They are brilliant engineering in efficiency. They simply use the speed coming down as energy to climb and the surfaces can be adjusted based on whether you need to climb, do stunts or want speed because of how light they are they ridiculously efficient with that energy. It looked like there was some wind so he probably could have climbed back up some distance with that energy as well without stalling.
they can actually stay up as long as they want to. as long as they keep finding air / run out of supplies lol. The world record for a two-seat glider is over 70 hours set in 1961 in Hawaii.
Love it! This is reckless for some, but for someone with Stefan's experience, this is very much in his envelope of skills. I would certainly agree that very view should be this adventurous, but I'd sit backseat with Stefan for this one any day. Everyone's risk profile is different, but every pilot should (and not always the case) have the sensibility to not overshoot his/her ability and to error on the safe side.
Very valid point, Pieter. 👍 In Paragliding we also had to warn new pilots; “If someone else is flying, on a day that the weather seems dangerous, it does not mean that you can go flying”. It all depends on the level of your skills…
Flying close over glassy water like that is a recipe for disaster. It’s next to impossible to gauge your height with conditions like that. He will fly into the water one day.
He will do as we all do, probably in his bed of old age.........like most pilots - really we should avoid beds they're dangerous........more people die in them than gliders.......
Awesome. Didn't know gliders were in km/h in South Africa. But going low and fast in a glider seems totally exhilarating! I was always impressed by gliders doing a low and fast flyby along the runway, before doing another pattern and coming in to land, but this one beats it. I wonder if anyone has filmed it from the outside.
@@iamnima Since a large number of the most renowned glider manufacturers are from Germany, the default option in their gliders will be metric, but that is not generally true. Look for gliding videos online; many use instruments with a scale in knots, including one of the most prolific ones on youtube, Bruno Vassel.
I will be honest.. I initially felt that was just toooo low to gain back enough altitude. But you did great🤍 And the landing👌🏽 too was text book.. butter smooth!
He had a high speed going over the lake and thus more than enough energy to climb again and land safely. Although I was worried at first because I didn't know where the runway is haha
damn that glider is MOVING. im too used to being in a 233 that cant go more than a mile from the field without EXTREME effort on a perfect day. Im blown away by how much speed you were able to maintain while going over that lake, with enough energy to get altitude to get you back to the field!
It basically indicates the true airflow direction plus I think it can be a stall warning. If it is streaming back that's good. If it is fluttering about sort of randomly that's not good. This is a gross oversimplification from a non pilot.
A friend of me died during a similar low pass a long time ago. He touched the water. Plane desintegrated. Luckily it was a one seater. You were playing with your life and that one of the passenger.
@NoTengoIlusiones I know, I was letting you know your original comment was dumb...Do you often believe you hold key knowledge that professionals aren't aware of? Or was that just a one off act of ignorance?
This is worth pointing out. I worked at AETE in the 80's, we investigated a helicopter crash in BC where the pilot lost the horizon due to the sky reflection and plunged into the lake. The surface of the lake will act like a mirror when there is no wind.
That's why I can't understand how brave (or stupid) those pilots are with their tundra cubs ski-ing on one wheel on the water. One ripple and they would probably flip. And the height above the water can be deceiving (as you pointed out).
Those unseen Crocs were ridiculously huge, they didn't even notice that we were spying on them from just above. Credit the plane speed for making them undetectable!
Rotor head that travels frequently to SA here. This is both awesome and scary as hell. Great piloting!. Not just crocodiles but hippos too! And in some places the people. I'm always worried about fuel, hahaha. I've flown a lot of hours. But never flown in a glider or skydived. Kudos again mate!
I don't know... I'm pretty tempted to "try this at home"! But wait... Oh.. right I don't know how to fly. Oh... yeah, and I don't have a glider. Oh... that's right... I don't live near crocodile infested waters. Maybe I'll resist the temptation to "try this at home". Ha ha ha.
I am not bchin at you...I'm just curious how you get away from the rule of not getting within 500 feet of persons or property unless in the act of landing (which you did land, but that was aggressively outside the normal maneuvers of landing)? Just curious on your thoughts on this
Any lower and it’s gonna be a low level glider inspection by crocodile…
There will not be a better comment on this video
🤣🤣🤣🤣
hahahahaahahahahahah lmao🤣🤣😂
Golden
@@dredgeportals agreed 😂
I can only imagine how much more dangerous it would’ve been had he encountered a high level crocodile
such an underrated comment
Don't give a crocodile red bull
A level 61 crocodile appears with a skull next to its health bar
🎉😂
🎉
As a low - level crocodile, I still get blown away by glider videos and their capabilities.
