On this last episode Barbora and Sergio join us to celebrate all the great episodes and play some of our favorite moments we have had over the years. Sergio also will have a new and final segment later in the show. Thank you for your support and helping us on this amazing journey we have had over the last 5 years. We hope you keep Soaring The Sky.
May 21, 2024•21 min•Ep. 148
Barbora has just returned from Australia and joins Chuck to talk about wave Camp and the Worlds in Narromine. Later in the episode we chat with Markus in Germany to talk about what happened when he got bored during Covid. He will share his soaring journey with us and what he is planning later this year to help grow the soaring community. Sergio the Soaring Master continues his segment on the history of the PW5 part 2 titled, "Dream vs Reality". Join us now for this exciting episode on Soaring Th...
Jan 23, 2024•56 min•Ep. 147
Today we first join Barbora, The Gliding Junkie at The 37th FAI World Gliding Championships in Narromine, New South Wales Australia. Chuck will then be talking with our new guest pilot Max Fabricius in Germany as he shares his soaring journey with us as well as his very interesting day job as an Astronomer. Later on this episode we join Sergio, The Soaring Master for a new segment about the tragic story of the world Class and the PW5. Join us now for all this and more for episode 144 here on Soa...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 146
On this episode we first join Barbora, our co-host as she is in the middle of wave camp in the Czech Republic. We then head to Austria to chat with glider pilot and author Simon Lemmerer! He will be sharing his aviation journey and adventures with us as well as taking us behind the scenes of his new book , The Art of Gliding. This book is sure to be a real treat for the soaring community! With stories from him as well as other pilots and packed with Pictures and lessons to be learned. Don't miss...
Oct 31, 2023•45 min•Ep. 145
On this episode Barbora shares her story flying and competing in Spain as she joins the Worlds top glider pilots to fly and soar thousands of Kilometers in hopes to become the next world champion. Join us now as Barbora jumps in her LS8 and soars through the many task of this amazing competition. www.soaringthesky.com
Jul 24, 2023•34 min•Ep. 144
Join Chuck & Barbora as they chat with Miguel Iturmendi, one of the pilots for an update on Perlan II now in Argentina. We will Also find out how you can join them live inside and outside the cockpit as they reach for 91,000 feet and a new world record! All this and more now on episode 141 of soaring the sky! https://perlanproject.org/ www.patreon.com/soaringthesky www.soaringthesky.com...
Jun 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 143
On this episode of the podcast Barbora, aka the Gliding Junkie joins Chuck to chat about what she has been up to and welcome our new guest pilot Sara Stearns! Sara loves to soar and has been in the aviation community for years. She recently retired after flying helicopters for 46 years! She has some amazing adventures to share with us and talks about how she survived all those years in the air. Sara will also talk about her soaring journey and how helicopters and gliders have more in common then...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 142
On this episode we first talk to Jack Jenner Hall, one of the ambassadors of Aviation for the Department for Transport. Jack was first on the podcast at the age of 14 after he become Britians youngest pilot! Now 16, he has not stopped reaching for the sky, recentley he helped put together an aerobatic training for young people. Jack also shares with us some of his recent experiences like his first landout while soaring cross country. Later on the podcast David McMaster gives us an update on his ...
Apr 15, 2023•28 min•Ep. 141
Joe Aldrian joins us first to share his adventures. Joe started his aviation journey flying Sailplanes in the Airforce. He would then go on to fly many aircraft and currently is a captain flying the 787. Joe has logged almost 20,000 hours in the air so, as you can imagine he has alot to share with us Today. Also on this episode we have a new segment from Sergio the Soaring Master and this one is titled "Hilly Terrain" Join us now for another soaring adventure! www.patreon.com/soaringthesky...
Mar 28, 2023•43 min•Ep. 140
Born on an Island in south east Alaska Michael Reid made his living as a pilot for 41 years, and retired from Alaska Airlines five years ago. After retirement, Michael decided to purchase a Stemme S12 motor glider, which he now flies out of Anchorage, Alaska. He will be sharing his aviation journey with us and will put us in the cockpit of his Stemme S12 as we soar among the highest peaks in North America. Michael has given us some great links for you below to checkout after you hear his story. ...
