Last Updated on: 14-08-08   

Soaring. It's The Only Way To Fly!

Gliding Simply Explained

Gliding is the most challenging, satisfying and sometimes frustrating of sports, depending as it does upon the vagaries of weather. It is a unique blend of the aesthetic and the physical, art and science, outdoor exercise with mental application.   It is exciting and it is time consuming for, should you come to love it, other leisure pursuits will inevitably take second place.

The First Time

Your first flight will be with an experienced instructor whose initial concern will be for you to enjoy the trial lesson and introduce you to the effects of the controls.
 You will be in a two-seat trainer with either tandem seating with your pilot behind you or, less commonly, with side by side seating. Modern gliders have large acrylic cockpit canopies but there are still some of an older, slower generation with open cockpits. They are exhilarating - but not so tempting in the depths of winter. You will be launched either by being towed to altitude behind a powered tug plane or by a ground winch or tow car.

In a winch or car launch the glider climbs very steeply to height. You're leaning right back in the seat with your feet at least level with your head. Expect this and do not be alarmed. Depending on the length of run and the strength of the prevailing wind, a winch or car launch will normally give you a height of 1000 - 1500ft at which point the instructor will release the cable, the glider will assume it's normal flying attitude and begin flying at a speed  of around 42 - 50 knots. After the rocketing ascent of the launch, which lasts only a few seconds, regain your breath and composure, look around, and enjoy the view and almost silent flight. The only sounds will be the airflow around the cockpit and perhaps some bleeping from an instrument called a variometer, together with reassuring comments from the instructor some three feet behind you back.

An aerotow launch is a more sedate affair. Your aircraft is usually airborne before the tug, the instructor flying it just above the ground until the tug lifts off after which the the glider keeps station behind the tug until the release altitude - normally 2000ft - is reached. You have perhaps twice the height that a winch launch has given you, but it has taken minutes rather than seconds to get there.

After demonstrating their effects, your instructor may invite you to "follow through" on his or her movements of the controls. After a few minutes you may be flying the aircraft yourself, with the instructor ready to to override your inputs and correct your mistakes with the dual controls.
Even on a first air-experience flight your instructor will take advantage of any lift that you may encounter to show you how a glider soars. If it is thermal lift - bubbles of relatively warm air rising through cooler surrounding air - you will circle to remain within it and perhaps gain some height. In thermals the air can be somewhat rough; if you feel turbulence do not be alarmed, it's normal. If turbulence is such that a first-timer might not enjoy the flight the instructor is unlikely to take you up. But should you be seriously alarmed or apprehensive, or feel sick, do not hesitate to let your pilot know.

If you have enjoyed the experience don't be reluctant to ask your instructor or any other experienced club member all you want to know about gliding. We soaring pilots are so enthusiastic about our sport that we are anxious to recruit you, also, to our ranks.

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