The pressure changes caused a small leak in the cap because I had overfilled it. It was Gatorade from one of my high-altitude flights. He exclaimed, “Oh, that wasn’t urine, I swear. As the mechanic went down the list of items addressed, he leaned in quietly and said, “We also cleaned the urine behind the seat.” The owner paused for a moment, embarrassed, and then laughed out loud. A glider owner was discussing the annual inspection outcome with the local mechanic. I overheard an awkward conversation at the gliderport the other day. A hat helps to cut down on direct sun exposure and minimize glare in the cockpit.Ī Camelbak is the Best Way to Stay Hydrated When Soaring The reason for this particular hat is the fact that most gliders have a canopy that allows for great visibility but also allows for a great deal of sunlight to beat down on the pilot for the duration of the flight. Spend any time at a gliderport and you will quickly notice the go-to hat used by glider pilots is a sort of 360-degree beach hat that protects much of the neck and face. You can check those out here.Ī Hat Helps Mitigate Fatigue and Heat Exposure In fact, one member of the team has been flying with the same pair for over ten years now.Īnother quality brand is Randolph. Stick and Glider has always loved the classic Ray-Ban aviators. Something to be very aware of is the absolute necessity to purchase UNPOLARIZED glasses – the reason being, polarized lenses interfere or “cancel out” the electronics on a cockpit instrument panel – thus causing a potentially unsafe condition where the pilot would be unable to see the data on the screens. Aviator sunglasses come in all different frame colors and brands. No pilot should be without a good pair of sunglasses, it simply goes with the territory of being out in the sun oftentimes, high above the clouds or away from the smog of the city for hours at a time. Can you guess the other five things? Read on to find out!Īviator Sunglasses are Required Gear for any Serious Pilot Of course aviator sunglasses and a decent watch made the list. We have come up with the short list of things that every glider pilot should have with them when they fly. Some keep things light, others like to pack more than they need – as long as it doesn’t put the aircraft outside of the envelope, it goes! We at Stick and Glider prefer to keep things minimalistic, yet, classy. Every pilot has a flight bag of essential gear.