What kind of internet plans are available to crocodiles?
Where was the croc?
Don't get snappy, now...
As a powered fixed wing pilot, I still get blown away by glider videos and their capabilities
Exactly!!
That's why I make videos :D
"Blown" away. Hehe
Same, when doing emergency drills it's always very stressful to idle your way to a few feet above ground. But without an engine? Holy!
@@user-kl9dd7xo2q Only their aerodynamics and glide ratio is worse ;)
almost no speed lost on water due to ground effect. amazing video. thanks.
It must be hard to land these things on a short runway for that same reason
@@hyun1141 you have spoilers in the wings which cuts lift immediately and due to this its not that hard to land on short fields.
Water effect?
@@fjp3305 surface type (unless it's not airtight) does not effect what it's called
@@TheWorstBridger That's usually true unless there's a factor involved referred to as the "sense of humor"
As a bus driver, I still get blown away by glider videos and their capabilities
Yea I bet driving a bus doesn't really feel like flying a glider
Ur gay kid
@@evgenkonyshock4913 depends on the height of the jump
As a low-level glider video, I still get blown away by crocodiles and their capabilities.
😂
Flying over the lake is almost like a scene from Top Gun.
he really looked like he needed your advice😁
Garbage American military propaganda.
Somehow I got the feeling that this guy does not get old.
Every airplane comes close to the ground and even hits it, eventually.
@@stejer211 well I can finally vouch for that as of last month :(
@@FlyingWildAZ what happened last month?
@@FlyingWildAZ wow! Great job doing whatever you did to survive that! Hope you have a speedy recovery and get back in the air soon.
He won't get old
bro is flying like he can respawn
Gliders are so cool. Saw one trailered on the highway yesterday and this video randomly popped up today, maybe it's a sign to sign up and get lessons.
Usually theres a third instance. Keep that mind eye open!
@JenkemOD ⬅️
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
🚨BIDEN VOTER🚨 🤮
Altitude gain vs speed loss is unreal. These gliders are awesome.
😳 that was incredible. I didnt know they could even get that low and climb back out
They are brilliant engineering in efficiency. They simply use the speed coming down as energy to climb and the surfaces can be adjusted based on whether you need to climb, do stunts or want speed because of how light they are they ridiculously efficient with that energy. It looked like there was some wind so he probably could have climbed back up some distance with that energy as well without stalling.
As long as there is sun heating the Earth beneath them, they can fly practically indefinitely.
they can actually stay up as long as they want to. as long as they keep finding air / run out of supplies lol.
The world record for a two-seat glider is over 70 hours set in 1961 in Hawaii.
Think when you throw a paper plane. How they go very low and suddenly turn up
@@SophiaAphrodite Actually they have almost the same glide ratio as a commercial airliner
Love it! This is reckless for some, but for someone with Stefan's experience, this is very much in his envelope of skills. I would certainly agree that very view should be this adventurous, but I'd sit backseat with Stefan for this one any day. Everyone's risk profile is different, but every pilot should (and not always the case) have the sensibility to not overshoot his/her ability and to error on the safe side.
Very valid point, Pieter. 👍
In Paragliding we also had to warn new pilots; “If someone else is flying, on a day that the weather seems dangerous, it does not mean that you can go flying”. It all depends on the level of your skills…
Glassy water can bite even the best pilots.
err
@@hm09235nd you have gas or something?
Flying close over glassy water like that is a recipe for disaster. It’s next to impossible to gauge your height with conditions like that. He will fly into the water one day.
Hey Stefan, please don't die 😁, thanks
He will do as we all do, probably in his bed of old age.........like most pilots - really we should avoid beds they're dangerous........more people die in them than gliders.......
as a low level crocodile i can verify this is how our are inspections are supposed to be done
That's what I'd call a non-standard pattern!
Simply incredible energy retention.
Hi Stefan, excellent "wave effect" but I didn't see any Croc, impressive indeed !!!🤭👍👍👍
its is the fact that it decreased speed slowly due to it being a glider which has a high lift to weight ratio.
@@Matt-xy6cf and for croc's attack, It's just Luck!!😍😍
There are no crocs in Potch dam😂😂😂
@@shrink0001 I agree :D
It's nice to see you enjoying some travelling Stefan ! Thanks for sharing
the adrenalin rush when you do stuff like this is amazing!
e
All the crocs: “everybody wave to Stefan! Hi Stefan!!!”😂
I like the way the instructor gives specific instructions that the pilot has to clarify seconds before they land lol
and I can't handle it when my instructor gives me very clear instructions before we even enter the pattern lol, this guy is pretty chill
Awesome. Didn't know gliders were in km/h in South Africa. But going low and fast in a glider seems totally exhilarating! I was always impressed by gliders doing a low and fast flyby along the runway, before doing another pattern and coming in to land, but this one beats it. I wonder if anyone has filmed it from the outside.
