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Bruno is just the man. I've been following his videos for a few months now, but this basic introduction to soaring and an overview of the cockpit make for a great video, definitely worth showing to friends who might be interested in learning to fly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PpdMuiPM4I

His description of the utility and freedom of gliding really got me excited about it. As much as I love flying the Lancair to travel great distances as quickly as possible, there's a ton of stuff that would just be a lot more fun in a high performance glider. The costs associated with gliding seem very reasonable, it's worth checking out!

What impresses me most of all is his passion for gliding and willingness to bring new people into he sport. This is a recruiting video for the gliding community and I think it's fantastic.

Edit: really nice video of a landing, ridiculously high video quality from the GoPro 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAzkU2rKSDk. Worth watching at 1080p.

Sort of related, if you can watch this video without your legs turning to absolute jelly, you're a better man/woman than I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uMZ9w7tbgc

Note the amount of opposite aileron required to keep the wings where he wants them with a 170lb+ weight imbalance.

Had to see what it could be that would turn your legs to jelly, Keith. At first I wondered what it could be about that ABBA song.....and then the guy climbs out and it became quite clear. I did have a physical reaction, although it had nothing to do with my legs.

I went solo earlier this year at a gliding club and at the club we've watched a couple of Bruno's videos after talks. He has captured some excellent footage. I'm hoping to make the most of the summer and start cross country gliding training. Probably quite challenging but definitely fun.

Congratulations on the solo, Jack! I really have my mind setting on doing this at some point next year, at least to take a couple of flights if nothing else.

I recently spoke with an instructor at one of our commercial customers who does a lot of gliding here on the east coast along the system of mountains that make up the Appalachian Trial down in West Virginia. He commented that on recent weekend, they had guys that glided down from Ithaca, NY, circled for a little while, then flew all the way back to NY, all without landing. I was blown away that they could use ridge lift over such a massive distance. That's what got me interested in looking into the cross country aspect, and how I came across Bruno's videos. I've been a fan ever since. Almost all of my gliding to this point has been R/C based, so the concept of XC gliding is new to me.

Looks like the third video has been taken down due to the music.

Reece, that's strange, 3rd video is still working for me. For those that can see it, forward to the 2:05 mark