Wahoo... I just got a gliding scholarship!

[FL390]

Wahey! I just heard yesterday that I had been awarded a gliding scholarhip with the RAF Air Cadets in summer!:cool: :) :cool:

One weeks worth of gliding in Vigilants at Abingdon and hopefully it will end in me going solo!:D

Just thought I would let you know.;) ;) :cool: :cool:

[BEagle]

Congratulations - enjoy!!

If you go on to reach BGA Glider Pilots Licence or ATC Instructor's Qualification standard in the future, you will probably find that by then you will be entitled to generous accreditation towards a National PPL.

[The Boy Lard]

Congratulations FL390

I remember back in the mists of time I did my gliding scholarship with 632 VGS at RAF Ternhill, (Venture Motor Gliders) if you have half the fun I did you will have a blast!

Who knows, this may be the start of something BIG!

Good luck and enjoy

TBL

[Megaton]

Congratulations. Gliding is excellent fun and it will teach what the rudder really does!

[Dusty_B]

You'll have yourself a ball, I'm sure. The G109 is lovely to fly.

Just watch out for that Plt Off Coates... tell him I send him my love :D We went to the same school, same ATC Sqn, same university...

[Dimensional]

Well done you, they're like rocking horse ***** at the mo. I did mine at 612VGS as well (even though I live in Essex!) when they were at Benson due Foot and Mouth (now certain people will know who I am!). I'm actually in the "60 Years of VGS's" book that's around somewhere, in the 612VGS section, in the pic in front of the Benson Spitfire.

Good fun, the course is hard work but worth it.

As for Plt Off Coates, watch out for his monkey impressions!

(hi sir!)

-D

[Spacer]

Hey. I did a gliding scholarship with 615VGS in Kenley on the Viking. I had such a top time there and will remember it for years. Enjoy it and hope you get solo.

[Stud3]

hey, me 2! i've hopefully got mine in the summer, its well cool gliding, i've done about 2 GIC's and loads of fams and i'm hopefully joinin as staff cadet at 645 VGS catterick.

[ace cafe bloke]

Well done !!

Most of the best pilots start off like this
Try to soak up all the air brains you can.

the British gliding assco` issue certificates and badges

if you get to the full silver level 5hr soaring flight ,height gain of 1000 meters and x country of 50 km the caa give you ...wait for it
10% of your total solo hours (you used to be able to just do 14 instruction to get a ppl perhaps this was what beagle was remebering)

You will learn to have better understanding of the air in which you fly than most power pilots, if you get to this level you might
only want to go power flying when its raining!!

[SP30]

There's nowt wrong with my monkey impressions.

A few tips before you arrive too:

1. When deciding which part of the runway to take off and land on try to use the length in preference to the width.

2. As hard as a good take off may seem to be at first remember that no one ever crashed into the sky.

3. The volume of the phrase "Round Out" increases at an inversely proportional rate to height left before impact.

4. Hours taken to complete the course is directly proportional to the number of units of alcohol consumed. (Yes we do know which pubs the students go to).

5. "SPEED" when hearing this cry, check what your airspeed actually is before making any adjustment.

6. Opening the airbrakes doesn't make the aircraft yaw to the left, its your left foot pressing on the rudder pedal for more leverage that does that.

7. Heavily related to 6. The undercarriage points forward. Landing sideways is therefore uncomfortable.

8. 612 sent more students solo last year than any other VGS. If you have the ability you will go solo, or else!

9. Above all else enjoy the course, and hopefully it'll be the start of a long career in aviation.

Best of luck.

C

[Dusty_B]

Welcome to PPRuNe SP30!
Thought that might draw you in :p

[Jason2000]

Well done !

You will love it....its a lot of fun, and the Vigilants are nice planes to fly aswell.

I did my Gliding Scholarship back in 1998, also at 612VGS, Abingdon. Is it still 8 hours long? I went solo on my 16th birthday which was quite cool. The instructors there were a good laugh aswell.

Have fun and best wishes

Jason

[crazypilot]

How do you become an ATC Gliding instructor (like on the Vigilants)? I've always wanted to do that. Are all the instructors in the RAF, or are they civi's. I know they are all volunteers but don't know anything else.

