Signals (Overview)
Soaring Safety Foundation overview of the full set of standard wing-runner, towpilot, and glider pilot signals. Watch this first to learn the vocabulary, then the next video drills into the must-know subset.
Soaring Safety Foundation overview of the full set of standard wing-runner, towpilot, and glider pilot signals. Watch this first to learn the vocabulary, then the next video drills into the must-know subset.
The must-know subset of the signals above. These are how you communicate when the radio isn't an option, before, during, and after takeoff. Memorize them cold — every flight begins and ends with someone signaling someone else.
The Soaring Safety Foundation walks through the FAA Practical Test Standards checklists every glider student must meet on the checkride. Use this as the study scaffold for every maneuver below — each video on this page should be flown to the tolerances laid out here.
Trace a square around the towplane's wake to build precise position control. Watch the rudder coordination and how the pilot uses small, deliberate inputs at each corner.
When the rope bows, you have seconds before it snaps tight. Note how the pilot yaws away from the slack and eases tension back gradually rather than letting the line jerk.
The downwind, base, and final you'll fly on every landing. Watch where the pilot enters downwind relative to the runway, the key altitude on each leg, and how spacing is adjusted for wind. Every flight ends with this; learn it cold.
A forward slip steepens the descent without building airspeed. Use it when you're high on final or need to touch down short. Watch the cross-controls (rudder one way, aileron the other) and the recovery before the flare.
Rope break on departure from Runway 09 grass at Homestead General (X51). Above 200' AGL, the standard response is a 180° turn into the wind to land on the reciprocal runway. Below 200' you land straight ahead. Watch the immediate pitch-down to best glide, the bank into the wind, and the rollout aligned with the grass.