All gliders use the metrical scale unit.
@@iamnima Since a large number of the most renowned glider manufacturers are from Germany, the default option in their gliders will be metric, but that is not generally true. Look for gliding videos online; many use instruments with a scale in knots, including one of the most prolific ones on youtube, Bruno Vassel.
In the Uk glider ASI’s are typically in knots.
Only countries in the world that uses MPH if thats what you mean are USA, Myanmar, Liberia, and the UK, so easy to remember ;)
My home country, don't do an out landing in the game reserves 😂😂
Yes. Because the conversationists in this country lack any sense of humour (never mind the wild animals…)
As a low - level inspection, I still get blown away by crocodile videos and their gliders.
Everytime I see a glider video every now and then, I'm just complete amaze !!!
I love this thing!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I will be honest.. I initially felt that was just toooo low to gain back enough altitude.
But you did great🤍
And the landing👌🏽 too was text book.. butter smooth!
🤍🤗yayyyyy💙😊❤️🙏🏼🙇🏻♂️
He had a high speed going over the lake and thus more than enough energy to climb again and land safely. Although I was worried at first because I didn't know where the runway is haha
Croc: "C'monnnnn, lunch! C'monnnn dinner!"
damn that glider is MOVING. im too used to being in a 233 that cant go more than a mile from the field without EXTREME effort on a perfect day.
Im blown away by how much speed you were able to maintain while going over that lake, with enough energy to get altitude to get you back to the field!
As a capability, I still get blown away by crocodile videos and their gliders
I would love to see video from the ground as the glider is approaching and passing by!
I got sweaty palms just watching this.
Awesome flight approach and landing.
I would love to see that from lakeside!
If they end up in the river the crocodile will be dining on “Human under glass.” Quite a special crocodile delicacy.
As a low - level glider - crocodile, I still get blown away by videos and their capabilities.
Everyone’s talking about crocodile and gliding, while I’m just wondering about the purpose of the red string on the cockpit glass.
It basically indicates the true airflow direction plus I think it can be a stall warning. If it is streaming back that's good. If it is fluttering about sort of randomly that's not good. This is a gross oversimplification from a non pilot.
I liked the cloud that looked like it was giving him the finger 😂
I see that 😂
Hi Stefan, quite a stunning base leg !
1:35 The latest approach briefing mankind has ever seen ;)
Yeah that 1:39 "what?" made me pucker up a bit. I'm sure they know what they're doing.
Haha I was thinking the same, I'm sure they've should've put a bit more forward planning into that one! (Already over the runway) "What?"
I need to do this. One of the coolest things I've seen in a while...
A friend of me died during a similar low pass a long time ago. He touched the water. Plane desintegrated. Luckily it was a one seater. You were playing with your life and that one of the passenger.
I have to agree. A fatal mistake or a regulatory authority is eventually going to put an end to this guy’s flying.
If they want to risk it its their lives, not smart in my opinion especially jammed in that tiny little glider
No one talking about that cloud in the form of gozilla? 1:08
Few inches away from ending up on Mr. Ballen 😂 😂
Michael Tiffin, fantastic beat up, well done for guiding Stephan through that
😀😀😀 Der Stefan wird zum Krokodilexperte. Super gemacht. Mit einem Grinsen geschaut. Vielen Dank fürs Zeigen und Mitnehmen!
Crocs: Catch ya later....
Every time I see you flying I feel I'm seeing magic.
be careful with water skimming. Water reflection changes height perception . Love your channel.
For some reason I highly doubt a random youtuber knows something that a clearly experienced pilot doesn't....
@@khancrow7015 For some reason, a dumb comment always show up.
@NoTengoIlusiones I know, I was letting you know your original comment was dumb...Do you often believe you hold key knowledge that professionals aren't aware of? Or was that just a one off act of ignorance?
This is worth pointing out. I worked at AETE in the 80's, we investigated a helicopter crash in BC where the pilot lost the horizon due to the sky reflection and plunged into the lake. The surface of the lake will act like a mirror when there is no wind.
At least he’s stating it everyone can see the pilot in the video is the goods but I see no problem with him trying to educate the layman
I've got 3000 hours as a low altitude crocodile, but I could still never do what you do.
Amazing and dangerous, water surface can be deceiving.
That's why I can't understand how brave (or stupid) those pilots are with their tundra cubs ski-ing on one wheel on the water. One ripple and they would probably flip. And the height above the water can be deceiving (as you pointed out).
its ok the glider would just bounce off
@@47EZ_DRIVER no. It would just shatter and there would be two closed coffin ceremonies.
