Gliding Reference Books

Check out this great list of reading material assembled by ex-National Operations Officer Roger Read, with some additions by Roger Harris National Airworthiness Officer.

Title	Author	Comments
Accident Prevention For Glider Pilots	Tom Knauff and Doris Grove (US)	Interesting ideas on looking at actions and attitudes for preventing accidents.
Aerodynamics For Soaring Pilots		Good for those that like to dig a little deeper into theory of flight and glider performance.
Aircraft Human Performance and Limitations	Tony Wilson (AUST)	Aimed at providing study material for PPL and CPL Human Factors; good material on many subjects that equally apply to glider pilots.
Aviation Medicine and other Human Factors for Pilots	Dr Ross Ewing (NZ) ISBN 0-908990-07-3	A very good NZ overview of Human Factors in an easy read format.
Basic Gliding Knowledge	Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) (AUST)	The GFA's version of our old C Cert Study Manual. Has some good material ours didn't have.
Beginning Gliding	Derek Piggott (UK)	One of a number excellent books by this great instructor; very good for pre solo theory.
Chief Pilot	NZCAA Good Aviation Practice Booklet	Available from CAA; a good read for CFI's and instructors despite it being targeted for the power fraternity in NZ.
Cloud Charts		A poster that is good for honing up cloud identification skills.
Cross Country Soaring	Helmut Reichmann (GER)	Excellent easy to follow material with lots of diagrams to explain cross country soaring techniques for all, coming from a world champion.
Derek Piggott on Gliding	Derek Piggott (UK)	Good basic training material.
FAI Sporting Code		Available in the latest NZGA Soaring Directory; it helps to know and understand the rules for badge and record flights before you do the flight!
Flight Radio For Pilots	Trevor Thom (NZ) ISBN 0 9583373 4 9	An excellent publication on need-to-know material for radio use and FRTO exam study.
Flight Without Formula	A C Kermode (UK)	Often used by power pilots to gain understand theory of flight without getting too complex.
Glider Pilot Bold	Wally Kahn (US)	Gliding stories.
Gliding: A Handbook on Soaring Flight	Derek Piggott (UK) ISBN 0 7136 1229 0	One of Piggott's early books; a bit dated in diagrams and pictures but still okay.
Gliding Safety	Derek Piggott (UK)	More good reading on basics from a great instructor.
Going Solo: A Simple Guide to Soaring
Great Glider Pilot Stories		Gliding stories from well known glider pilots around the world.
Ground Launches	Derek Piggott (UK)	Excellent material on wire launching techniques, theory and practice.
Handbook of Glider Aerobatics		Excellent coverage on aerobatic training and execution from beginning to display standard.
Human Factors in Flight	Frank H Hawkins ISBN 90 6825 036 1	An in depth look at Human Factors; more for serious study in this field.
Judgement Training Manual for Glider Pilots	Tom Knauff and Doris Grove (US)	Good reading on the Human Factors related topic of practical methods of exercising good judgement and decision making when gliding.
Judgement Training Manual for Glider Flight Instructors	Tom Knauff (US)	Good reading on practical methods of teaching judgement and decision making to glider pilots.
Know the Game. Gliding	Ann Welch (UK) ISBN 0 7158 0331 X	A small booklet in a series that provide an introductory overview of our sport. Excellent for handing out to visiting trial flighters while they wait to fly. Produced by the BGA.
Learning to Fly Gliders	Bob Wander (US)
Mechanics of Flight	A C Kermode (UK) ISBN 0 273 31623 0	For a more in depth look at theory of flight; some use for explaining complex concepts and background to performance analysis and test flying.
Meteorology for Glider Pilots	C. E. "Wally" Wallington (AUST) ISBN 0 7195 3303 1	ery good coverage of general weather topics written by a gliding meteorologist.
Meteorology and Flight	Tom Bradbury (UK) ISBN 0 7136 5676 X	Excellent coverage of gliding met; great diagrams and explanations of weather conditions.
Meteorology Forecasting for Soaring Flight	World Meteorological Organisation
Modern Elementary Gliding
Modern Soaring Dictionary	John Roake and John Phillips (NZ)	Very good reference for a range of technical soaring terms, jargon and glider types.
New Soaring Pilot	Ann and Lorne Welch and Frank Irvine (UK) ISBN 7195 1802 4	Written in the late 60's, it’s a bit dated but still good reading for early soaring pilots.
Piggott on Gliding	Derek Piggott (UK)	More from this world renowned instructor.
Practical Wave Flying	Mark Palmer (US) ISBN 0 962 4979 0 8	Good coverage of theory and practical considerations for soaring above 10,000 ft.
Sailplane Aerobatics	Les Horvath (US)	An intro to theory and practical considerations and techniques for aerobatics in gliders.
Silence on the Wind	Helmut Reichman (GER)	Good reading from a past World Champion.
Slingsby Fibreglass Repair Manual (UK)		For the serious engineers.
Soaring Flight Manual	Soaring Society of America (US)	Produced by the SSA for study material for the US PPL (G); good material on all subjects other than the US Reg's and some northern hemisphere met.
Soaring Symposium Lectures		Lecture notes on soaring topics from past OSTIV conferences.
Soar Sierra
Stalking the Mountain Wave
The Glider Pilot's Manual	Ken Stewart (UK) ISBN 1 85310 504 X	Excellent coverage of training material from pre solo to advanced… a must have.
Theory of Flight for Glider Pilots	R C Stratford Allen (UK)	An older book but theory doesn't change so still useful for basic flight theory.
The Joy of Soaring
The New Zealand Weather Book	Erick Brenstrum (NZ) ISBN 0 908802 47 1	A very good look at NZ weather patterns and conditions.
Understanding Gliding	Derek Piggott (UK) ISBN 0 7136 5568 2	Excellent coverage of theory and flying techniques from pre solo to instructing.
Understanding Flying Weather
Vector. The CAA Safety Magazine	NZCAA ISSN 1173-9614	Excellent articles on general aviation topics like NZ airspace. Some incident and accident reports. Also available by computer at www.caa.govt.nz
Winning on the Wind	Dick Moffat (US) Libary of Congress Catalog Card No. 74-82783	Soaring techniques for competitive flying from a World Champion.

Where to get the book you want:

Company	Postal Address	E-mail / web site
Gliding International Book Store	79 Fifth Avenue Tauranga, NZ	booksdvd@glidinginternational.com
RD Aviation Ltd	25 Bankside Kidlington Oxon OX5 1JE United Kingdom	www.rdaviation.com help@rdaviation.com
Soaring Books and Supplies	P O Box 17250 Minneapolis MN 55417 USA	71612.464@compuserve.com or Soarbooks@aol.com
Soaring Society of America	P O Box 2100 Hobbs NM 88241-2100 USA	www.ssa.org
Ashgate Publishing Limited	Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR UK	www.ashgate.com

Some general aviation books you might find of interest:

Title	Author	Comments
Popeye Lucas	F J Lucas ISBN 0 589 00294 5
Ski-Plane Adventure	Harry Wigley	Flying in the New Zealand Alps