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preparation can help avoid becoming lost. Spend some time studying the sectional chart for airports or other notable landmarks along the route. 

If you are still lost after some initial searching, try to remain calm. The first priority is to make sure there is a suitable landing area within gliding distance. Then, if possible, try to find lift, even if it is weak, and climb. This buys time and gives a wider view of the area. Next, try to estimate the last known position, the course flown, and any possible differences in wind at altitude. For instance, maybe the headwind is stronger than anticipated and not as far along the course as expected. Try to pinpoint the present position from an estimate of the distance traveled for a given period of time and confirm it with visible landmarks by reference to the sectional chart. For instance, if at point X, averaging about 50 knots, heading north for about 30 minutes should put the glider at point Y. Look again at the sectional chart for landmarks that should be nearby point Y, then search the ground for these landmarks. Thermaling while searching has the added advantage of allowing a wider area of scan while circling. 

Once a landmark is located on the sectional and on the ground, confirm the location by finding a few other nearby landmarks. For instance, if that is a town below, then the highway should curve like the one shown on the chart. Does it? If you are lost and near a suitable landing area, stay in the area until certain of location. Airports and airport runways provide valuable clues, like runway orientation and markings or the location of town or a city relative to the airport. 

If all efforts fail, attempt a radio call to other soaring pilots in the area. A description of what is below and nearby may bring help from a fellow pilot more familiar with the area. 

## Cross-Country Flight in a Self-Launching Glider 

A self-launching glider can give the pilot much more freedom in exchange for a more complex and expensive aircraft. First, a self-launching glider allows the pilot to fly from airports without a towplane or tow pilot. Second, the engine can be used to avoid off-field landings and extend the flight. In theory, when low in a self-launching glider, simply start the engine and climb to the next source of lift. This second advantage has pitfalls and dangers of its own and has led to many accidents due to engine failure and/or improper starting procedures. Engines on self-launching gliders generally are less reliable than those on airplanes and are susceptible to special problems. For instance, in the western United States, summer thermals often extend to altitudes where the air is cold. The self-launching engine can become cold soaked after several hours of flight, and may take more time to start or may fail to start. 

Overreliance on the engine may result in a false sense of security. This can lead pilots to glide over unlandable terrain, something they might not normally do. If the engine then fails when needed most, the pilot has no safe place to land. Some accidents have occurred in which the engine starting system was actually fully functional, but in the rush to start the engine to avoid landing, the pilot did not perform a critical task, such as switching the ignition on. Other accidents have occurred in which the engine did not start immediately, and while trying to solve the starting problem, the pilot flew too far from a suitable landing area. For a self-launching glider with an engine that stows in the fuselage behind the cockpit, the added drag of an extended engine can reduce the glide ratio by 50 to 75 percent. [Figure 11-17] 

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