If you are thinking of taking up gliding read
on! If you want training your will need to find a gliding club near
you. If you would like to know more about gliding
Taxiing down the tarmac, the jetliner abruptly stopped,
turned around and returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight
attendant, "What was the problem?" "The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained
the Flight Attendant, "and it took us a while to find a new pilot."
Breaking news .....Bored glider pilots all over the country
are pretending to work at their desks. Bosses are getting concerned as Flight club whittles
away the hours for many glider pilots.
The sport
of gliding is said to have taken off (pardon the punn) on a hillside close to the old border with East Germany. In 1909 Engineer
Oscar Ursinus of Frankfurt formed a team to promote the application of motorless flight.
"These slow glides in rising currents probably
hold out greater hope of extensive practice than any other method within man's reach... ...when gliding operators have attained
greater skill, they can, with comparative safety, maintain themselves in the air for hours at a time in this way, and thus
by constant practice so increase their knowledge and skill that they can rise into the higher air and search out the currents
which enable the soaring birds to transport themselves to any desired point by first rising in a circle and then sailing off
at a descending angle." Wilbur Wright, Sept 18, 1901.
Gliding
is many different things to many different people. For some, it is a hobby, and a way to meet new people. For others, it is
an inexpensive way to get airborne. For many, it is even the cutting edge sport of either racing or aerobatics. For all, though,
it is a silent and graceful way of flying without an engine.
Gliding
is a sport that all can enjoy.Because training is carried out by highly qualified volunteers, learning to fly is inexpensive.
Once you are a member, a day at the Airfield flying and helping others to fly is going to cost you between £20-30!.
"For once you have tasted flight you
will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."
Leonardo da Vinci
If you fancy becoming a pilot you will need between 40 to 80 takeoffs and landings
before you are allowed to fly without an instructor. This will cost you between £450 and £750 (on average) depending
on how quickly you pick it up. Read My first
flight experiences.
Even better you could join one of our week
long training weeks for as little as £350.
Flying experience
gift vouchers are available for sale on-line Please visit a local gliding
club for more infomation. It can be a life changing experience gliding for the first time! With prices starting at £50
for up to 3 flights.
The best thing of
all is that after your flying experience you are then a member of the club for three months. This means that half an hour
flight in a glider would cost you £16.50. However as a member you are expected to help others fly as well
Flying
a glider is probably the closest thing any human will come to feeling like a bird. Powered only by gravity and air currents,
these gliders move silently through the sky, often for hours at a time. Because they have no engines, gliders, or sailplanes,
can be thought of as pure flying vehicles, staying aloft by balancing the forces of gravity, lift, drag and thrust. Read
more about how gliders fly.