Mar 14, 2023•48 min•Ep. 139
Today we will be soaring over the Sonoran Desert in Southern Arizona with our friend Eric Redweik from the The Tucson Soaring club. Cross-country soaring in this area frequently offers conditions conducive to flights in excess of 500 km while reaching altitudes over 14,000 feet. With a field elevation of only 2,100 feet MSL it is common for pilots to reach altitudes of over 10,000 AGL in the vicinity of the airfield. A soaring playground for sure! Eric has been flying gliders since he was 13 and...
Feb 28, 2023•48 min•Ep. 138
The island of Tasmania can be found south of Australia seperated by a 240 kilometer stretch of water called the Bass Strait. We know Australia has many soaring clubs throughout the country and we have spoke to some of those pilots here on the podcast but I was curious if Tasmania had any active soaring clubs? We found one, in fact its the only one on the island and their we found our new friend and fellow aviator Robert Kennedy. Robert got the aviation bug from His Father who was a World War II ...
Feb 14, 2023•53 min•Ep. 137
On this episode Keith Eyler joins us and shares his aviation journey and adventures. When Keith is not fighting fires in the Air Tanker with Cal Fire, he loves intorducing and sharing soaring with others. He has over 10,000 glider tows as a tow pilot and has many hours logged in gliders as well. Keith began hanging out at airports at a very young age doing whatever he could to pay for his aviation training. He stacked up lots of ratings and would even end up eventually flying for the airlines. W...
Jan 30, 2023•50 min•Ep. 136
On this episode we will be soaring below sea level! In order to do that we will be heading to Isreal where we meet Natan Elsberg. He will be sharing his amazing soaring adventures over the Dead Sea and many other places! Natan has hundreds of hours logged in gliders and has also done alot of towing in Cesna 180s, Piper super cubs, Pawneees and more but, he enjoys flying gliders the most. He currently flies a Janus CM. Natan has visited and flown over 20 glider operations around the world but has...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 135
Your votes are in! What was the most downloaded podcast episode for 2022? Barbora, The Gliding Junkie joins Chuck to countdown and talk about the best of and most liked episodes on social media. They will also be playing some of the best moments of the past year. www.soaringthesky.com https://www.instagram.com/glidingjunkie/
Jan 01, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 134
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Adriana Barragan grew her passion for life, beauty, science and freedom. During her childhood and teens, she was exposed to disciplined arts and sports that would let her develop her spirit and realize the power of the mind. Raised near the International Airport of Guadalajara, airplanes made her wonder. She had a revelation while learning basic aerodynamics on the internet. She was filled with pure passion and excitement. This was the most amazing applied physics sh...
Nov 29, 2022•57 min•Ep. 133
On Today's episode we head to Belgium to chat with Wim DeCrooK, a competition paraglider pilot with over 1000 hours. Before finding his sweet spot in the cockpit of a sailplane, Wim competed alot! He was ranked 2nd in the Serial class at the British open in Spain in 2019 and 3rd overall at the Mossella Open in France also in that same year. His best soaring season in a paraglider he flew more than 140 hours. These are just some of his accomplishments. Wim will share some of his adventures & ...
Nov 15, 2022•53 min•Ep. 132
For this edition of the podcast Scott Manley joins us to talk about how we can use simulation as a powerful tool to learn and also have some fun while we are on the ground. Scott has been an educator and flight instructor for years but recentlry he has been teaching students online all over the globe using condor the soaring simulator. He has so much to share about how we can get the most out of our simulators and have fun while doing it. We also reached out to you the soaring community to find ...
Oct 31, 2022•43 min•Ep. 131
Today we will be hearing from two guest pilots! first we will head over to the soaring capital of America, Harris Hill In New York state and chat with our first guest pilot David McMaster! David comes from a large family with lots of aviation history that he will tell us about and share some of those soaring stories at Harris Hill and other parts of the World. David Also competed at the Junior Worlds in the Czech Republic this past summer so he has a lot to share with us! Later on this episode w...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 130
On this episode we will first head to the great Northwest where we find John Foster, our guest pilot soaring over the rocky mountains in Montana. Now this is in a part of the soaring world we have not heard too much about here on the podcast so I was happy when he reached out to us to share his adventures & journey and how he plans to help build the soaring community there. John also flies a Phoebus that has some super interesting history that he will share with us. Later on this episode we ...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 129
On this episode we first join Photographer, Videographer & glider pilot Georgia Schofield of New Zealand! Today she shares her gliding adventures soaring all over the world, recently visiting several glider ports. Georgia also has already competed in a couple National competitions where she placed 1st and 2nd. She also has had the incredible opportunity to soar the face of Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. Georgia has recently helped out at the Women's worlds as a photographer...