@@lvubremerhaven Chyba zapomniałeś o krokodylach .... Nie byłobyło by co wkładać do tych trumien
Those unseen Crocs were ridiculously huge, they didn't even notice that we were spying on them from just above. Credit the plane speed for making them undetectable!
So Fast We Couldn’t See Em & They Couldn’t See Us😂
Beautiful accurate flying, love the high speed low run with a pull up and very long landing. Great stuff.
Life could be a dream. 😊
As a capability, I still get blown away by crocodiles and their low-level glider pilots
Did a loop de loop and a wing stall on my first glider flight, well the instructor did. Never went solo but have never forgotten that flight. 😆
I was waiting for the flare. What a different type of flying. Great job.
The power of ground effect
Where ins South Africa is this? I guess you are there with JS?
Meanwhile 20 cm below the surface:
"Wouldn't that be a tasty snack?"
"No, too much plastic around it. Pain in the a** to unwrap."
as an F-23 pilot, I’m continually blown away by these gliders
A little low on down wind leg perhaps ;-) Very conveniently lake located adjacent to the airstrip!
Went on a glider ride a few yrs back , quiet,smooth,BAD ASS😃👍
Rotor head that travels frequently to SA here. This is both awesome and scary as hell. Great piloting!. Not just crocodiles but hippos too! And in some places the people. I'm always worried about fuel, hahaha. I've flown a lot of hours. But never flown in a glider or skydived. Kudos again mate!
Wow.. would not have believed it!
So incredible to be so close and going so fast. And to pull away and land so nicely 🤌
So much speed after climbing again, amazing!
A friend of mine died when he hit the water in a manouvre like this. Estimating height obove water is extremely difficult.
I'm studying there at NWU, can gladly say that there's no crocodiles in there! Really cool video man!
So cool. Ground effect is amazing too. 😎
It still blows me away that a little piece of string taped to the 'windshield' of a helicopter, glider, etc is such a useful tool...
Cool, has this glyder the "stall" warning?🤙🏽
That might be the greatest TITLE EVER TITLED!
Crazy how well gliders glide compared to normal planes
Radios back: _"yup, there's crocodiles."_
Wow the energy being carried is epic . they are tanking it .
In a powered plane: A bit scary, but also really fun.
In a glider: Absolutely Terrifying!!!
This is soooo amazing, i love it, how was the ground effect, could you feel it or?
Ground effect was a big part of this, otherwise we would have had so much less energy to pull up at the end.
Powered as a fixed wing pilot, blown away by gliders, capabilities and their videos.
How many gators did you see at 2ft AGL and 80 knots.
160 KTS
good thing those are low level crocodiles, they can't do ranged attacks
This is amazing footage and incredible skill. But wouldn't a drone be more efficient?
Okay, that was indeed VERY low. But as a glider pilot myself I have to say: Good piloting!
I don't know... I'm pretty tempted to "try this at home"! But wait... Oh.. right I don't know how to fly. Oh... yeah, and I don't have a glider.
Oh... that's right... I don't live near crocodile infested waters. Maybe I'll resist the temptation to "try this at home". Ha ha ha.
Great! Although no room for error when dealing with crocs! The upside is, crocks don't fly 😂
Yet.
Maybe not, but they do jump out of the water!
“Hey glider 124, the edges of that marsh are starting to look a bit scraggly. Think you could give ‘em a little trim while you’re down there?”
“10-4”
The sky looks beautiful. So much better when there isn't all the airplane trails
How low did you get?
The beauty of being a South African is that you can tell by accent who is who in the zoo. Nice flight gents
Crocodile : Here comes our super fast food delivery
Awesome approach. Can't wait until the season starts again here in Scandinavia. Where is this airfield..?
Potchefstroom Airport (PCF), South Africa.
The crocidile : Huh.. Whats that?.. HOLY SHIT GET DOWN..
Hey Dave, did you see that croc?
No, John, I didn't. Maybe you should keep it under 175 for the next pass.
Every time I think I understand how gliders work they do some shit that seemingly defies physics again.
Hey, I wanna be a glider crocodile inspector!!
I am glad everything went well for you this time.
Imagine ditching in that water and becoming door dash for crocodiles
How can you inspect crocodiles going that fast?
This is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever witnessed. Fuqqing wow.🤯🤯🤯
I am not bchin at you...I'm just curious how you get away from the rule of not getting within 500 feet of persons or property unless in the act of landing (which you did land, but that was aggressively outside the normal maneuvers of landing)? Just curious on your thoughts on this