Soaring Safety Training

Soaring Association of Canada

Safety Seminars at Your Club

The Soaring Association of Canada (SAC) will cooperate with your gliding organization to present a gliding safety seminar to pilots in your city. The SAC will provide an instructor to present four to six hours’ worth of presentations to help you and your fellow pilots identify and reduce risk factors in soaring. To request a safety Seminar for your area contact our office

Documents

OSTIV Training and Safety Panel Explanation & Introduction

TRANSITION TO MOTORGLIDERS (Interim Guidance 2018)

Instructor Training & Safety

Funding is available through the Flight Training & Safety Committee to support instructor training or safety-related initiatives.

Instructor Training

If a club is interested in holding an instructor training camp, a member of the Flight Training & Safety Committee may be available to attend the camp. Clubs are expected to arrange the logistics of the camp and also manage the camp while the FTSC member would assist, provide oversight and ensure the training performed is up to standard. Several clubs have taken advantage of this in the past and these camps have been a great success. Any costs related to the attendance of the FTSC member would be covered by SAC, so there is no cost to the club for this. Clubs that are interested in taking advantage of this are encouraged to speak with the Flight Training & Safety Committee in the early stages of planning the camp to ensure someone is available to attend.

Safety

The Flight Training & Safety Committee can visit your club for the purposes of performing a safety audit or to perform a safety seminar. Any travel costs to have the Flight Training & Safety Committee member travel to your club will be covered by SAC so there is no cost to the club for this. If your club is interested in receiving a safety audit or holding a safety seminar, contact the Flight Training & Safety Committee to inquire.

Understand details of the program, by reviewing the 2023 SAC Safety & Instructor Grant Program document.

SAC Safety Seminars FAQS

What topics will be covered in the Safety Seminar?

Glider accident analysis
Preventing aerotow accidents
Effective scenario-based training
Landing accidents and emergency preparedness training: Is there a link?
Sinking airmass and its role in glider accidents
Soaring site surveys and accident prevention
Detecting and correcting gaps in your club’s flight training program
Preventing stall/spin accidents through landing task analysis and recurrent training.
Other topics may be substituted or included at the request of the hosting organization.

How many Safety Seminars take place each year?

That depends on the demand. The target is six and if money is available to continue to subsidize the program, the number of seminars may grow in future years.

How much does a Safety Seminar cost for a Gliding Club to host?

Your organization must cover any/all on-site costs (meeting room, light refreshments if deemed appropriate, chairs, a white surface to project PowerPoint shows on, and so on). In many cases, these expenses will be very low if members work together in volunteer fashion to reduce on-site expenses.
Your organization pays a flat fee of $300.00 to the SAC to help defray the cost of bringing the Safety Seminar to your city. SAC will more than match that amount to bring the Safety Seminar to you. When you add up all travel expenses alone, you can see that the actual cost of a Seminar far exceeds $300. The SAC subsidizes these Safety Seminars because SAC Trustees deem them effective accident-prevention tools.

Soaring Training Videos

Checklist

Standard Signals

Takeoff

Crosswind Landing

Soaring Safety Videos

Low Altitude Thermal Stall/Spin

Stall/Spin Base to Final

The Kite

Premature Termination of the Tow

Soaring Terminology

Lift Types:
- Thermals: Rising columns of warm air that gliders use to gain altitude.
- Ridge Lift: Updrafts caused by wind blowing against mountain ridges or hillsides.
- Wave Lift: Occurs on the lee side of mountains, where smooth, powerful, upward-flowing air currents form.
Glider Components & Mechanics:
- Spoilers/Airbrakes: Devices that increase drag to assist with descent and landing control.
- Flaps: Control surfaces on the wings to improve lift or drag as needed.
- Control Checks: Pre-flight checks of control surfaces to ensure functionality.
Flight Techniques:
- Thermaling: Circling in thermals to gain altitude.
- Soaring Patterns: Flight paths designed to optimize lift, such as figure-eight or circular patterns.
- Positive Control Check: Ensuring control continuity in flight systems.
Safety & Signals:
- American Soaring Signals: Standardized hand and arm signals used between pilots and ground crews to communicate during launches and emergencies.
- Checklists: Used before and after flights for safety, covering steps like assembly, inspection, and securing.
Soaring Conditions:
- Sink: Areas where the air descends, causing gliders to lose altitude.
- Glide Ratio: The horizontal distance traveled per unit of descent, determining gliding efficiency.
Types of Gliders and Launch Methods:
- Winch Launch: A ground-based mechanism to launch gliders by pulling them along the ground at high speed.
- Aerotow: A powered aircraft tows the glider to the desired altitude before releasing it.
Badge and Performance Awards:
- FAI Badges: Awards for achieving specific soaring milestones, such as altitude or distance flights.
- Contest Awards: Recognitions for performance in soaring competitions.
Weather Considerations:
- Weather Forecasting: Essential for determining thermals, wind direction, and lift conditions to plan effective flights.

Soaring Safety Training

Soaring Association of Canada

Safety Seminars at Your Club

Instructor Resources

New Pilots Resources

Safety & Accident Prevention