Glider Pilots

[Whitean3]

airbrakes said:

Well folks,

It is exactly a year (Wednesday 16th May 2012) since I first went gliding - a coursemate badgered me into going with him to one of the summer term "evening parties" at the airfield where they fly until sundown. As soon as I flew in a glider, on my trial lesson, I was hooked.

Today, 10 hours/51 flights later, and I went up with the same coursemate, for another evening party. I ONLY BLOODY WELL HAD MY FIRST SOLO FLIGHT!!!![/footnote]

That must be such an awesome feeling! Congrats. Thanks to one of my best mates who is an excellent glider pilot, I've been lucky enough to fly at a number of clubs- such as Nympsfield, Syerston and Halton; I crewed for him at the nationals in Bradford on avon years ago. I just didn't have the time or money to pursue the sport to get to this stage. Nothing quite like being up in the air with just the wind noise around you...

[essayer]

Well done. Now get on and get those bronze bits ticked off.

I am about 50 hrs in and have my Silver, but the first 100km flight continues to elude me, and work/house have forced me to remain on terra firma for a bit.

Still, I have had a lot of fun attempting to go cross country, best effort so far being two landouts on the same trip

[airbrakes]

essayer said:

Well done. Now get on and get those bronze bits ticked off.

I am about 50 hrs in and have my Silver, but the first 100km flight continues to elude me, and work/house have forced me to remain on terra firma for a bit.

Still, I have had a lot of fun attempting to go cross country, best effort so far being two landouts on the same trip

You might well be the bloke from another club that some of the instructors were discussing in the bar, who landed out, called for an aero retrieve at great expense, then landed out again on the way home?


As far as bronze badges go... I looked at the BGA site and only managed to confuse myself even more!

What are the exact requirements for getting a bronze badge? The BGA site only mentions "skills tests", but I hear one has to do something like 10 hours P1, a 60km flight and a 2 hour flight? Is this correct?

Secondly, I have seen someone at my local club brandishing a A6-sized green booklet that is apparently something to do with bronze progress. They said its available on the BGA shop, I'll be damned if I can find it though?

Thirdly, where does the new GPL come into all this? Am I right in thinking I get it if I complete bronze? It doesnt seem to be essential, what are the benefits of it?

Finally, it is my ultimate goal to convert to an NPPL (then work up to full PPL). What does this entail? I've been told that I can put 10 hours gliding at P1 towards the 40 or so hours solo in a proper powered plane it needs? However, the BGA site seems to suggest that once I have a GPL, I can do a quick conversion to a Motor Glider licence, then convert that to an SSEA NPPL? this seems to circumvent the hours, training and ground studies that I thought a PPL required, unless I am missing something drastic? medical certification is no problem as i hold a full class 2, its just the actual flying requirements that have me confused.

if anyone could answer any of those I'd be most grateful!

Edited by airbrakes on Sunday 19th May 16:55

[essayer]

airbrakes said:

You might well be the bloke from another club that some of the instructors were discussing in the bar, who landed out, called for an aero retrieve at great expense, then landed out again on the way home?

Well, it was only a standard aerotow launch.. I'm used to paying enough for those! I had the option of "tow to 2,000ft OR tow all the way back" (35km) and I was confident I would get back from 2,000ft .. which in hindsight with a rather unpredictable sky (and a ridge to get over) was a big mistake!

I'm sure I can't be the only one

airbrakes said:

As far as bronze badges go... I looked at the BGA site and only managed to confuse myself even more!

What are the exact requirements for getting a bronze badge? The BGA site only mentions "skills tests", but I hear one has to do something like 10 hours P1, a 60km flight and a 2 hour flight? Is this correct?

Bronze is
- 50 solo flights or 20 solo flights and 10 hrs total
- A skills test taken at your club and tested by a full cat instructor. This basically is the full licence after you go solo and proves that you are safe to fly in most situations and that you can cope with launch failures etc

Then it's the cross country endorsement
- A 1 hr flight
- A 2 hr flight
- A test on field selection and landings (most clubs do this in a motor glider)
- A navigation test

Then you can do your silver
- A 5 hour flight
- A 50km flight
- A height gain of 1,000m in one flight

I'm going to find out soon about the 10 hr NPPL thing, seems like a good deal.

[airbrakes]

Thanks essayer, most helpful

Now I come to think, I did remember someone mentioning field landing training in a Motorfalke that's owned by a club member