Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth...... (Gliding in General)

Member Name: rune_tune

Product:	Gliding in General
Date:	18/04/08 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A chance to see the countryside from a completely different view point

Disadvantages: While still the cheapest form of flying, it is still expensive for some.

~ .....Touched the face of God..... ~

These are the last few words of a Poem, often recited by Pilots all over the world, and even today when I see or hear the poem in full written by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., I'm reminded of the 5 years I was involved in Gliding.
I admit, my overall experience is slightly different to most, since I actually worked for a Gliding Club during this time as a paid Winch Driver *more about a winch later. However, the upside was I could take flights at reduced rates, so I did take up the opportunity when it arose.
This is my review where I hope I can explain some of the basic fundamentals of gliding and how you can find out more information. Because of this, I am writing a fairly lengthy review, but it's simply not something that can be crammed into a thousand words but I am trying to keep it as low as possible.

~ So what is a Glider? ~

To put it simply, a Glider is an aeroplane without an engine, although there are some slight differences to this - which I will cover later on. Gliders are also known as Sailplanes (particularly in the United States), and the main publication for Glider Pilots is a magazine called Gliders and Sailplanes.
Gliders work on the basis of gliding back gently to earth, unless they can find pockets of air which will help maintain their initial take off height, or possibly even increase it.

~ So no engine, how the hell do you get them off the ground? ~

Gliders are launched from ground level in a number of different ways. These are:

Aerotow - Where you get towed up behind a powered aircraft to a specific height before releasing. Think of being towed behind another car, only substitute cars for a powered plane and a glider.

Winch Launching - a mechanical winch pulls you up to a height often of around 1,000 to 1,200 feet. To help visualise this think of how you run along to pull a kite to get it off the ground. Instead of running though, the winch is stationary and just winds a steel cable up onto a drum using an engine. In my case we had a winch using a 7.5 litre Chevrolet engine, powered off LPG (Liquid Propane Gas) rather than petrol. The winch is positioned around 0.5 to 1 km away from the launching area to allow space for this to happen. However the winching area can be moved around the airfield to allow for the different conditions (like wind direction) and isn't static.

Car Launch - This isn't as common a method of launching, but the premise is the same as a Winch launch, but instead of a stationary winch, you have a car pulling the cable. This can only work though if you have a long straight runway area to drive the car along, so can't be offered in all airfields.

Finally, a little known method, but one still used today at The Midland Gliding Club if conditions allow, and that is a bungee launch.
This can only be attempted on hill sites with suitable launch area and wind conditions. In the case of the Midland Gliding Club, this is a westerly wind of at least 20 knots, launching off the west face of the Long Mynd where the club is situated and The Midland Gliding Club are the only one now in Britain who still do this method of launching on a regular basis if the conditions allow. Other sites will occasionally do Bungee launching, but usually only as part of a special event.

This is literally a Bungee that is Y shaped. The two sides of the Y are manned by people who run down a slope pulling as tightly as possible, one lot going slightly left, the other slightly right. The single line of the bungee runs to the Glider as it sits on the edge of the hill. Once taut the Glider is allowed to roll down the slope, before it eventually 'catapults' off the side of the hill and it then releases the Bungee, which is then pulled back up the hill to the next glider waiting to go. This is by far the most docile of launching techniques available. Its also environmentally friendly since the power comes from the bungee, and people who are pulling it down the hill!

~ So how can I fly in one of these things? ~

The most common introduction people have to gliding is getting what is called a Trial lesson. This is taken in a two seater aircraft with a fully trained pilot. A trial lesson is often around 20 minutes of flying time (if the conditions allow), or a set number of 'circuit' flights. Circuit flights are what occur if there is little or no 'lift' in the air which allow the Gliders to stay airborne, and are basically a circuit around the airfield. A little more about the different types of lift later.

A trial lesson can vary in costs, depending on the gliding club you use, but a rough estimate is £90+ for around 20 minutes. Some clubs also then give you a limited time of Club membership as well, but again it can vary. For example I know The Midland Gliding Club trial lesson then gives you temporary 3 months club membership if you want to take it further - If you are a guest of a club member, often they will then give discounts on trial lessons, so get to know a glider pilot today ;-)

Trial lessons will often allow you to have some time on the controls and therefore flying the glider yourself for a very short time. You will be given a full run down of the equipment you need to know about (you have to strap into a parachute for example), plus any information about the Glider deemed necessary.

Other options can include evening group flights as well as day or even week courses. Different clubs can offer different options so it's well worth having a look around and seeing what you can find.

~ And your launching ~

Well depending on which method you are using, you're heading skyward often at quite an alarming rate! If this is a winch launch, then you're heading up on around a 45 degree angle at around 45 to 50 knots. The first few seconds are fine as you bump along the ground, but then the nose is being thrown up into the air and off you go. As a winch driver I did at least have one advantage knowing what was going on at both ends of the launch process.
Once you've done a winch launch, most rides at places like Alton Towers don't hold quite the same fear again............

~ Okay, I'm now up in the air - what the hell is keeping us up here? * Tries not to look too nervous....* ~

Now just relax and enjoy the ride. You can drift slowly back down to earth even if you've not managed to get any lift from the launch. Remember, these aeroplanes are designed to do exactly what is needed - and will simply glide back into land if they can't find further lift.

