Soaring the Sky Podcast
E089: Soaring In The Philippines with Rolf Dunder
Our tenth instalment of this ongoing series where we select and present episodes from Chuck Fulton’s highly regarded soaring podcast. See Resources, below, for links where you can find Soaring the Sky, or simply click the green play button below to start listening. — Ed.
On this episode of the podcast Chuck heads to the Philippines to talk with Rolf Dunder. He originally learned to fly in Hamm-Lippewiesen, Germany but is currently the only glider pilot soaring in the Philippines. Rolf started soaring in 1979 and soloed in 1980 at the age of 15. He received his PPL in gliders in 1982 and his CFIG in 1989. In 2000 he picked up his Ultralight rating and in 2001 his Paraglider as well as his Single Engine in 2002.
In 2008 he moved to the Philippines where he started glider operations in Nampicuan and now Tuy. Rolf has flown many gliders including the ASK-13, Ka-8, Ka-6, K-7, Twin III, ASK-21, DG-505, ASW-15b, ASW-19b, LS-4, Standard Libelle, IS-28, Schweitzer 2–33, Puchatek, Duo Discus, SZD-55, and the Nimbus 4DM (whew!)
Rolf has also experienced soaring all over the world and will share some of these exciting adventures with us. He has flown in Japan, France, Australia, Italy, Spain, the United States and even had the pleasure to be a guest on a 985 km triangle flight in a Nimbus 4DM in Kuruman, South Africa. Ralf has logged over 900 hours in gliders over 2,500 flights. He also has over 100 hours in single-engine aircraft with 300 hours in ultralights and 100 hours paragliding.
©2021, 2023 Chuck Fulton
Resources
- No Engine Airplane! Glider Experience | Filipina Pilot Chezka on YouTube featuring Rolf Dunder. — “Not in my original bucket list but I added it right away and checked it! Thank you Lord for letting me experience this! You see … life is short, so whenever an opportunity comes knocking at your door…”
- Soaring the Sky — “an aviation podcast all about the adventures of flying sailplanes. Join host Chuck Fulton as he talks with other aviators around the globe”. You can also find Chuck’s podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
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