First flight
Whether your first flight is a trial lesson bought for you as a birthday gift or as new member of EGC it will be an unforgettable experience. You will arrive at the airfield and you will no doubt be interested in what the weather is doing - you may only be wishing for it to stay dry but if you are lucky it may even be thermic! If you are having a trial lesson then you will already have a specific time for your flight but if you are a new member then the first thing you will want to do is get your name on the flying list. When waiting for your flight your instructor will talk to you about gliding and how everything works. You will also most probably see some take-offs and landings (and also some gliders in the air, maybe even thermalling!) so you will see how it all works and what to expect. You may also get chatting to some of our members who will be more than happy to tell you about gliding and answer any questions you might have.

Before your flight you will be shown the ASK 13 two-seater training glider that you will be flying in. These are used by the huge majority of gliding clubs in the UK because they are incredibly versatile and very easy to fly. The K13 has the typical tandem two-seater layout with the instructor sitting behind whilst you get the best view from the front! All pilots must wear a parachute when flying in a glider. You will be shown how to put the parachute on correctly and in an event of having to bail out shown how to use it. Once you have your parachute on you will be aided into the cockpit of the glider and strapped in.

 

The instrument panel on the ASK 13 is very simple with all the basic instruments on display. The instruments are as follows: airspeed indicator (ASI), altimeter, variometer, turn and slip, compass, accelerometer. For your first flight you may not even need to look at the instruments but if you do, the ones of primary concern are the: ASI (which shows speed in knots), altimeter (which shows height above the airfield in feet) and variometer (which shows vertical speed in knots - that is, are you flying in air that is rising or falling). Some more advanced gliders will have other instruments such as computers, artificial horizon, global positioning system, electronic variometers, oxygen controls etc.

Once all strapped in and secure your instructor will go through the pre-flight checks to make sure everything is in order before you take-off. You will have to rest your feet lightly on the rudder pedals and the instructor may tell you lightly hold the control stick so you can feel the movements made during the take-off. The canopy will be closed and you will be connected to the cable ready for take-off.The wing tip holder will check the sky all above and behind, give the "take-up-slack" signal and then the "all-out" signal.

A winch launch and aerotow launch are very different experiences. If you are having a winch launch the glider will accelerate very rapidly (0-60 mph in a few seconds!). Once the glider has enough airspeed it will automatically want to lift of the ground and then go into a gentle climb. Once a safe speed has been reached the instructor will steepen the gradual climb. On an aerotow launch you are attached to our Piper Pawnee Tug plane by a rope which is about 150 feet long. You will become airborne very quickly and climb gently (albeit gaining height very rapidly) until you reach your goal height whereupon the instructor will release from the cable, perform a climbing turn to the left and then you will be on your way.

Once you have released from the winch or tow-plane you will be gliding and so will need to find thermals in order to stay up in the air. The instructor will show you how the controls work and you will be invited to have a go yourself.