LEARNING TO FLY

Qualified instructors teach you progressively through a detailed syllabus the skill to fly a glider. The instructors do not charge for their time and you can share the use of the club's aircraft.

WHAT IS GLIDING?

Gliding is the sport of flying unpowered aircraft, or sailplanes. Soaring is using the available atmospheric conditions to remain aloft, or even gain height, for long periods. Learning to fly a glider can contribute to the hourly requirements of gaining a Private Pilot Licence.

WHO CAN DO IT?

Men and women of all ages spend their leisure time gliding. Our club has trained people from 14 to 75 years. There are many pilots in their 80s.

HOW IT WORKS

Soaring involves using the air currents in the atmosphere to advantage. A sailplane sinks at about 160 feet per minute in still air. If the aircraft can be positioned in air that is rising at a greater rate than this it can climb (lift). There are many sources of rising air. The most common is thermal activity, caused by the sun heating the ground unevenly. This generates air currents since hot air rises. Lift can also be found when a strong wind blows over a hill, or when a weather change occurs. The glider pilot flies the aircraft in this rising air to stay up or even gain height just like a seagull on a headland. The height gained can be used to glide long distances. A modern glider can glide over 45:1, which means that for every kilometre of height above ground, it can travel 45 kilometres forward.

IT'S A THINKING SPORT

Soaring is pitting your intelligence and experience against the weather, much of which you can't see. The thrill of using the weather conditions successfully, and the spectacular views, make the sport rewarding for years to come. With training and experience you could be flying 300 to 500 kilometres in an afternoon's soaring in silence without wasting fossil fuels. There are no limits to what you can achieve with more practice.

SOARING CONDITIONS

The Goulburn district offer several types of soaring flight including:

Thermal Lift:
In the summer months, cloudbase is often at 10,000 ft or more, and some good flights are possible.

Hill Soaring:
Our field is right alongside the Cookbundoon Range, and when there is an Easterly wind, we can hill-soar the range until sunset.

Frontal Lift:
Being only about 80km from the Coast (as the Glider flies), we often get a Sea Breeze in the early afternoon, which wedges under the predominantly Western air, and produces some very spectacular lift in the rising Western air.

Wave Lift:
Wave lift is associated with strong winds, and we don't usually fly in those conditions, but wave is often over our site for those brave enough to fly on those windy days.