Condor Corner
Three generations of pilots channelling flight experience through simulator training.
The third of this series to appear in the New RC Soaring Digest. The original version of this article first appeared in the April 2022 issue of Soaring magazine. — Ed.
In the introductory article for this series, I invited SSA members, clubs, and commercial operations to contribute to the series by submitting narratives of their positive experiences using glider flight simulation. Later that month I was contacted by Jason Leonard, a professional pilot, CFIG, DG-505 owner and member of Treasure Coast Soaring Club in Vero Beach, Florida. Jason wrote to offer me help developing videos, similar to one he had posted to YouTube showing his two young sons ‘flying’ in Condor. Before interviewing Jason, I expected the focus of the article would be on how he was using Condor to inspire his kids. As it turned out, there was much more to his story.
It was 1992 and Robert (Bob) Leonard, a professional pilot for American Airlines, was undergoing the recurrent training required by the FAA for all Part 121 and 135 flight operations. With the airline industry having figured out long before that simulation-based flight training produced better results, in less time, and at considerably less expense than using real aircraft, Captain Leonard’s recurrent training would be conducted entirely in simulation. On this particular trip, the captain had also arranged to have his eight-year-old son Jason tag along, and as luck would have it, the senior Leonard finished his training early, leaving open some scheduled time on the simulator. And so it was that young Jason Leonard found himself at the controls of his first flight simulator, an American Airlines MD-11 Level D simulator no less, flying the Checkerboard Hill approach into Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport.
Apparently, the experience made quite an impression on the youngster. For the next year, while other kids his age were playing video games, Jason could reliably be found in his room mastering Microsoft Flight Simulator using only his computer keyboard.
Impressed with his son’s continued interest in flight, Jason’s dad arranged for a half-hour introductory flight in an actual airplane after which he made his son the following offer: “if you continue to improve your performance in school, I’ll continue providing you with flight training.” Shortly after his 16th birthday, Jason Leonard was a private pilot.
After high school, Jason headed off to Flight Safety International (FSI) to pursue a career in aviation, earning commercial, instrument and initial instructor privileges in single and multi-engine airplanes. FSI’s extensive use of Frasca simulators & procedural training devices further expanded Jason’s experience with and appreciation for the benefits of simulation-based training.
Having graduated from FSI, and while instructing for his father-in-law’s flight school, Jason added ATP, CFII, MEI and a Learjet type rating to his list of credentials. The Lear type rating led to a job flying air ambulance, and while initially exciting and challenging, seven-days-a-week on-call at all hours of the day and night started to wear thin. Jason eventually signed on with a regional airline and now flies for Spirit Airlines based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With air ambulance operating under FAR Part 135 and Spirit operating under Part 121, this narrative begins to circle back to its beginning: Jason Leonard following in his father’s footsteps with all his professional recurrent training taking place in simulators.
Then COVID-19 arrived. With his airline’s fleet grounded and his career on hold, Jason had a need to scratch his flying itch. He started working on a glider rating at the Treasure Coast Soaring Club. Having come from the world of powered flight, he initially struggled both with the idea of flying without an engine and with wrapping his head around the glide performance of these aircraft. He knew the key to working through these issues would be extensive flight experience, but as a busy father of four young kids, time and money were at a premium. Fortunately, at this point in his life, he knew exactly how to meet those criteria.
After a few online searches, Jason found the Soaring Forum Group on Facebook and asked about the existence of a soaring simulator. Information and recommendations on Condor came flooding back, and after acquiring the software, he spent hours in simulated flight building confidence in his ability to control these beautiful and amazing machines. In addition to earning his glider category add-on rating, Jason was able to renew all his accidentally lapsed instructor ratings by also passing a check ride for CFIG.
Today when he’s not out flying routes for Spirit, Jason is home leveraging his extensive instructional and flight simulation experience to entertain, educate, and inspire a third generation of Leonard aviators. I encourage you to take look at The Benefits of Simulator Soaring which I have linked in Resources below.
It shows Jason’s nine-year-old son Greyson intentionally entering and recovering from spins in a Duo Discus and Jason coaching his 11-year-old son Carter through working a thermal and flying a traffic pattern to a landing, all from the comfort and safety of their home.
Next Month
In the next article in this series I’ll be writing about the Soaring Safety Foundation’s annual report and the role simulation can play in making the sport safer.
Thanks for reading! In the interim, please leave any questions you may have in the Responses section below — you get there by clicking the little 💬.
©2022, 2023 Scott Manley
Resources
- Checkerboard Hill Approach into Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport — A pre-configured Google search which will provide access to a ton of eye-popping videos of this classic aviation challenge.
- The Benefits of Simulator Soaring on YouTube. — “leveraging his extensive instructional and flight simulation experience to entertain, educate, and inspire a third generation of Leonard aviators…”
- Soaring Forum Group on Facebook. — “forum for soaring related topics…”
- Treasure Coast Soaring Club based at Vero Beach, Florida. — “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the goal of promoting the sport and art of soaring to anyone interested in learning to fly sailplanes…”
- Condor Corner in the New RC Soaring Digest. — The complete set of articles as they have appeared in this publication.
- Simulation-based Glider Flight Education, the author’s website. — “to provide you with the information and resources you need to self-manage the flight training and aeronautical knowledge development required to qualify for a Private Pilot Certificate with a Glider Category…”
- Condor — “simulates the complete gliding experience on your computer. With it you can learn to fly gliders and progress up to a high level of competition skill. The core of the simulator is the state of the art physics model and advanced weather model aimed at soaring flight.”
- Soaring Magazine, the official publication of the Soaring Society of America. — “each issue brings you the latest developments on safety issues, delightful accounts of individual soaring accomplishments, a sharing of ideas and experiences, tips from the great soaring pilots of our times, and…”
Read the next article in this issue, return to the previous article in this issue or go to the table of contents. A PDF version of this article, or the entire issue, is available upon request.
