RV-10
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 26; Flight Crew Total 4400; Flight Crew Type 125
Communication Breakdown
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
I had a near miss with two gliders while flying VFR with 'Flight Following' from ZZZ to ZZZ. I have flown this exact route 2-3 times each month the past 8 months so very familiar with route. The following is my recollection with documentation from ForeFlight. I think I know exactly when and where the near miss occurred as my ForeFlight tract log shows a total pitch increase of 5 degrees and a loss of 10 kts. At the time; I was flying about 10 miles NE of LAL on autopilot at 3;500 ft. MSL as directed by ATC and direct to LAL. Visibility was 25+; scattered at 4;500 ft. with light turbulence. I use an iPad Pro with ForeFlight and a Stratus II for ADS-B In; and I am 2020 compliant with Garmin ADS-B Out. [Passenger] screamed plane and pointed as it came into her vision from the copilot seat between the fuselage and right wing (I fly a low wing airplane). I immediately looked right and a large glider was partially in view and slightly below us. I took evasive action by climbing while simultaneously seeing a second glider. We were on a heading of approximately 210 and they were probably on a heading of 170. They overtook us from above and behind so we had no chance of seeing them till we did. I was NOT given a traffic advisory or a collision avoidance advisory. They both were basically identical; white with a blue stripe; and were in very close formation. The second glider was on the left side and slightly behind the first glider and passed mostly under us. I estimate they were about 200 feet below us. I had them in sight for probably 2-3 seconds.I returned to 3;500 ft. and after a couple minutes I advised the Controller. He responded with something like 'watch out there are two gliders out there.' In my call to him I did not mention gliders; I actually was not sure what there were until he mentioned gliders; it happened so fast. Shortly after that; he switch me to another Orlando Controller on 133.5 and I told her about the near miss and requested a near miss report. I did tell her that they could not have had transponders (with mode C) as I did not see them on my iPad. Thus; no warning at all till [Passenger] screamed plane. I have a number of recommendations to prevent this from ever happening again based upon my extensive experience in flying and instructing in high performance aircraft. I also can provide my ForeFlight track log link and/or screen shots. I can also provide a lot more details about my flight and experience during the flight with ATC. Please let me know if you would like to discuss my suggestions.
Pilot flying RV-10 aircraft had a NMAC with two gliders.