love his videos forever.

My atpl course included glider flying, and i must say it´s a very good way to learn about energy management and to experience unusual manouvers that are usually limited when flying powered aircraft

Gliders are a cheap way to get into aviation. The instructors usually don't charge for their time when getting your license, clubs usually rent their gliders for free, and the the airplane tow is not very expensive (maybe $40). When you learn to read the clouds you can stay up for hours soaring like the birds. The Soaring Society of America has more information such as the closest glider club to your location.

Next video. Can a Glider Pilot Fly a 747?

Glider is included in the training for the military in france. And it is also included for the Air France cadet. I found it very interesting of course in terms of flying skills but also for non technical skills such as decision making and situational awareness.

This is an upgrade in quality I didn't see coming! Love the upgrade Joe keep up the work!

Awesome to see a glider video on your channel, especially a collaboration with Stefan. Great video!

Great to see that you appriciate flying gliders. Its a amazing hobby (and very affordable)

I retired from gliding after 25 years. I got sick only twice, and on both occasions when I was the safety pilot and somebody else had the controls. I briefly took back control to fix my sickness.

Hey Captain Joe, thank you for this lovely video! It brought back a lot of memories for me - I was lucky enough to be trained to fly winch-launch gliders way back when I was 17 with the British Air Cadets. The gliders weren't as high-tech as the one you flew but were still beautifully responsive to fly and I remember it to this day. Thank you again for the memories :)

Glad you flew with Stefan...
He is a real good Glider Pilot!!!, just saw his video.. now watching yours..
Ceers!

Gliding is such an underrated hobby. Get yourselves a trial lesson and I'm sure you'll be hooked.

The purest form of flying, absolutely amazing!

What’s crazy to me is that you can literally snap together this human rated flying machine! I mean I’m used to doing that in RC for storage purposes but on a human rated aircraft? Impressive. And the fact the flight controls on the wings and elevator just click in and work. An innovation that’s just starting to make its way into RC. Jeez it takes more steps to assemble my RC cargo plane than that glider!

Glider is the best experience I had flying. You feel the air with your hips and back. It reminds me sailing or surfing. If I had the money, I would definitly take lessons.

Glad to see you back!

When I was in High School, the headmaster at the time was also the Chairman of the local Gliding Club. I spent most of my summer breaks 'working' at the club for free flights/lessons and had enough hours when I was 15 to get the solo license (but had to wait until 16)
It was easily the best experience I could have had then.

Two things that compare to what you mentioned / shown here:
1) a couple years ago i had the pleasure to fly a Bücker Jungmann, first some aerobatics and afterwards i could fly a loop around the area before we went back for landing. That plane is so sensitive to fly! You feel alot of thermals and every small movement on the controls. But that was alot of fun!
2) i used to fly paragliders. On one of the flights in spring time, i caught a thermal and got quite high for the Jura mountains (1400/1500m). But the thermal was very torn apart. So the vario constantly jumped from 4 m/s downwards to 7 m/s upwards. Once i reached the height i wanted i left the thermal, did some wingovers to have some fun while getting down, landed and just layed down under the next tree because - i didn't feel great after that... ^^

My best flying experience was in the Glider. Best feelings in the world ! 🙂 As always great video from you Joe !

Nice one cpt joe you have joined the prestigious club "thermal chasers"
It's such a different feeling flying in a glider.
Brilliant video joe

I’m not a pilot and I know these videos are for pilots but I am a aviation geek and really enjoy these videos and learning from them thanks captain Joe 😊

Awesome video Joe as usual! Love the content!

I took glider training in 1998 and got my license, I flew only 3 summers and accumulated only 60 hours, but I can say unequivocally it is the most exciting thing I've ever done. I only wish I could have afforded to keep going. Now at retirement age, I keep the flying bug alive by shooting real estate with my drone. I will also say, all the passengers I took wound up getting sick! But they all signed up for subsequent flights.

