• What Videos Should I Get? A Buyer's Guide

 “I’m just starting out in r/c soaring and you guys have a lot of videos I’m interested in but I don’t know which ones to get first?”

This is a question we get often so here’s a guide to help you decide which videos will help you depending on your skill level, experience and interest. All video pages feature a video preview trailer and complete information on the video’s content so you can get a feel for what you are buying.

Each training video is available as a single 1.5 to 2+ hour long .mp4 video file that you download from our server. You can save yourself 20% to 30% or more by purchasing two or more videos together in our combined video Sets. Sets include all the videos in a training series or for a particular skill set like building or thermal soaring. IMPORTANT NOTICE: DVDs were discontinued on December 1st, 2023. All titles will still be available in digital video format. Use the Digital Download category menus to find and order the video programs you want.

No matter what skill level you’re currently at, you’ll need learn some basic and advanced skills that cover proper assembly and building procedures, control set up and tuning, radio programming and flying techniques. Learning r/c soaring skills the right way with our training videos will save you lots of time, money and quickly make you a safer and more competent pilot.

All links on this page point to the Digital Download editions of the programs. The link to the DVD editions are at the top of each video's page or use the Categories section on the left.  

Soaring Essential Skills - Beginner

There are three videos we recommend to all beginners, programs which will help you learn basic r/c soaring skills like kit building, air frame tuning and radio programming. The first recommended training video is the classic F3 Building Clinic which covers ARF glider construction and assembly methods that can be applied to most modern kits. The second basics video you should get is the Performance Tuning For Gliders, a must-have tutorial on understanding how to make your glider fly as it was designed and trouble shoot handling and control problems.

The third recommended video is the Radio Clinic For Sailplanes which teaches you what radio features and functions apply specifically to a wide range of glider types and what they look like activated and in action. This video in non-brand specific and theoretical, focusing on basic programming workflow as most radios now have the same feature sets and only differ in the menu systems. Order the Soaring Essentials video set here.

Learning To Thermal Soar - Beginner To Intermediate

If you’re going to catch thermals with any glider type, then you’ll need to learn the subtle and difficult art of finding thermal lift. Start with out beginner video bestseller Secrets of Thermal Soaring. This detailed tutorial covers the basics of convection formation, thermal shapes, movement and teaches you how to use wind shifts to find the location of a thermal on your field. For more advanced thermal pilots, the High Performance Thermal Soaring video is an excellent Part 2 to the Secrets program and teaches you more about wind effects, shear, circling methods and other more advance thermal soaring techniques the experts use.

Discus Launch/HLG Gliders - Beginner To Advanced

If your interest is in Discus Launch F3K Gliders, we offer three videos on DLG kit construction and three videos on flying techniques, tuning and set ups.

The Handlaunch Building Clinic is an older building video set but it’s still the benchmark for learning basic techniques on how to properly construct and build most basic DLG and mini-DLG kits. The Handlaunch Tech Lab covers more advanced DLG assembly techniques with more modern gear and battery technology and also covers upgrading older models to modern standards. If you have some building experience and have a higher-end DLG to assemble, then the new DLG Building Clinic is THE video to get as it teaches you the latest assembly techniques and hardware installs for carbon fiber sport and contest-grade kits of any maker.

To learn DLG specific tuning, flying, training and set up skills, we recommend the three 2 hour program Handlaunch Master Class series taught by U.S. National champ Bruce Davidson and expert Paul Naton. These three acclaimed videos will help you learn to launch higher, tune your plane like a pro, setup your radio for DLG and learn the skills needed to master these difficult but fun gliders for sport or competition flying. Order the Handlaunch Master Class Set here.

Glider Construction & Technology - Advanced

We offer two state-of-the art glider building and technology training videos shot on HD, the F3X Building Clinic and the Glider Tech Lab. These programs taught by expert Paul Naton cover in great detail the construction, preparation, pre-tuning, and hardware installations of advanced F3X-style composite competition gliders. As most modern kits have no instructions, these videos will teach you the professional techniques required to make your expensive glider reliable, safe, and able to fly at peak performance. Order the 5.5 hour long Pro Builders Set here.

Electric Powered Gliders - Beginner To Advanced

Electric launch gliders are now extremely popular but learning how to properly install and use the complex motor systems and high-powered batteries is no easy task especially for pure glider guys transitioning to e-power. Our Electric Sailplane Clinic series covers all aspects of the technology from motor and propellor basics to testing and optimizing the power system for maximum performance. Clinic #1 teaches you the basics of motors, props, batteries, and the nomenclature of the required hardware and electrical terms like Watts and Amps. Clinic #2 illustrates the conversion of a regular 3m glider to e-power and teaches you the required skills ,calculations and testing needed to convert any plane to electric. In Electric Sailplane Clinic #3, you’ll learn how to equip, build, test, and optimize a high performance competition glider and motor system for ALES and F5J competition. Order the complete set of the Electric Sailplane Clinics here.

Thermal Soaring Master Class Series - Advanced

Thermal Soaring Master Class #1 taught by our local glider expert Paul Naton goes deep into air reading and flying techniques that are rarely taught or discussed in any forum. Learn how the experts tune and read their glider in the air to determine the location of current and new thermals. Paul also teaches you ways to better deal with wind and fast moving lift and how to better read ground wind shifts to better center low level lift. Master Class #2 also has extensive flight demonstrations with onboard cameras so you can see what the glider is doing and how it reacts to lift and sink. Order the 4+ hour Thermal Master Class Series here.

Soaring Master Class Series - Intermediate To Advanced

This 3 video training set taught by U.S. National soaring champion Mike Smith teaches you a wide variety of soaring skills from how to launch from a winch to his methods of setting up a computer radio for a 6 servo competition glider. In Master Class #1, Mike covers tuning for minimum adverse yaw, proper use of the rudder and mixing, camber control, center of gravity tuning and other useful techniques. Soaring Master Class #2 gives you an introduction to thermal competition flying techniques taught by Mike and soaring’s best pilots. Soaring Master Class #3 brings Mike back to talk more about advanced thermal flying, tuning methods, speed control, high wind flying, and low level thermal catching. Order the complete 6 hour Soaring Master series here.

Precision Tuning Techniques - Advanced

In this new 2+ hour video, 30 year soaring veteran Paul Naton demonstrates his methods for fine tuning more advanced sailplanes for maximum flight and piloting performance. He teaches you his work flow for accurately setting surface deflections, setting flaperon mixes, multiple camber settings, checking decalage angles, trouble shooting mechanical problems and tuning V-Tail settings for proper differential. He also focuses on reducing pilot workload and flies extensive flight demo’s showing how to quickly fix handling and tuning problems be following set radio programming procedures. Order the Precision Tuning Techniques video program here.

Glider Repair Lab Series - Beginner To Advanced

If you fly gliders, you will crash, and spare parts are often expensive or impossible to get. The 6 hour Glider Repair Lab series teaches you how to get your wood/fiberglass/Kevlar/carbon plane back to sound flying condition with minimal cost and effort. Repair Lab 1 covers the basics of composite materials use with epoxies and fillers and teaches you how to fix minor damage to fins, wings and fuselages. Repair Lab 2 and Repair Lab 3 cover more advanced repairs on more severely damaged composite wood and carbon wings, carbon/Kevlar fuselages, and molded wing structures with spar and wing skin damage. Order the complete Glider Repair Lab Series here.

• Browse All Single Instructional Video Digital Downloads

• Browse All Instructional Video Digital Download Sets