Yes I can still clearly see my instructor getting out of the Vigilant motor glider. It was 2003 up at RAF Syston with the VGS unit as a young cadet like many on here...best place to start! I remember my stomach dropping as the instructor flung the canopy open...hopped out down the wing, closed the canopy and gave it a whack and thumb up before walking off into the distance......
I can’t remember getting the thing airborne but I certainly remember it being light and reaching circuit height way before downwind, an unexpected curve ball for a young cadet! But the peace of and quite of solo flight will never be forgotten....all I remember on the landing was the cones whizzing past and a thud....so I did something right. 7000 hours later and still the best job I could wish for