Oh I Knew that for sure Captain Joe and Stefan Langer flying a Glider together would be just a matter of time. You guys would eventually fly on a glider and today was the day! Awesome Video!

that was a beautiful flight!! this makes me want to go glider flying very badly! definitely something I have to do someday :)

Thank you for this fantastic video. Flying as a passenger in a glider towards a bird of prey and then being sucked upwards as if in an elevator was one of my greatest experiences. The pilot just said that the bird knows the best way up. Gliding is really awesome.

Glider pilots are always better with the rudders. A bit of ginger before flying helps a bit with nausea. What till you fly your first 2 hour flight ... truely wonderful. I'm too old to fly now but absolutely loved learning to fly these things. I bet you don't do formation flying in a 747 on take off hi hi ... but that is what it is. Thanks so much for a jumbo pilots perspective on gliders.

Yup. I started on gliders and I was so glad I did. Not only is gliding amaizing on its own, but it made the powered flying so much easier and less intimidating.
PPL instructors make “dead stick landings” seem like a big deal while I had hundreds of successful “dead stick landings” before I ever got into the cockpit of a powered airplane.

I think my sister was at that place a LONG time ago! Joe..... You certainly never want it to be that quiet on your regular airplane :) Love your Channel!! :)

Joe, quick tip for you if you go in a glider again. Flying gliders as you know have a totally different aerodynamic feel. Lead the turn with rudder and coordinate (centre the ball) with the aileron. The fat rudder will slowly yaw and bank the glider in the direction you want to go and because the ailerons are so sensitive, just give enough aileron to centre that string. Makes flying those things a lot smoother

Soaring is simply magic, the beautiful longwings carving turns and interrogating clouds for lift. It’s pure flight, chess in the air! Build your stick and rudder skills and soon you’ll be able to fly coordinated! All pilots should have some glider time, it improves your skills, makes you appreciate glide ratio and gets yours eyes up and out of the cockpit to enjoy the scenery! Joe, crystallized ginger helps settle your stomach! Circling can get you, gliders rarely fly straight for long unless ridge or wave soaring! You’ll get used to it, and it helps if you are flying not riding so you are fully engaged!!!! Great video and an Arcus is a wonderful first choice!!!!! ❤❤❤❤

This was a trip! I've only been a passenger in a glider once, long ago, at an airshow I think it was. I didn't really get to fly but I did get to pull the release handle - that was my contribution to the flight. It was fun, and way too short. I disappointed the pilot b/c I didn't want to do any aerobatics (was afraid of getting sick) but ultimately we did one intentional stall so he got to have a little fun. I can definitely see the analogy people here are making to sailing. I used to sail dinghies a lot and in both you're zero'd in on the physics of the endeavor. In a boat you can almost feel like you're "one with the boat" and I'd assume it could really feel that way with a glider too. Quite a lot different than piloting an enormous freighter!

My first two flights ever (as a passenger) were in a glider, maybe just 15 or 20 minutes but really nice. I didn't follow up with becoming a pilot though but I enjoy the pax role a lot, from Twin Otter to A380, looking at the powered ones 🙂

Gliders are so beautiful, nice to see you there!

Its very important for a professional pilot to know how to fly a glider. It helped me a lot when I decided to fly UL planes

This was great! Thank you very much for sharing this with us.

I think I enjoyed that as much as Captain Joe did and I never left the ground..Gliders are amazing. I used to watch them all the time when I was stationed in Germany while in the military…

Great video. Brought back so many memories of gliding in Cornwall. Winch tow to approx 1000ft then out over the cliffs. With an onshore breeze that would earn you another 300 easily.
Gliding, falling with style.

Fine and kind video . Amazing sport . I am old and handicapped now , but when i was young i did some gliding (EBWE airfield) . My most memorable flight was flying really wing to wing (+/- 2 to 4 meters apart) for some 10 seconds with a bird of prey in a Ka-8 Schleicher on a low local airfield flight . I felt as if a friend with the animal . Unbelievable . Also the feedom of handling an aeroplane in the sky and gaining height in hot thermals was thrilling , just as the landing at which you only have one shot . I miss it . Life lies waiting at your feet . You just have to grab it .

