Yes, that is the author, a pilot for a major airline, flying a glider. Don’t be so surprised. [YouTube Screengrab]
In this week's installment of V1 Rotate, Sam Weigel brings us to the bucolic Chilhowee Gliderport in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee. Giving us the pilot's-eye-view as he receives currency instruction and gets checked out in his first single-seater, Sam shares the surprising history of experienced glider pilots saving stricken airliners, and enumerates the lessons, skills, and enjoyment that glider flying bestows on even seasoned professional pilots. Look for the rest of the story in the second quarter issue of FLYING.
Sam WeigelAuthor
Sam Weigel has been an airplane nut since an early age, and when he's not flying the Boeing 737 for work, he enjoys going low and slow in vintage taildraggers. He and his wife live west of Seattle, where they are building an aviation homestead on a private 2,400-foot grass airstrip.
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