Arriving at the airfield the first thing I had to do was get booked in and sign the paperwork, I was then introduced to my instructor gave me a quick chat on what was going to happen before, during and after the flight.
We walked out onto the airfield and up to the glider, which was far bigger than I has envisaged. The glider lent over to one side and was resting on the ground by one of the wings, the instructor told me there were small wheels on the underneath and once the wind got under the wings the glider would automatically straighten itself.
I was a little nervous but more than ready for the challenge. I climbed into the craft and was strapped into my harness by the instructor. Much to my surprise I was sitting in the front of the glider, the instructor climbed in behind me and we closed the canopy. The guy was in radio contact with the tug plane so he said and few things, I wasn’t really listening to what they were saying, far too busy looking at the controls and trying to steady my nerves.
The tug plane started and pulled the glider along the field, the wings levelled and within seconds the glider was in the air, climbing steadily. The glider had dual controls and although I was enjoying looking out I was keeping one eye on the joy stick, watching it move. My glider lesson had begun!
Once we had reached a reasonable height the instructor told the tug plane to release us, after an initial small drop the instructor informed me that we were now gliding and looking for warm air currents to lift us, we would be gliding the warm air thermals, I didn’t know until now that the pilots actually have to search for them.
The only sound was the wind rushing by, the sky was blue and clear, but not very warm so the instructor was having a bit of trouble finding these warm air thermals. This was absolutely brilliant, I could see for miles and was somewhat horrified when the guy told me to look at the change in colour of the sky, he informed me the distinct line of colour change was the pollution from the towns below. This pollution ‘line’ spread itself across the sky in a kind of haze, it certainly made we think of the planet.
We gently and gracefully soared through the air, it was very calming but somewhat apprehensive as the natural air pressures below and above the wings was the only thing keeping us in the air, however, I trusted the instructor, he had years of experience flying gliders so I was in very safe hands. The thrill factor increased when he told me I could take over the joystick and be in control, that was amazing, he talked me through exactly what to do and when, before resuming control, apologising profusely as we had to head back to the airfield that he was unable to find any suitable air currents to enable us to remain airborne any longer.
The landing was a little bumpy however, the glider soon came to a halt and tilted over to rest on its wing. We unlocked and lifted the canopy, I climbed out, with legs a little wobbly I stepped onto the grass and followed the guy back into the airfield’s coffee lounge, we spent a while chatting while he completed the flying logs. I have all intentions of returning for another glider lesson, this one wonderful experience has me hooked!
Tags: Glider lesson, Glider lesson experience, Glider lesson gifts
