Thinking about gliding
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: The frozen north....
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I recently moved into the counrtyside about 1 mile from a very well know gliding club and was keen to give it a try. (Did some in my younger days in the Air Cadets and also instructed on the G109B years ago so not totally new to it.)
I dropped them a mail to get some more details and as above was basically told to come along first thing in the morning, expect to be there all day and *IF* I was very lucky I might get the chance of a flight.
Given that I dont have a great deal of spare time as it is to fly my own powerd aircraft, to give up a whole day for only the *potential* of a flight isint something I'm willing to do which is a great shame.
I had hoped it would be a case of pitching up, paying my money, and doing as much gliding as possible to progress quickly in the sport but obviously thats not the case.
I do understand there is a lot of effort required on the ground but I find it odd that they dont use keen teenagers etc who are willing to push and pull all day long in return for the odd free flight ? I know I would have loved that oppertunity in my younger days.
Perhaps I'll give it a try once i'm retired and have some more spare time !
I dropped them a mail to get some more details and as above was basically told to come along first thing in the morning, expect to be there all day and *IF* I was very lucky I might get the chance of a flight.
Given that I dont have a great deal of spare time as it is to fly my own powerd aircraft, to give up a whole day for only the *potential* of a flight isint something I'm willing to do which is a great shame.
I had hoped it would be a case of pitching up, paying my money, and doing as much gliding as possible to progress quickly in the sport but obviously thats not the case.
I do understand there is a lot of effort required on the ground but I find it odd that they dont use keen teenagers etc who are willing to push and pull all day long in return for the odd free flight ? I know I would have loved that oppertunity in my younger days.
Perhaps I'll give it a try once i'm retired and have some more spare time !
Join Date: Mar 1999
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Gliding clubs come in all shapes and flavours. They can however be broken into 2 main types, winch and aerotow. Sub groups would be ridge/hill site or flat. Further division would be privately owned (think FBO type operation, ala USA) or commitee run. Pick your club very carefully to suit your needs.
Gliding can be very expensive on time. Self help clubs need lots of membership input to run the launch point, instruct, fly the tug, drive the winch, retrieve the gliders after landing, run the bar after flying etc etc. Commercial type operators tend to provide much of the labour, but charge for it in membership, launch and flying fees. Both types will have a high proportion of private owners. Commitee clubs will expect you to either get the kit out and help before you fly, after you fly and to put it away, or possibly both. Private operators are much more relaxed about you turning up, getting a launch, then going home (or the bar) after landing.
As with most things, pay your money and take your choice.
Good luck.
Gliding can be very expensive on time. Self help clubs need lots of membership input to run the launch point, instruct, fly the tug, drive the winch, retrieve the gliders after landing, run the bar after flying etc etc. Commercial type operators tend to provide much of the labour, but charge for it in membership, launch and flying fees. Both types will have a high proportion of private owners. Commitee clubs will expect you to either get the kit out and help before you fly, after you fly and to put it away, or possibly both. Private operators are much more relaxed about you turning up, getting a launch, then going home (or the bar) after landing.
As with most things, pay your money and take your choice.
Good luck.
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*IF* I was very lucky I might get the chance of a flight.
In my (limited) experience, the days coordinator/duty instructor will try and arrange three flights per person per day. The rest of the time you're supposed to help out on the ground.
If it's a good thermic day, you might only get one or two flights, but those will be 45-60 minutes flights. If it's not thermic at all, you might be able to get in as many as six flights a day, but all will be ~6 minutes.
Obviously in early March there's limited daylight and thus even more limited chance of getting good thermals. But there's also a greater chance of downright horrible weather making flying impossible.
So, no, they do not give you any guarantees about the number of flights but if circumstances permit you should be doing at least three short flights, or one or two longer flights.
As far as the rest of your mail is concerned, yes, gliding is much more a team effort than powered flying. You are expected to be present from the morning briefing onwards until the last aircraft has been cleaned and put in the hangar.
Join Date: Apr 1999
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This was during the summer of last year so weather not really an issue, I suspect they were merely making it clear not to turn up with expectations of getting lots of flying done.
I totally understand that to keep costs low etc everyone is expected to help out which I'm more than happy to do. I would however be pretty miffed on a cracking day to have not got flown after a full days attendance when I have my own aircraft sitting in the hangar that I dont get chance to fly enough as it is!
I totally understand that to keep costs low etc everyone is expected to help out which I'm more than happy to do. I would however be pretty miffed on a cracking day to have not got flown after a full days attendance when I have my own aircraft sitting in the hangar that I dont get chance to fly enough as it is!
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A number of the larger clubs are offering bookable time slots for training. These days people are either money rich and time poor or vice versa.