I once had the chance to do a winch launch with a glider, that was truly phenomenal! You launch, then you're up in the air within mere seconds and It feels like you're climbing at a 45° angle. If you ever get that chance, you should totally do it. Sadly on that flight we found no thermals, so it was over rather short. No time to get sick though! :D

Thank you sharing this experience with us and James Bond soundtrack definetly was a great choice. Oh and also i have never seen someone smiles after vomiting. That was some high level optimisim right there.

The water meter on the hose is the most german thing 😂

This may sound a bit weird now, but I was so relieved to see a seasoned airline pilot throwing up in a glider. I'm not a pilot (other than RC airplanes), but as an aviation enthusiast from childhood on and someone who has NEVER threw up in an airplane, I was sooo embarrassed when I flew in a DG-1000 (glider Doubleseater) with my friend who is several decades younger, but a glider instructor, and after about an hour in the thermals I got so sick that my stomach rebelled (I threw up - twice in that flight, in fact).
Now to see that even an experienced airline pilot with what do I know how many hundreds of flying hours under his belt also gets sick in a glider is a little bit like a kind of "absolution" for my personal pride (thank you very much).
Very nice video and I share your opinion that gliding is basically something fantastic, especially when you experience the power of thermals for the first time (we went up with about 4-6m/sec.). That's, similar as with sailboats, relaying on natures power to get your self moving. Fascinating!!

After I retired, I did the short 'power to glider' conversion training to obtain my Glider Pilot Licence. It was a HOOT! My first solo in the glider was just as much fun as my first solo 'way back when' for my Private Pilot Licence. IF all pilots began their flying training with gliders we'd all be better 'stick and rudder' pilots and able to handle even the Big Jets more easily - especially when all the electrons and automatons suddenly crap out. ;-) Thanks for sharing this!

what a crossover. well done!

Wow what a nice glider, I'm only used to ASK21 and DG500. But funny that an airline pilot is throwing up even without any
aerobatics^^

Great combination✈️great motivation 👍best experience🛩️good opportunity👌great work🏆

Great video Captain Joe.

Very nice video Captain Joe!😁

Cool Video! On my first flights as a gliding student I felt sick, too. I found out that it helps me to eat something light before the flight, not to have an empty stomach :) Anyway, after a time you get used to the feeling and stop feeling sick in most cases.

I totally agree with you. It’s as fundamental as you can get. The very first aircraft were gliders. It’s where it all began. A glider rating can be a wealth of useful information to any pilot. It’s literally Aeronautics 101. Much respect to glider pilots.

amazing video! Thanks guys!

JOE!!! Yay!!! Nice to see you!!

Nice flight with Stefan. You state how peaceful it is and you are correct. As a glider pilot, flying a task of determined turnpoints can be mentally exhausting. Always re evaluating conditions, possible landout locations and best course It is much differen than just a local introductory flight. Stefan is a champion pilot, talk to him about competition flying. It is a tough mental game. Constant situational evaluation.

Music from "Goldfinger"? Should have been "Windmills of Your Mind" from the original "The Thomas Crown Affair."

Please share the rest of your glider training experience. I think it will be a really great to see

nice to see you flying close to my home! And now I feel a lot better about me throwing up in a sailplane, the last time I was in one. It does not help with the airsickness if you try to film and take pictures. We actually soared with a raptor bird enjoying the same thermal as we were. I also recommend experiencing a winch start - this is wild!

You've inspired me to maybe join a nearby gliding club. I never new I could do so at such a young age!

I'm sure you can I tried a Microsoft Flight Simulator X mission that teaches the basics of the gliders, it's about following some specific currents and gain lift from them and if you're familiar with the controls and thermals in some areas you can go for hours without landing ✈️

Very good Video

If you like this, try gliding videos in New Zealand, especially Mount Cook.