Sep 13, 2022•52 min•Ep. 128
Western mountain air often generates super-charged thermals, endless convergence lines, and very high cloud bases - epic conditions for epic flights. On this episode we join Clemens Ceipek from Chess in the Air on a soaring journey over the 55 tallest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and his declared 1000 km FAI triangle flight across the entire state - the first ever such flight in Colorado. But there's also a dark side to such extraordinary conditions: when the air goes up extremely fast, it can ...
Aug 25, 2022•53 min•Ep. 127
David Krautter grew up flying at a small airport near Huntsville, Alabama named Moontown. He received his private pilot's license at 17. He attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta and studied aerospace engineering. David got into soaring in 2010 after he graduated, flying with the Mid Georgia Soaring Association. During that time he started competing and working on improving his cross country skills. David moved to California in 2018 and purchased a LS-6. He spent the last year completely refinishing a...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 126
Clemens Ceipek from Chess In The Air is joining us from Colorado. He will be talking with Bruno Vassel & Dan Wrobel in Utah about their recent Soaring Safari they completed. You may have followed some of their journey on Facebook. Their adventure included 5 states and approximatly 1,800 miles. With a Ground Crew & a refurbished glider winch from the 1960's. They take us through each leg of this journey and share their experiences along the way. From rope breaks to landing out in a farmer...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 125
On this episode Chuck talks with Amelia, a glider pilot soaring in the United Kingdom. Yes her name fits her very well as you will soon find out. At just 15 years old she is already making an impact on the sport. She loves sharing her soaring journey on Instagram and already has over 60,000 followers! Ameila also recently was ask to be the roving reporter for the buildup to the 2022 Woman's Worlds and she has already interviewed several pilots that will be in that event this year there in the U....
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 124
On this episode our guest pilot is Steve Keltie. Steve's father was an engineer so, he has been around aviation since he was very young. Hanging out at the airport watching test flights and soaking up all the sights and sounds he could. Steve even had the opportunity as a kid to be around aviation royalty Bob Hoover and other well known aviators. Steve sits down with our producer Mitch and shares some stories about catching thermals above pineapple fields in Hawaii, cargo gliders invading Japan?...
Jul 01, 2022•59 min•Ep. 123
On this episode we head to Las Vegas Valley Soaring where we chat with Jay McDaniel! What's it like soaring in the desert heat and monster thermals? Join us now as we hear some crazy stories and personal experiences Jay shares with us that include, Area 51, UFO's, mid air collisions and Potato Guns? Later on this episode Sergio the Soaring Master is back with another segment titled "Bounced Landings" All this and more on episode 120 of Soaring The Sky, a glider pilot's podcast https://drive.goog...
Jun 17, 2022•56 min•Ep. 122
Today we will first head to the Czech Republic and talk with our good friend Barbora Moravcova, She is a member of the Czeck Repubulic Women's gliding team and has just finished competing in the 15 meter class of the FCC Flight Challenge competition in Slovokia, flying her LS8. Unfortunately the first day of that competition was a rough one to say the least. Barbora chose to share this with us in hopes that we all can learn from it and be better and safer pilots. She will also share with us how ...
Jun 02, 2022•38 min•Ep. 121
Our friend Zach Yamauchi recently caught up with Gordon Boettger, Gordon has added a whole new meaning to "cross country" soaring as you are about to hear on this episode. He has been soaring pretty much his whole life. He soloed at 14 and has not looked back. Gordon holds 5 US distance Records and has Multiple crosswind and downwind flights beyond 2000 km, including flights done in a Kestrel from the 1970s. He began his professional aviation career in the Navy, and now flies for FedEx. Gordons ...
May 20, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 120
Morgan Hall has just experienced an amazing uncharted soaring route flying wave in the sierras. What an adventure he had! You can open the OLC link below and follow along with us as he tells us about this crazy ride in wave. Morgans family has a deep aviation background that goes all the way back to World war II. So, its not a suprise that he was determined to start his own aviation journey. So, he traded his computer for his first aircraft, an ultralight. Soon after he discovered hang gliders a...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 119