Bookshop

An illustrated volume on gliding. It includes a section for the student pilot and information on flying techniques, instruments, conditions and equipment. This edition is updated and contains revised hints for beginners.

Amazon reader review
This book will tell you everything you need to know from basics to the more advanced part of flying a glider. Easy to understand and with detailed diagrams this book in the gliding circle is classed as a "bible" to glider pilots, from the more advanced pilot to the student.

This book explains how to recognize good and hazardous flying weather by looking at the causes and effects of atmospheric phenomena. These include air masses, high and low pressure areas, cloud formations, fronts, thermals, inversions and anti-cyclones. For those preparing for the Bronze "C" award or for one of the Private Pilot's Licence examinations there is a useful appendix with revision questions and answers.

Amazon reader review
I found this book very informative an easy to understand. Derek piggot is a good author and explains his theorys well so that you can understand concepts much easier. Other books i have tried were to hard to intake all the information but i found that this book was well structured which made easy reading. Derek being a top glider pilot understands the need for simplicity in his books so people of all standards from begginners to diamonds can absorb all the information he is trying to get across.

This guide explains how and why a glider flies, and demonstrates, with the aid of diagrams, that the basic principles are not in fact complex. It answers questions such as "What actually happens when a gust of wind hits a glider?" and "What maintains, or disturbs, the stability of a machine?"

Amazon reader Review
The original, and still the best book about how gliders work. Simple text and clear diagrams help to show the reader why every aspect of the glider works the way it does. It helped me to understand why gliders are designed the way they are. I found that my flying improved when i fully understood the effects that the controls were having on the glider. It also gave me confidence in the speed and G limits of a glider. The book explains why breaking the limits is dangerous but also why it safe to go up to them and use the glider to its full potential. There are other good books on the subject, but this is the best."

This manual is intended for budding and improving glider pilots and as a resource for gliding instructors. It views the whole process from the perspective of a beginner tackling all the difficulties and concerns experienced by them head on, including the fundamentals of gliding, how to learn them and how they should be taught. It includes a new chapter on soaring.

New Soaring Pilot - Anne Welch, Frank G Irving, John Murray

Combat and Competition - David Ince

The Paths of Soaring Flight - Frank G Irving, M.Eng, DIC, AIC, C.Eng, FRAeS.

This book is concerned with the sport of soaring, and mainly with the mathematical basis of sailplane design and operation. It does not tell the beginner how to fly, but it will give an experienced pilot some background, with historical notes showing how ideas have evolved and could develop in the future. Some of the material is taken from OSTIV (Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale de Vol a Viole) publications and from "Technical Soaring", neither of which is readily available to the general public, including papers by the author and others. Extensive references are provided in each chapter.

A Glider Pilot Bold... - Wally Kahn

A glider pilot bold was he A maiden unsuspecting she He landed one day near her home Demanding tea and telephone

Her dainty heart had missed a beat Steep turns at five and twenty feet The field was very very small The trees were very very tall ...

Walter Kahn's love affair with gliding started in 1945 and his book tells many amusing stories about the people he has met over the past fifty-odd years. Tales of those men and women in their flying machines, the songs they love to sing and events leading to the glider movement as it is in this country today are faithfully recorded, supplemented by a list of gliding books published in the United Kingdom.

A very active glider and power pilot, he competed in national and international gliding contests, broke numerous gliding records and taught very many men and women to glide.

For a number of years he was a Committee member of the Surrey Gliding Club and the Lasham Gliding Society. He was also a Council member of the British Gliding Association, chairing two committees, a committee member of the Royal Aero Club and represented the BGA on the CCPR Council. He holds the International Diamond C gliding certificate.

He was awarded life membership of the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association and the Royal Aero Club Silver Medal.

Sailplane & Gliding - ".. an entertaining book to read.. I was sorry when I found I had reached the end". Rising Air - "This is a cracking good read." Flyer Magazine - "Well worth a read". Air Pictorial - ".. fizzes with anecdotes.." VGC News - ".. this excellent book is recommended to all glider pilots." Motorgliding International - ".. This is a lively, happy book.." London Gliding Club Newsletter - ".. This book is a must for every glider pilot.." Australian Gliding - ".. colourful, ebullient, energetic, generous and determined" Pilot Magazine - ".. it is, of course, an entertaining book to read..". Popular Flying (PFA) - ".. this readable book covering more than 50 years of gliding" 1-26 Newsletter and Soaring (USA) - ".. the funniest book about the sport of gliding.." Canadian Free Flight - ".. should you buy this book? ..if you enjoy a well written book associated with gliding that will prove an interesting read YES!"

Bronze and Beyond - John McCullagh

Bronze & Beyond has been written for British glider pilots who are aiming for the Bronze Badge, but it will also be useful to more experienced cross-country pilots.

It provides essential information on a wide range of topics including: altitude, airmanship, aerodynamics, weather, landing at another airfield, visibility, field-landings, human factors, navigation, air-law, radio, parachutes, airspace and NOTAMs.

Faster Than The Sun - Peter Twiss

This autobiography of Peter Twiss, the man who flew 1000mph for the first time in history, tells the story of the record-breaking Fairey Delta. It describes the vast organization necessary for the record bid, the political lobbying and the almost intolerable tension when the flights failed.

Review by Lasham member Bruce Nicholson:
Cast your mind back to the heady days of post-war British aviation. Long summer holidays, Farnborough airshows teaming with new British types and short trousers. Peter Twiss is one of those "school boy test pilot heros" from those exciting times.

