Pilot Training; books, lectures, videos
Links, videos, lectures and presentations to help during soaring pilot training
This page attempts to provide links to various resources that we often direct students to during training. Setup in 2024 it may take a while to organise and make presentable! It is intended that this page will help beginner pilots understand what is needed to progress up to early cross country standard, and provide the info needed to do it. It will provide an overview but also, hopefully, enable students to focus on what is required for their level of experience. There are also Weather and Airspace pages on this site that may help.
Initial training to solo
Early training books
The BGA student pilot manual is an excellent, easy to read, small booklet that has all the information needed to get to solo standard. All Booker gliding club “long course” members receive a free copy of this book. For other members the book is available for a very reasonable price directly from the Booker Office or the British Gliding Association.
Training Progress Card subject briefings
When you start your training you will be provided with Progress Card that is used to “tick off” your progress through the required (and some optional) exercises,
The link below will open a OneDrive folder containing a set of lectures by our Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) Richard Crockett. These concise lectures cover the basic skills that a pilot will need to master before they go solo. Each lecture covers a topic on the standardised progress card used to track glider pilot training in most UK gliding clubs.
Long briefings with simulator content
These are briefings with associated presentations and pre-defied tasks in the simulator to enhance understanding of how to fly certain exercises. These are optional and can save time when flying the exercises the first few times. Ideally these are carried out with two or three students together. Understanding spins and recovery. Crosswind approach and landing.
Soaring and training after solo
Information to help pilots progress from solo standard.
One of the most important skills a glider pilot needs to learn is how to quickly and efficiently establish in the thermal climb. The best (fastest) pilots are the ones that climb the fastest.
Bronze badge theory
The Bronze Badge requires that the pilot demonstrates a good theoretical understanding of gliding. The Bronze theory test is a multiple choice question paper with 120 questions evenly split across the ten topics described in the BGA syllabus. You need at least 75% correct answers in each topic.
Books and the Bronze Confuser
The book “Bronze and Beyond“ is specifically tailored to deliver subjects to the level required for the Bronze Exam. If you have read through this book, and paid attention during your flight training, you will have all the knowledge needed. This book can be purchased directly from the author’s website.
The Bronze Confuser is a (.pdf document) compilation of questions taken from OLD bronze exam papers. The questions in this document were compiled for an older syllabus in use prior to the current structure of 10 topics. Some of these questions are in the current papers, but there are many new questions as well!
Bronze Course presentations
The https://bronze-course.uk website has a (currently fairly limited) set of narrated powerpoint presentations that cover a large chunk of the Bronze exam. In 2024 the following topics are covered. Meteorologry, Air Law, Communications, Navigation.
British Gliding Association (BGA) lockdown webinar’s – Bronze Theory.
Bronze badge – theory of flight.
Gliding instructor Don Puttock has created a series of short videos about theory of flight. It is possible to reach the required level of knowledge by reading Bronze and Beyond. However, If you prefer to watch a video, or you are struggling with any of the theory, you could dip in to one of these videos.
Cross country endorsement
Your first few cross country badge flights from Booker
General FAI task flying flying guidance.
This document gives some general guidance on how to make your early FAI qualifying flights (silver distance, 100Kms) flights trouble free,
First 50 and 100 Kms flights from Booker.
This document gives some general guidance on how to plan your first 50Kms cross country glider flight (FAI Silver Distance) from Booker.
Rules and forms.
The definitive requirements for obtaining FAI Badges and gliding records are contained in the FAI sporting code. You do NOT need to study this code in any detail if you just take some simple guidance from an OO or from the BGA website.