Gliding is so weather dependant that time in the air cannot be guaranteed. For example a clear, high pressure day this time of the year will offer little thermal lift so a winch launch will only last 6-8 minutes. However a nice spring day with cumulus clouds could offer 7 hours of soaring.
Regarding cost. a winch launch at our club is about £8.50 and will get you to about 1300ft. On top of that you pay 52p per minute soaring fee with a maximum of 2 1/2 hrs
A typical cross country flight in our duo discus during the summer might be 5hrs and cover more than 300km for a total cost of about £95.
Ridge soaring is another experience. 80knts at 200-300ft agl.
Wave flying in the mountains at 20,000ft+ far above the ceiling of most light aircraft.
Aerobatics, vintage gliders, becoming an instructor, competitions, driving the winch are other aspects.
The social side of it tends to be rather active. The membership tends to be very diverse. From peers of the realm, to professional pilots, IT workers, builders, farmers, unemployed, academics, students and schoolkids.
I fly from a club in north hampshire. If the chap who started this thread would like to visit and see what gliding can offer i would be delighted to act as your guide
Gliding is so weather dependant that time in the air cannot be guaranteed. For example a clear, high pressure day this time of the year will offer little thermal lift so a winch launch will only last 6-8 minutes. However a nice spring day with cumulus clouds could offer 7 hours of soaring.
Regarding cost. a winch launch at our club is about £8.50 and will get you to about 1300ft. On top of that you pay 52p per minute soaring fee with a maximum of 2 1/2 hrs
A typical cross country flight in our duo discus during the summer might be 5hrs and cover more than 300km for a total cost of about £95.
Ridge soaring is another experience. 80knts at 200-300ft agl.
Wave flying in the mountains at 20,000ft+ far above the ceiling of most light aircraft.
Aerobatics, vintage gliders, becoming an instructor, competitions, driving the winch are other aspects.
The social side of it tends to be rather active. The membership tends to be very diverse. From peers of the realm, to professional pilots, IT workers, builders, farmers, unemployed, academics, students and schoolkids.
I fly from a club in north hampshire. If the chap who started this thread would like to visit and see what gliding can offer i would be delighted to act as your guide
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Gliding is good fun, affordable and makes you a much better pilot. I did a bit when I was in the Cadets and still miss it today. If I was you I'd go for it.
Fancy taking it up myself again if I had the spare time...
Smithy
Fancy taking it up myself again if I had the spare time...
Smithy
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Driving a tractor, cutting grass, serving in the bar, picking gliders out of fields, becoming paranoid about weather, etc. etc....
Members dont drive the tractor or cut the grass. The bar is an independant franchise. Most modern cross country gliders have a turbo, get you home motor. Shame as field retrieves are good fun with a free beer at the end.
Show me any pilot who is not paranoid about the weather.
Taking part is a large portion of the fun. In the last year I have driven to Germany to collect a trailer, painted a control room, helped the scoring in a national competition and driven the winch for the cadets. All of which I volunteered to do.
Why do people have to be so negative on this forum or is it just CATS5?
Members dont drive the tractor or cut the grass. The bar is an independant franchise. Most modern cross country gliders have a turbo, get you home motor. Shame as field retrieves are good fun with a free beer at the end.
Show me any pilot who is not paranoid about the weather.
Taking part is a large portion of the fun. In the last year I have driven to Germany to collect a trailer, painted a control room, helped the scoring in a national competition and driven the winch for the cadets. All of which I volunteered to do.
Why do people have to be so negative on this forum or is it just CATS5?
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Actually I enjoy all those things!
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Crikey Cumulus, I'd like to know which club that is. There's one turbo at my club and everything, bar, cutting grass, the whole lot is done by the members and I can't think of another club (granted I obviously haven't been to them all) where it's not the same.
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Your stick and rudder skills will improve enormously . Lookout will be life dependent as you might join lots of other gliders in a thermal. Your judgement skills will be sharper in the circuit and landing. As you are flying closer to the stall you will have a healthy respect for the rudder and adverse yaw plus totally confident in recovering from spins. Compared with power flying I think you will be a much better seat of the pants handling aviator.
For those stuck on the winch or retrieve tractor remember this " even caterpillars become butterflies "
For those stuck on the winch or retrieve tractor remember this " even caterpillars become butterflies "
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New for 2011 -
2 scholarships for a residential week at Lasham in early August 2011.
Interviews will be held in London on Tuesday 3 May 2011.
More information here: Guild Young Members Group
Good Luck.
Tudor Owen
GLIDING SCHOLARSHIPS
New for 2011 -
2 scholarships for a residential week at Lasham in early August 2011.
Interviews will be held in London on Tuesday 3 May 2011.
More information here: Guild Young Members Group
Closing dates for applications: 23 March 2011
Good Luck.
