Glider trial flights
Discussion
I'm kind of owed a Christmas present from my Brother and was thinking about a trial flight in a glider. Had a look about a bit and see a few gliding clubs that do this, but noticed most tend to only offer flights of up to 10 or 15 mins, where I was thinking 30 mins would really be more what I would enjoy.
I did call one place who rather obviously told me to book 2 slots and do it that way, but was more wondering why they don't do longer flights and just charge a bit extra.
Can any recommend a place in the south east ( I'm near London ) that would be a good club to fly with ?
Thanks
I did call one place who rather obviously told me to book 2 slots and do it that way, but was more wondering why they don't do longer flights and just charge a bit extra.
Can any recommend a place in the south east ( I'm near London ) that would be a good club to fly with ?
Thanks
^^^This^^^
If you're not used to glider flying, then going from 0-60 in 3 secs on the winch then honking (sorry) up to 1000 feet at a 30 degree pitch angle will be a much, much bigger thrill than wallowing around behind a Piper on an aerotow. Less is more in this case. A few 5 minute circuit flights using the winch will be far better than a single 30 min soaring trip via aerotow.
Book direct with a gliding club; don't go via any Red Letter Day-type outfits. Lasham is situated between Basingstoke and Alton in Hampshire. http://www.lashamgliding.com/
If you're not used to glider flying, then going from 0-60 in 3 secs on the winch then honking (sorry) up to 1000 feet at a 30 degree pitch angle will be a much, much bigger thrill than wallowing around behind a Piper on an aerotow. Less is more in this case. A few 5 minute circuit flights using the winch will be far better than a single 30 min soaring trip via aerotow.
Book direct with a gliding club; don't go via any Red Letter Day-type outfits. Lasham is situated between Basingstoke and Alton in Hampshire. http://www.lashamgliding.com/
Edited by speedtwelve on Saturday 16th March 17:36
speedtwelve said:
If you're not used to glider flying, then going from 0-60 in 3 secs on the winch then honking (sorry) up to 1000 feet at a 30 degree pitch angle will be a much, much bigger thrill than wallowing around behind a Piper on an aerotow.
The -G to get airspeed when you release the hook is amusing too...The colder the weather the sooner you come down (no thermals), so flight duration is then mostly up to release height and temperature. 10-15 mins is about right.
Windrushers at Bicester (You can ditch the family at Bicester Village for shopping while you go flying). We advertise on Groupon quite a lot. Or book something through the office. IIRC all trial lessons come with 3 months free membership so if you haven't sated your thirst after two launches then you can keep coming back for more at members rates.
www.windrushers.org.uk
Commercial interest - i'm a member and have an aircraft based there.
www.windrushers.org.uk
Commercial interest - i'm a member and have an aircraft based there.
mrmaggit said:
Don'y forget it can get highly addictive, and the clubs I went to were very much a whole-day affair. People who regularly just turned up, flew then buggered off were not very popular.
Although if you continue too far down that road they will all wear matching jumpers and go on holiday together...speedtwelve said:
^^^This^^^
If you're not used to glider flying, then going from 0-60 in 3 secs on the winch then honking (sorry) up to 1000 feet at a 30 degree pitch angle will be a much, much bigger thrill than wallowing around behind a Piper on an aerotow. Less is more in this case. A few 5 minute circuit flights using the winch will be far better than a single 30 min soaring trip via aerotow.
Book direct with a gliding club; don't go via any Red Letter Day-type outfits. Lasham is situated between Basingstoke and Alton in Hampshire. http://www.lashamgliding.com/
Do you have experience of Lasham? I've been considering trying gliding for a while and they are not too far away from me in Fleet.If you're not used to glider flying, then going from 0-60 in 3 secs on the winch then honking (sorry) up to 1000 feet at a 30 degree pitch angle will be a much, much bigger thrill than wallowing around behind a Piper on an aerotow. Less is more in this case. A few 5 minute circuit flights using the winch will be far better than a single 30 min soaring trip via aerotow.
