Episodes
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...
Published 01/23/24
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...
Published 11/29/23
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...
Published 10/31/23
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   
Published 07/24/23
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  
Published 06/14/23
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...
Published 05/15/23
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...
Published 04/15/23
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  
Published 03/28/23
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...
Published 03/14/23
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...
Published 02/28/23
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...
Published 02/14/23
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...
Published 01/30/23
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...
Published 01/16/23
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/    
Published 01/01/23
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...
Published 11/29/22
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...
Published 11/15/22
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...
Published 10/31/22
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...
Published 10/11/22
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...
Published 09/27/22
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...
Published 09/13/22
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...
Published 08/25/22
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...
Published 08/12/22
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...
Published 07/29/22
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...
Published 07/15/22