Cross Country Magazine Tuesday Tip

This week's tip is from Sepp Gschwendter, one of Germany's most successful XC pilots, and is from the book Cross Country Flying


Do you have any tips for pilots starting out in their XC career?

Don't get frustrated at the beginning if you bomb out early and regularly. We all went through this phase.

A 15km or 30km flight can make you just as happy as 150km. The value of the experience is not dependent on the number of kilometres you fly.

Complete novices should gain their first XC experiences in an easy region, where conditions are ideal.

You'll find a few pilots who manage to fly long and far – but only when they're following someone else.

If you do follow someone else, you can learn a lot quickly. But it's important to realise where and when the person you follow is flying somewhere – then you can start planning and flying your own routes.


AnnecyAnnecy, a great area for learning to fly cross country. Photo:David Ohlidal

Cross Country Flying Cross Country Flying by Burkhard Martens is out now