Book direct with a gliding club; don't go via any Red Letter Day-type outfits. Lasham is situated between Basingstoke and Alton in Hampshire. http://www.lashamgliding.com/
Edited by speedtwelve on Saturday 16th March 17:36
There's a few points here so here goes, based on my knowledge;
i) Clubs that operate aero-tow trial flights only advertise 10-15 min flights because if the day is not thermic then that's typically how long it takes to descend from 2,000' You may be lucky if there's thermals around but it's pot luck. You could of course take a tow up to 3,000' but that will be more expensive. So firstly ask the club how high the tow will be for the trial lessons.
ii) Some clubs that operate a winch for memebers still use the aero-tow for trial lessons because it's safer and for a first time flight it's less (how shall I put it) concerning! I believe Lasham run their TLs with an aero-tow flying from outside the club house rather than the winch in the middle of the airfield (or at least they did last time I flew there) but someone who flies there as a memeber may be able to confirm if you can specifically ask for a winch launch.
iii) On a winch you will reach anywhere between 1,000' and 1,800' depending on the power of the winch, Lasham's is very powerful but as you will realise from just 1,000' you may be on the ground again in less than 10 mins. Remember usually flights off a winch are cheaper which compensates for the short duration.
iv) Regarding temperature, although typically summer days do offer better themalling opportunities cold, blue days can also be thermic. What's important is the difference between the min and max temps - a difference of 10C degrees will usually mean thermal activity. So don't discount a good blue spring day!
v) If you want a longer duration consider a hilltop/hillside site e.g. Nympsfield, Long Mynd, Dunstable etc. with the wind in the right direction you will be able to soar the ridge and take control of the glider without too much worry about loss of height.
With all that said, and although I'm a Booker pilot I would suggest Dunstable (London Gliding Club) for their ridge, Lasham if you can request a winch launch or Booker for a good aero-tow flight.
HTH any questions just ask...
i) Clubs that operate aero-tow trial flights only advertise 10-15 min flights because if the day is not thermic then that's typically how long it takes to descend from 2,000' You may be lucky if there's thermals around but it's pot luck. You could of course take a tow up to 3,000' but that will be more expensive. So firstly ask the club how high the tow will be for the trial lessons.
ii) Some clubs that operate a winch for memebers still use the aero-tow for trial lessons because it's safer and for a first time flight it's less (how shall I put it) concerning! I believe Lasham run their TLs with an aero-tow flying from outside the club house rather than the winch in the middle of the airfield (or at least they did last time I flew there) but someone who flies there as a memeber may be able to confirm if you can specifically ask for a winch launch.
iii) On a winch you will reach anywhere between 1,000' and 1,800' depending on the power of the winch, Lasham's is very powerful but as you will realise from just 1,000' you may be on the ground again in less than 10 mins. Remember usually flights off a winch are cheaper which compensates for the short duration.
iv) Regarding temperature, although typically summer days do offer better themalling opportunities cold, blue days can also be thermic. What's important is the difference between the min and max temps - a difference of 10C degrees will usually mean thermal activity. So don't discount a good blue spring day!
v) If you want a longer duration consider a hilltop/hillside site e.g. Nympsfield, Long Mynd, Dunstable etc. with the wind in the right direction you will be able to soar the ridge and take control of the glider without too much worry about loss of height.
With all that said, and although I'm a Booker pilot I would suggest Dunstable (London Gliding Club) for their ridge, Lasham if you can request a winch launch or Booker for a good aero-tow flight.
HTH any questions just ask...
zabba said:
Do you have experience of Lasham? I've been considering trying gliding for a while and they are not too far away from me in Fleet.
I bought a former girlfriend a trip in a glider for Christmas from Lasham and they were very professional and friendly. This was about ten years ago, but I see no reason why it should change. It was superb value for money - back then (about 2001/2002) £50 got her about half an hour in the glider. They don't/didn't usually winch launch novices, as although it's exciting it can put some people off.RobM77 said:
I bought a former girlfriend a trip in a glider for Christmas from Lasham and they were very professional and friendly. This was about ten years ago, but I see no reason why it should change. It was superb value for money - back then (about 2001/2002) £50 got her about half an hour in the glider. They don't/didn't usually winch launch novices, as although it's exciting it can put some people off.
