The Pilot
The PilotKeeping the Dream Alive Who files sailplanes? Well, just about everyone who decides to do something positive about this persistent dream of being up there with the birds. If you take a cross-section of the average gliding club you will find people of all ages from schoolboys to octogenarians and almost any profession you can name, including a number of airline pilots who view their job as just a glorified bus driver and want to do some real flying in their spare time.
Ranging from those in the early stages of learning to the expert cross-country pilot, who is usually also an instructor, pilots all have different reasons for flying. At the top end some are highly competitive and race their sailplanes as often as they can, covering the greatest distance in the shortest possible time. Others prefer a more leisurely approach and just enjoy the challenge of reading the sky, looking for lift and trying to complete a task they have set themselves, possibly a 300km triangle with three turning points which involves some forward planning and map reading. Plus a couple of people willing to retrieve them if they fail to complete the task and land in a field somewhere. It happens! Maybe all you need on a beautiful summer's day is a couple of hours just local soaring and at the end some aerobatics, a loop or two and some chandelles, for the sheer joy of it, before you decide to land. And at the other end of the scale, the beginner, who is quite happy to fly endless (it seems to him) circuits with an instructor if it is going to achieve his goal. Above all, sailplane pilots enjoy the quiet and the solitude, the unique and privileged view of the countryside they are passing over and the fact that they are actually in control of a flying machine. How much nearer can you get?
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to join a gliding club, as the specialised training needed can only be obtained here. There are many clubs to choose from and every one is different. Thermal sites are situated in flat countryside and are ideal for cross-country flying in the spring, summer and autumn, hill sites come in two types, those with the airfield in the valley and a ridge of hills on one side (or sometimes both) and those with the airfield situated on top of the ridge. Both types can be soared all year round when the weather is suitable and the wind blows up the face of the ridge, with the added advantage that it can also trigger off thermals in the right conditions. Look at the list of clubs and visit your nearest, if there are several within a comfortable distance, visit them all before deciding. Gliding clubs are very friendly places and you will be assured of a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Here I would like to recommend my own club, having been a member for the last 15 years. The Devon and Somerset Gliding Club is considered the premier gliding club in the west of England and certainly has, in my opinion, the best website of all. Please take a look at www.dsgc.co.uk
For a complete list of clubs in the UK, visit www.gliding.co.uk  |
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