Tudor Owen
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I suspect a well-known large club in Hampshire fits the bill.
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What's wrong with running a bar? *hic*
"Paranoid about the weather"... read that as "learning to understand, appreciate and respect weather better".
Go for it, you'll enjoy it.
Smithy
"Paranoid about the weather"... read that as "learning to understand, appreciate and respect weather better".
Go for it, you'll enjoy it.
Smithy
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Synopsis: Just a quick heads up for those of you not in soaring mode yet!
While the next couple of days are likely to be blue and soarable to 2500 feet, Wednesday is currently looking like the first reasonable day of the season. It is not without complications, but basically there is a reasonable north-westerly flow, 20-25 knots at flying heights. The airmass is a little moist, but should be dry enough for about 4-5 oktas. There is a risk of spread out, but not too bad at the moment. Cloudbases should be at least 3000 feet, quite probably over 3500 feet. Possibly a fair bit of cirrus, but the airmass should be unstable enough for it to be well soarable underneath any top cover anyway. I think there is a reasonable chance of wave from Wales if you go north-west from Lasham.
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Temperatures: Max/Min -> 10C/2C, Dewpoint -> 2C
Wind strength/direction: 16 knots/300 degrees
Cloud base/thermal top: 3400 feet
Thermal strength: 3 knots
Thermal start/finish: 1100/1700
Visibility: >21000 metres
Many thanks to Pete Masson.
The above forcast is produced on a regular basis throughout the soaring season by a team of experts within the club.
If you call being paranoid about the weather being interested enough to try and understand it sufficiently to make the best use of it within the limited summer. Guilty as charged
I am pleased that CAT5 enjoys being so negative as he stated in his last offering.
While the next couple of days are likely to be blue and soarable to 2500 feet, Wednesday is currently looking like the first reasonable day of the season. It is not without complications, but basically there is a reasonable north-westerly flow, 20-25 knots at flying heights. The airmass is a little moist, but should be dry enough for about 4-5 oktas. There is a risk of spread out, but not too bad at the moment. Cloudbases should be at least 3000 feet, quite probably over 3500 feet. Possibly a fair bit of cirrus, but the airmass should be unstable enough for it to be well soarable underneath any top cover anyway. I think there is a reasonable chance of wave from Wales if you go north-west from Lasham.
---------------------------------------
Temperatures: Max/Min -> 10C/2C, Dewpoint -> 2C
Wind strength/direction: 16 knots/300 degrees
Cloud base/thermal top: 3400 feet
Thermal strength: 3 knots
Thermal start/finish: 1100/1700
Visibility: >21000 metres
Many thanks to Pete Masson.
The above forcast is produced on a regular basis throughout the soaring season by a team of experts within the club.
If you call being paranoid about the weather being interested enough to try and understand it sufficiently to make the best use of it within the limited summer. Guilty as charged
I am pleased that CAT5 enjoys being so negative as he stated in his last offering.
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I'm not negative - that's just your reading of it. BTW offering that forecast pretty much nails your club. And last time I flew there I was so optimistic (so was the CFI) about the weather I ended up in a field near Didcot. It was a good day, there were 10 other gliders in fields as well, and no-one broke anything or hurt themselves. I didn't even have to pay to get out of the field!
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Elsewhere, sadly, on this forum, the decline and morbid state of a flying club near Glasgow. Followed by comments on the structure of a flying club that enables it to survive an economic downturn; namely, if your club hasn't got a social side so people enjoy coming to it and just yakking with their mates, well perhaps it deserves to decline.
What we are yakking about of course is flying, so we do have to practice it at every opportunity to have the adventures worth telling...Last Sunday an instructor invited me to come along for a test flight, he let me do the airtow to 2,000'. After that, the acceleration to near VNE, the spin to the left followed by an incorrect recovery demo, which results in a spin to the right, but what really cleared out my sinus passages was the 3.5 g steep turn.....arrg! And then he let me play with it again, here it was first week in March, and 3 knot thermals in streets! We didn't have to come down, but other people were waiting to use the K13, so this time I spun it down, more gently.
After a flight like that, you don't really mind helping out on the ground for a while.
What we are yakking about of course is flying, so we do have to practice it at every opportunity to have the adventures worth telling...Last Sunday an instructor invited me to come along for a test flight, he let me do the airtow to 2,000'. After that, the acceleration to near VNE, the spin to the left followed by an incorrect recovery demo, which results in a spin to the right, but what really cleared out my sinus passages was the 3.5 g steep turn.....arrg! And then he let me play with it again, here it was first week in March, and 3 knot thermals in streets! We didn't have to come down, but other people were waiting to use the K13, so this time I spun it down, more gently.
After a flight like that, you don't really mind helping out on the ground for a while.