I flew gliders from the age of 13, soloed at sixteen and flew at many gliding clubs around UK and at Kingsfield in Cyprus with the RAFGSA. It was whilst serving in Cyprus that I did a free-fall parachute course at Kingsfield. It had been a long time ambition to parachute but I hated it. I took off in a DH Beaver ten times but never landed in one. I finished the course because I didn’t want to bottle it.
My problems started when I resumed gliding at Kingsfield after the course. Almost every time I flew, especially in the open cockpit T21, I felt I might jump over the side and had my straps done up extra tight to ‘prevent’ it. I eventually felt so uncomfortable with this feeling that I stopped gliding all together.
As an aside, my wife and I stayed in a room near the top of the tallest hotel in Singapore. It had a balcony and when we went outside we both stood with our backs pressed firmly against the wall. I asked her why she was doing it (I knew why I was doing it) and she told me she was scared that she might throw herself over the railing, which was exactly how I felt.
I have no problems with commercial flying and have flown aeros in a JP, laid flat in the nose of a Canberra, staring straight down and have sat in the open door of Whirlwinds and Wessex but recalling being in an open cockpit T21, I still get chills.
Last edited by wub; 12th Feb 2018 at 13:36.