I'm gonna break ThatFanficGuy's brain, but flying gliders was one of my most favorite things ever!! My Uncle flies them, and has taken me up flying many many times since I was a child. I quickly learned how to fly, and he'd just sit in back and enjoy the view while I - from about 12 years old, on - flew from release to landing all by myself!! That is a transformative experience... being in the air, feeling the thermals, sensing the air... man, I miss it.
Man... You should start a series: #storiesfromgoobster. I'd follow that in an instant. What you describe sounds like a fantastic experience, as well. I wanted to fly for as long as I remember myself, and I figured that the reason we enjoy sliding down a big hill on our butts is that it simulates (or provide some of the feelings as) the experience of flight. Any way you can hook me up with a glider if we are to meet someday?
Sadly, no. Haven't gotten to fly in 20 years. The "airport" we used to fly out of got turned into condominiums, and I don't know anywhere within 100 miles where you could fly sailplanes any more. And my Uncle - the actual, licensed pilot - lives on the East Coast... so I think my sailplane days are probably over. Any way you can hook me up with a glider if we are to meet someday?
The thing that shocked me the most about flying is turning. We all think about turning in 2 dimensions... turn the wheel to the right, and your car turns right. In an airplane (and especially in a sailplane), turning is falling to the side. You move the stick to the right, the right wing slows down, and you basically fall over to the right, losing altitude quickly! It's way more like skiing down a mountain, as opposed to driving... sure, you are turning and changing direction, but you are also losing altitude quickly. And in a sailplane - relying on thermals to gain altitude - this is a shocking and scary thing!