But, if you're lucky you've managed to pick a day where you are finding pockets of 'lift'. This is air that for different reasons is on the rise off the ground, and the glider can follow these areas of lift not only to stay up in the air, but also to gather more height and go further than just the airfield.
Lift can be found 3 main ways.

The most common during the summer is Thermal lift. This is produced because areas on the ground can heat up at different rates. The areas that heat up more than others means it can begin to send up a column of warm air. More often than not, these columns of air are wide enough to allow a Glider to turn into them and follow their corkscrew ascent. These columns are simply known as Thermals.
The more experienced pilots can often spot thermals when they begin to hit cooler air higher up, and because of the moisture levels form clouds. However, there are some days where the air is hot and dry, and so you get what is known as 'blue thermals' and these are much harder to find, and a pilot relies far more on his instrument panel to show him where there might be lift. Buzzards or other birds can often be used as guides to pockets of lift if they are spotted circling without flapping their wings to maintain or even increase their height.

The next lift is known as hill (or sometimes called Ridge) lift. This is where you get good hillsides, which gets wind blowing against them, thereby being forced up and over the top of the hill. This produces a certain amount of upward lift in the immediate hill ridge area. This form of lift though does restrict your ability to fly any further than the hillside you are gaining the lift from, and if you wish to move away from them, other forms of lift (thermal or wave) must be used.

Finally, the last method of lift is from Wave flying. Again, you are relying on certain weather conditions to achieve this, and how this begins to happen is where you have hills or mountains, and if the conditions are right, the wind will drive up over the hill, to then surge back down the other side with considerable force, and it then effectively bounces back up again. This sets off oscillations of air movement. Imagine grasping a rope, and just holding the end, yanking it up and down and see how it continues to move.
The wave will continue to bounce for some distance, and this can be exaggerated if in a mountain range, and the heights achieved by the air movement is often something that far exceeds the height of the mountain or hillside it began to form on.

This means Wave flying is often used to produce very high flights in a glider (depending on whether the pilot has oxygen or not). 10,000 to 12,000 feet are not uncommon in the UK. The UK record is a little under 40,000 feet!
A wave system can also be marked by particular cloud formations (lenticular clouds).

And so, you've either landed back at the airfield after a pretty uneventful circuit, or you've been lucky enough to find lift, and spend a little more time hanging about in the air seeing how its all done.

If you've got a pilot who is a little more adventurous, you might even be shown what its like doing a loop the loop, or other small aerobatic manoeuvres. But don't worry - the pilots should always check with you first to make sure you're comfortable with something like this.

~ So what next? ~

Well, you've just had your first taste at gliding. If you did find you wanted to do some more, you start at a level known as an Ab initio (From the beginning is the translation from Latin).
You can decide if you want to achieve solo status (if you have an aptitude for gliding, it can even be done after an intensive weeks course), or you can just happily sit in as a passenger from time to time and let someone else do most of the flying.

If you become a solo pilot, often this means that you will have to be cleared each time before being allowed to fly by an instructor on the day until more experience is gained. Being solo doesn't mean you've nothing more to gain, and the British Gliding Association *See later about the BGA * have a number of different levels of achievement you can aim for. The first steps are through a series of Badge levels. These are known as:
Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond.

Most pilots achieve levels of Bronze through to Silver, and then quite a few will go to Gold. Beyond that, Diamonds can be gained in 3 notable areas of flying, but don't be fooled - Only a few hundred people worldwide have ever managed to attain all 3 Diamonds.


~ But there are some with motors.....~

Okay, so I've talked about gliders without engines, but there are some that fall into a category of Motor Gliders. These are often used to avoid the inconvenience of landing out in a field somewhere and come in two types. The first is an optionally fitted small engine with a retractable propeller (Often situated just behind the main cockpit area). If started at a safe height (which you have to do for safety reasons should the engine fail to start), these are designed to give the glider continued lift over a greater distance.
The other version is a more static propeller, which allow you to self-launch, and can be turned off once you reach a good height, and turned on again if needed. These are particularly useful for training pilots on landing out in field procedures.

These though can cost considerably more than a standard glider, and also add to the weight, thereby reducing its performance levels and some Glider Pilots consider their use to be sacrilege but they are now an accepted part of gliding by many.

~ So go glide......~

Gliding, what do you get? Well its something that is akin to freedom in the air, as well as the chance to handle a plane relatively cheaply. Its a sport, an individual but also very much a team effort.
You soar silently (well you do get some wind noise) over the beautiful British countryside, giving you the chance to see it from a perspective others will rarely have a chance to see.

Your at one with nature, using your instinct to help you find those illusive pockets of lift, as you follow the buzzard who was lazily circling around and going up, only to get there and find the buzzard was having a laugh and suddenly your sinking like a stone.......

When you're gliding it is not only the views that tantalise you, but the whole experience.

And if nothing else, Gliding, while not cheap is by far the cheapest method of learning how to fly. So, go on..... Give it a go at least once in your lifetime if you can.

Go and touch the face of god........

~ Finally, who controls Gliding? ~

The British Gliding Association (BGA), to which Gliding clubs are affiliated, governs the sport.
They have a website where you can find out more if you would like at:
www.gliding.co.uk

Summary: When you're gliding it is not only the views that tantalise you, but the whole experience.