Getting a gliding license in Spain for use in the UK

[luigi_m_]

I'm going to do a bit of travelling round Spain in Spetmeber, mostly around the Med' coast, and I fancy having a go at gliding and possible getting my glider license, as renting the PA28 is ridiculously expensive these days in the UK. Can anyone tell me of any good gliding schools in Southern Spain where I could do an intensve 7-day course to get my gliding license/qualification? I'd love to do it somewhere where it's possible to get up high, and where there is some great scenery, and if possible, somewhere I can give aerobatic gliding a go?

Also, if I got my gliding qualification in Spain, could I use it freely in the UK after a checkout?

[OpenCirrus619]

The UK is (I understand) a little different from the most other countries - you don't actually need a license to fly a glider. Having said that most clubs are not going to let you take their shiny toys cross country without a Silver 'C'.

Check out: http://www.gliding.co.uk/learningtoglide/thebadgesystem.htm
which will give you an idea of the stages under the UK system.

If you have a PPL you should be able to get solo, in a glider, in 2-3 days. To get the badges, however, will take a little longer.

Use the "find a club" link on the page above and pop into your local gliding club - they should be happy to give you more information and an introduction to the sport.

OC619

[ProfChrisReed]

There's a thread with this title running, so I thought the costs of gliding might be useful as a comparison.

Bear in mind that expensive bit is learning - I reckon it cost me around £75 an hour (just under 10 hours in 75 flights, mainly winching) to go solo. Since then, my hourly costs have been much lower, until I bought my own glider!

Two post-solo scenarios:

Flying club gliders only, your costs are club membership (usually under £300) + launch cost (£20-25 for aerotows, £6-7 for winch launches) + air time (around £12-15 hr). If you fly 50 hrs in a year, all in 2-hour flights and all aerotow, it will cost you around £1400, or less than £30 hr. You may need to arm wrestle other members for aircraft access.

If you buy your own glider (from £5k upwards for a cross-country capable machine) you are looking at insurance/maintenance of around £1k, club membership of £300 + a charge for keeping your aircraft there (maybe £100), and your launch costs. 25 aerotow launches in a year would cost you around £600, which (if you could pick only the good days) might give you over 100 hours for about £2000. If you only fly 50 hours fro those launches, you're still looking at less than £40 hr. These costs can be cut by sharing the aircraft with a syndicate partner (but pick one who only flies on days when you can't!). If work restricts you to flying 20 hrs, don't buy your own glider unless you refuse to work out the cost per hour.

[luigi_m_]

Thanks for the info guys, very helpful. I'm moving to Southampton in September for University, so I would probably be looking at finding a club at Lee on Solent near Portsmouth for Gliding, but I also want to join the University Air Squadron which should also get me a few hours of gliding time and hoefully some piston time.

In regards to the UK laws on gliding, if I wanted to take a passenger with me, what "grade" would I need to reach before doing this, eg, Bronze, Silver, etc.?

Also, if I wanted to start reading up on gliding now, what's the gliding equivalent of the Trevor Thom books?

Finally, in terms of gliding in southern England, what are the maximum heights and distance from the base airfield that you are allowed to travel from, dependent on where you took off from? Do gliders contact ATC stations along cross countries?

[grob103]

I fly out of Lasham, so distances/altitudes relative to my experience there.

Airspace ceilings are about 5500' around Lasham - this is rarely a problem, as cloudbase isn't often that high, and the airspace lifts up as you move west away from London.

In terms of contacting ATC, you may radio to go through Class D airspace, but you need an R/T license for that. There's generally quite enough unrestricted airspace around for most purposes.

In terms of distances, flights of 300km+ are not unusual (ie Bristol/Northampton types of distances). Staying within gliding distance of Lasham allows you from appoximately Petersfield in the south to almost Reading and Newbury in the north, and Andover in the west. That's with a 4000ft cloudbase (10km per 1000ft isn't a bad approximation, +1000ft for the wife and kids).

Hope that helps.

[Humaround]

luigi_m asked

"In regards to the UK laws on gliding, if I wanted to take a passenger with me, what "grade" would I need to reach before doing this, eg, Bronze, Silver, etc.?"

Gliding in the UK is (wonderfully) free of legal regulation. There is no Gliding Licence (see above) and neither are there laws about when you can carry passengers.

Instead, gliding is regulated through BGA-approved clubs. So it will be up to your Club's CFI to approve you to take passengers (known as a P1 rating).

Most clubs set the standard quite high - usually Silver C, and then a thorough checkout by said CFI.

[Sensible]

Hmmmmm, don't know for sure but it is my understanding that somebody must achieve a Basic Instructor rating before carrying passengers - or maybe that is just the ruling at my club.

[chrisN]

"Sensible", BI rating is only required by BGA for carrying student pilots and giving instruction. True passengers (e.g. your friends and family, but not people with gift vouchers or trying gliding before joining) can be carried with a passenger rating. Either a UK gliding club can grant it - usually Bronze or Silver badge plus a minimum number of hours and a flight test - or the BGA glider pilot's licence confers the privilege. The latter has no particular legal standing, and your club may or may not allow holders to use club 2-seaters for carrying true passengers (mine at present does not).

Chris N.