Peter takes you back to 1955. It was all happening then. Mach 1 had been won by the Americans. The World Air Speed Record had been pushed past 800mph by a North American F100 Super Sabre with a US test pilot. It was a race. And a race with no end in sight.

High above southern England, in the autumn of 1955, Peter Twiss flew the tiny Fairey Delta Two effortlessly past the sound barrier and realised that this wonderful little aircraft had it in her to be a world beater. To show the world that the great Fairey Aviation Company and Great Britain could still challenge the best of the best and win.

A thrilling story of the man who was the first to fly faster than 1000mph; faster than the speed of the sun as it tracks across the sky. A story of hardship,ingenuity, excitment and eventually, well deserved success. You are with the pilot and team every stage of the way. Peter is the classic reserved British test pilot of the era, but here, unexpectedly he opens himself to the reader. You go through every high and low with the chap. At the end you feel sad to say cheerio to your new friend.

Read this book and keep the brilliance and courage of British aviation from this time alive.

Meteorology and Flight - Tom Bradbury

Intended for pilots of sailpanes, microlights, hang gliders and balloons, this resource contains practical advice and information on both large- and small-scale weather systems. It covers the development of depressions and anticyclones, fronts, convection, cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds, waves, wave flow and how to fly in waves, local winds, airflow over ridges and mountains, visibility, weather maps and forecasting, METAR and TAF reports and MetFAX services.

Pilot's Weather: A Commonsense Approach to Meteorology - Brian Cosgrove

Utilises colour photography of clouds and skies to illustrate weather prediction as it affects pilots (Bookseller Publications Buyer's Guide)

Amazon reader review
Brian Cosgrove has redeemd himself for the poor section on Meteorology in his 'Microlight Pilot's Handbook'. This guide is pitched at the right level for student pilots and experienced flyers alike. Extensive use of colour photographs makes learning and digesting the material enjoyable and manageable for any reader.

The BGA Manual of Gliding - Steve Longland

As the official manual of the world famous British Gliding Association, this book is compulsory reading for all pilots and instructors. Highly illustrated and designed to be user-friendly, it guides the user through a comprehensive range of key subjects. 'Must-have' information is highlighted which, together with the less critical material, provides an authoritative and cutting-edge resource which can be studied or dipped into as required. Making complex topics comprehensible and including 400 illustrations to enhance the explanatory material, this is the manual of gliding.

Gliding: From Passenger to Pilot - Steve Longland

This volume is for everyone who has ever dreamt of escaping to thousands of feet above the ground, with a view stretching to the horizon, and barely a whisper to disturb the moment. The book guides you through how to realize that dream and goes on to explore the many opportunities the sport offers. Topics covered include: a history of the sport; an introduction to gliding clubs, getting started and what to expect; an insight into how gliders fly and detailed instruction on how to fly them; sections on launching, the cockpit, safety and weather forecasts, and finally ideas for cross-country and competitive flying and tips for owning a glider.

The Glider Pilot's Manual - Ken Stewart

This is a detailed flying training manual for glider pilots. All aspects of training for the Glider Pilot's Licence are covered in detail. It is a complete manual for the beginner leading him/her through the flying training, giving enough technical information for the various Principles of Flight examinations which need to be passed, and introducing basic soaring.

Amazon reader review
This book covers the basics in a straight forward and practical way. Introduction of material is progressive and neither over does theory or shy from it where important. In the main each new topic generates an urge to get in the air and check out the theory.

The book works as much for the readable style of the author as it does for its necessary and broad content.

The Soaring Pilot's Manual - Ken Stewart

This manual describes the basic soaring mechanisms and techniques of flying. Clear diagrams illustrate the text throughout and make complicated facts seem simple to understand. It progresses to cross country flying and contains exercises that should be found useful by any glider pilot.

Amazon reader review
This book covers the in's and out's of different soaring techniques and how different styles work. This book covers the best techniques of how to use the weather to you advantage and what to look for when your flying. I found this book very informative . i expected it to be hard to cope with but it wasnt i found it easy to understand a very worthwhile book for a glider pilot to have.

Cloud Dancing : Your Introduction to Gliding and Motorless Flight - Robert F. Whelan

Amazon reader review
Nice book to give to someone to read before their first glider flight. Contains some 'heartwarming' stories, and good background history, for the more accomplished student. It reminded me why I've enjoyed gliding for so long!

The Handbook of Glider Aerobatics - Mike Woollard and Peter Mallinson

This book provides a reference point for use in conjunction with aerobatic instruction. It aims to help provide an understanding of the important subjects that are essential for safe and successful aerobatic flying.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach

"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach, in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate pay-off: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson amazon.co.uk review

Stick and Rudder - Wolfgang Langewiesche

In print for more than 55 years, this classic book has been treasured by generations of pilots for its accurate, intelligent and useful analysis of the art of flying. Its main objective is to help the student become a good pilot quickly, and to help the instructor understand more thoroughly the fundamentals of this profession. Careful reading of the book is the equivalent of several hundred hours of flight practice. Synopsis This classic offers an analysis of the art of flying, along with explanations of what a pilot actually does.

Pilot's Summer: A central flying school diary - Frank D Tredrey

Pilot's Summer captures the joy of flying with a style and charm which appeals to all generations.

Frank Tredrey's diary account tells of his instructor's course at CFS Wittering in 1935 towards the end of the golden age of the biplane in the RAF. His wonderfully descriptive accounts of flying have rarely been equalled and skilfully weave his progress at mastering the instructor's art in the cockpits of 504's, Tutors and Bulldogs with the trials and humours of Service life on the ground.  His infectious enthusiasm, love of flying, the countryside and his comments on his fellow course members resulted in a memorable book.