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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!