Gliders are different than powered planes. I’m a pilot in a powered aircraft and when I tried gliding I felt the same way Joe did. Lol
Edit: when I went gliding I had a winch launch which is way steeper than a towed take off. That steep film by the winch make me feel funny

I got to fly a glider last summer and it was awezome! probaby the coolest experience I have ever had!

One of your BEST videos!! 💚💚💚💚💚
Looks like you got an OSMO Pocket 3

gliding is amazing, i love it

Heck I almost did that in a guys 993 Porsche I actually had to have him stop so I didn't have to clean his leather seats. Glad to see you are still humble Joe not afraid to show people you are human. 👍 Kind of a cool experience...very different from your office view and much quieter as well.

Amazing video Joe! Where did you get your sunglasses? Very cool

That's a really beautiful part of Germany!!! I spent some time down in Illesheim and lived it!

All pilot training should start in gliders.

Фонтастически круто!! Спасибо Джо за видео. Я просто восхищаюсь тобой!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Tag.........
Einer Ihrer besten Filme...... Ich gehe davon aus, dass Sie das schon viele Stunden zuvor gemacht haben....... Segelflugzeuge vor Motorfahrzeugen......

Hey Joe it's nice to see a professional Airline Pilot toss his cookies,😊😊😊,makes us passengers feel like it's ok not imbarassing. SO your flying Boeing I remember you debating the pro,s and cons of Airbus versus Boeing with Michelle so I assume she convinced you if it ain't Boeing I ain't going .Love your Channel mate
Kym
Adelaide

Good ol stick and rudder skills. Makes any pilot, better.

funny idea, thank you for the video!

Thanks Joe, this was great. Today is the 40th anniversary of the last time I flew as PIC.

Love your videos

Very cool, nice job.

I can sympathise. On one of my first flights in the dual glider I threw up as soon as the pilot started thermalling - we didn't have a sick bag, so I used his hat! Luckily he abandoned the thermal and we came back to earth where I lay on the ground clutching the grass for fifteen minutes until the world stopped spinning. I got to keep the hat too. 😁 But I never had that problem when I was the pilot. They're beautiful aircraft and its a beautiful sport. Thanks for the honest report and if anyone else is considering it, do it. Just take a Kwell before you go up 👍🇦🇺

I would like to practice forced approaches in a glider, and that being so quiet is also super neet

Nice, Keep it up Guys.

Hi Captain !
I flew gliders many years ago, and they're fantastic: great views (betther than in an F-16), silence, sensible plane handling, and a technical flying to enjoy and to grow up as a pilot.
I also threw up in my first thermal flight, after an hour of turn after turn, but it was the only one (I haven't a bag: the thermal cap was very useful instead).
Gliders vs. Cessnas have the same difference between a sailboat and a motoryacht. So, I always thought that glider's license must be the first step in a pilot's career, to acquire airwhortnes sensibility from the beginning.
Greetings from Argentina ! 🇦🇷

Haha nice video and very authentic! I am glad you had a bag for emergency! 😂

I would love to try this out when I retire and look into learning to fly if I enjoy it enough. If not, I could take up golf!

So nice to see some representation of gliding by a professional pilot. I would love to see you come to a regular glider club and show how things are working there. Gliding truly is more like a team sport as you need quite a handful of people to do regular flight operations specifically when there are students.
You should also try the winch launch in a glider. It is like a rollercoaster. 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds. You should also try some acrobratics in a glider, it is sooo much fun.

Love the theme tune from Bond’s Barf-finger😂

Great video captain 👍. Great idea to carry that plastic bag.

Awesome video Joe! My first discovery flight the instructor did an accelerated stall with no warning and I almost puked myself. If I’d been ready for it it woulda been better

Nothing like seeing a seasoned, professional pilot puking his guts out in an aircraft. 😅

Only flown in sims, gliders are honestly one of my favorite things to fly, especially if I'm stressed and just want to take in some Microsoft Flight Sim views

Vomiting like a rockstar yeahh \m/ loved the 007 music !

Liked it.
Next time flying a paraglider 😆

Great video