Cheers

CP

[Rusty Cessna]

Congrats! well done!

That's always been something I wish I went for.

Rusty.

[Circuit Basher]

I'm training as an ATC gliding instructor @ Kirknewton. It's a voluntary thing and you can either go in as civvy or apply for a uniform post on the school. It's a big commitment (I've been involved with ATC for 30 years and only in last year gone to a gliding school), which is on top of the 2 nights a week I already do at a Squadron.

Get in touch with your nearest ATC Gliding School (from your profile, can't tell where you are, otherwise I'd have suggested one and could have found contact detals for you!). Try a look at HQ Air Cadets (http://www.air-cadets.org/aircadets/menu.html) to find the nearest one to you.

HTH

[Windrusher]

Congratulations, FL390 and S3! Gliding's the best form of aviation there is!

[ACB:] I understood that the proposed NPPL, unlike the JAR PPL, would give glider pilots an allowance similar to that for the old PPL. For holders of the BGA Glider Pilot's Licence (for which you need Bronze + Cross-Country Endorsement), the NPPL (SEP) requirement was to be reduced to ten hours' instruction, tests and exams.

Maybe BEagle could give the latest details?

[Troy McClure]

Did mine at Weston Super Mare way back in '91.

Ham Phisted makes a good point about rudders (for those that don't know, you lead with rudder in a glider, and use a fair bit of it too). My first flight in a Cherokee, two mins into 'You have control', my instructor says, 'Glider pilot, right?' And that was ten years after my last glider flight.

While on the subject, a small tip - on the take off run as the cable starts to pull, chase it along the ground in front of you with rudder and the rest looks after itself. Once you get that, you're away.

TMC

[FL390]

I just hought I would report back as to how my week went...

AMAZING! SUPERB! BRILLIANT! OUTSTANDING! THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE (in and aircraft;) )

Just a few words that I can think of off the top of my head at this point in time.

We had a brilliant instructor - pupil - aircraft ratio; 9 pupils, 6 instructors and 4 Vigilants (most of the time). So from the outset it looked as though we would get a lot of flying time in. This was 612VGS at Abingdon, not too far away from me in London.:)

We had a little lecture about the primary and secondary effects of the controls etc and then we were taken out to the aircraft. I had the honour of having the famous Plt Off Coates. What a pilot.:D On only the second day I had completed my first take off and landing, though I was rather keen on sampling both edges of the runway on the same take off and landing.;) :D

We continued at a pace, rushing through the work, with only minor interruptions for rain and by Thursday, after a whopping 8 hours under my belt, I took to the skies on my own for the first time. Aaaahhhhh. :)

======

My thanks to Plt Off Coates for sticking with me and teaching me to fly the aircraft; I loved every minute of it and I've had that picture of you developed sir.;) :D

[nonradio]

Fantastic! I still remember as though yesterday, a particular landing (2nd solo launch) when I could hear the grass just tickling the bottom of the Cadet followed by the smoothest landing, where the transition from sky to gound was seamless.(warm fuzzy moment...)
T31, XA300, 615GS Kenley, 15 winch launches, second half 20th century.

[ShyTorque]

T31s eh?

Now you're talking! RAF Swanton Morley, Summer of 1971.

Plt Off Silver, Flt Lt Ron Page and all.

I think the spin demo off the top of a winch launch was the most memorable part. The solo seemed a piece of cake (after I was back on the ground....).

Halcyon days for a 15 year old air cadet.....

:)

[Circuit Basher]

My GS was also at Swanton Morley - I'm a mere youngster, having done mine in Oct 73 - can't remember any names for the life of me!! Great fun - remember almost not getting solos no 2 & 3 as I was singing too loudly on the first (and they didn't like what I was singing ;) ;) - I'm also no Tom Jones!!)

I'm still trying to get back and solo in a Viking at Kirknewton, but it seems like the RAF Medical boys have got me (on migraines) and I may well have to pay a civvy club to get me back to solo standard :( :mad:

[SP30]

:D Well done my boy :D

:( Now, about this photo?