Thanks, sounds positive. How do people find gliding after powered flight? I did about 90 hours training in light aircraft with the RAF when I was at uni 10 years ago, but nothing since and cannot afford or have much interest in doing a PPL. Gliding appeals as it's relatively cheap and I imagine more fun. The other thought is hand gliding or para gliding, but suspect they are all quite different and probably worth trying them all.
zabba said:
Thanks, sounds positive.
How do people find gliding after powered flight? I did about 90 hours training in light aircraft with the RAF when I was at uni 10 years ago, but nothing since and cannot afford or have much interest in doing a PPL. Gliding appeals as it's relatively cheap and I imagine more fun. The other thought is hand gliding or para gliding, but suspect they are all quite different and probably worth trying them all.
There's a big difference between gliding and powered flying. I think gliding is far more of a sport, a challenge. How fast can you fly around a given task (200-250 miles easily achievable on a Summer day), how far can you fly, how long can you stay up (I meant to say that ;-) ). Powered flying I found really boring. All by numbers, engine management, talking to ATC, going from one place to another for a coffee. Aerobatics is fun though!How do people find gliding after powered flight? I did about 90 hours training in light aircraft with the RAF when I was at uni 10 years ago, but nothing since and cannot afford or have much interest in doing a PPL. Gliding appeals as it's relatively cheap and I imagine more fun. The other thought is hand gliding or para gliding, but suspect they are all quite different and probably worth trying them all.
Gliding also has more of a club feel as members help each other rig and de-rig gliders, fly tasks together. Powered flying I see more of people turn up, fly and then go home. HTH.
From my perspective I find power flying rather boring, aerobatics excepted, loads of radio mumbo-jumbo on the deck to sound important, take off, set throttle and fly 
Gliding is more about the challenge of using the elements to fly durations, distances or soar locally or even race over hundreds of kilometres rather than the flight per se. Once you've experienced a high speed racing finish in a 25 mtr span glider driving a spam can seems rather underwhelming 
ETA: I typed that while Keith added his reply, glad we agree!
Gliding is more about the challenge of using the elements to fly durations, distances or soar locally or even race over hundreds of kilometres rather than the flight per se. Once you've experienced a high speed racing finish in a 25 mtr span glider driving a spam can seems rather underwhelming ETA: I typed that while Keith added his reply, glad we agree!
zabba said:
How do people find gliding after powered flight?
Chalk and cheese. One is a glider, the other is a car that goes up and down. Or you can do both - I had a go in a Motorfalke (motorised glider) and when you get a bit low you pull the throttle out and go up again. Not so pure though, and noisy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCKL79AVzAE
Mr_B said:
Can any recommend a place in the south east ( I'm near London ) that would be a good club to fly with ?
Thanks
When I was learning to fly at Biggin Hill we had to watch out for the gliding site at Kenley if we were taking off from a certain runway. No personal experience of the glidingclub there myself but they are winch launched.Thanks
Gliding can be a bit boring during the winter. Especially when you're based at a flat site. But, some of the best weather for power flying is a early winter morning. I tend to do a lot of power flying over the winter and more gliding over the summer (enforced this year by my aeroplane being a bit broken at the minute).
Ultimately it's different strokes for different folks. I went from gliding to power and didn't have a problem; most power pilots turning to gliding struggle with coordination but the basic principles are the same.
Ultimately it's different strokes for different folks. I went from gliding to power and didn't have a problem; most power pilots turning to gliding struggle with coordination but the basic principles are the same.
zabba said:
Do you have experience of Lasham? I've been considering trying gliding for a while and they are not too far away from me in Fleet.
Haven't flown there, but it seems a large and well-established gliding outfit. I don't have any experience of civilian gliding clubs TBH, I did all of mine as a gliding school staff cadet in the ATC when younger. I agree with gliding being more of a sport, or 'challenge' once you start doing soaring. When I did my powered flying training I found the gliding experience made it easier: aileron/rudder co-ordination was already second nature, and I was used to a successful landing outcome from every approach. Having an engine to go-around with was a novel addition!
Club gliding is also much cheaper than any powered PPL-type flying overall.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff