How can a sailplane towing rating be gained in the uk?

[Red123]

Hello

I have been looking at how to apply for a sailplane towing rating and the pre-requisites needed on the CAA website. The requirements listed on their webpage only seem to apply to those who are converting from an old uk issued ppl licence to a part FCL licence? and I can't find where it mentions what is needed for someone who has only an EASA ppl(a), with no previous towing experience, to qualify for a towing rating.

This is the section of the CAA website I was viewing Convert a Sailplane Towing Rating held on a BGA Gliding Certificate | Private Pilots | Personal Licences and Training (http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=2685&pagetype=65&appid=54&mode=detail&appproc=38). I have sent them an email, but the 18 day estimated reply time will be too long.

Any advice and information on how an EASA ppl holder gains a sailplane towing rating would be gratefully received and very helpful. Thank you for your time.

[blind pew]

http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/Conversion/Conversion.pdf

There is some info on the BGA website incase you haven't seen it.
Good luck...good fun.

[m0r00]

Are there any ATO certified places to go for towing rating in UK? I'm looking one from Finland - where I currently live - and can't find any.

[Wageslave]

I very much doubt any gliding club will use a tug pilot who
a)they don't know
b)isn't a member of their club
c) isn't a sound and experienced glider pilot.

The last being the most important, I'd think. You'd be pretty useless to the guy behind if you weren't.

Is tugging even something that is "certified" and involves a "rating"? Sounds unlikely to me.

[upandoffmyside]

Wageslave is right .. .

In the vast majority of cases tug pilots in UK gliding clubs are very experienced and current glider pilots, and for very good reason. Only in the very small clubs might this not be the case.

You have to know the gliding environment well in terms of where the air is going up and down, drift, and the general operation. If you don't have the solo soaring and handling experience you can't appreciate what the bloke/bird on the end of your rope is looking for and dealing with.

It might look like towing is merely ploughing through the sky, but there's more to it than meets the eye. And what you do has to be tailored to the type of customer and the conditions on the day - from trial flight wooden ship to competition launch of heavily ballasted open class glider.

In the decent gliding clubs in the UK towing pilots are glider pilots with PPLs in the main, not PPLs who have done a bit of gliding. There are lots of risks and 'needs' attached to towing and they have to be understood by someone who knows and understands the sport.

If you're interested in towing in the UK you'll need an interest in gliding and soaring, and a willingness to become part of a club and 'do your bit'. Whatever the EASA bloke in Cologne has dreamt up with defining a towing rating, that isn't going to change how clubs manage that aspect of their operation.