Posted on 18/09/2008
A gliding experience will give you an exhilarating day to remember. Speaking as somebody who’s tried their hand at gliding, I can guarantee an experience you’ll never forget. Surprisingly, it’s not really a feeling of fear you experience, but you will be amazed.
Whether the glider is towed into the air by a light airplane or is winched up, the feeling you experience when the glider is unhooked is amazing. “I’m flying in a plane with no engines”, is the first thing I thought. Of course, you’re flying in a plane with no engines and with an experienced pilot, so that goes some way to comforting you. The basic premise of gliding is that you’ll either lose altitude slowly until you land, or you’ll catch updrafts to take you higher and extend your experience.
If the weather conditions are right, you’ll fly for longer
How long the gliding experience lasts is very much dependent on the weather conditions on the day you fly. A still day, without a breath of wind will probably see you circle slowly to the ground, but on a blustery day you’ve really got a great chance at a long flight. Gliding centres are usually situated near hills or mountains, which help create updrafts. This increases your chances of longer flights.
On my gliding experience day the wind was up and the pilot said it was a great day for gliding; which turned out to be the case because we hit updraft after updraft, staying in the air for ages. During our flight the instructor performed a loop-the-loop and gave me the controls for a while, explaining how to steer (with your feet on the rudder & your hands on the stick). I’d never flown anything or taken a flying lesson, but I could control it almost immediately, steering the glider to another updraft on the direction of the pilot.
Remember your sun block
It’s a fantastic experience and one I’ll definitely be trying again. Do remember to put on some sun block and a cap or hat if you can – the glider has a glass canopy and as you’re at altitude you’ll burn (wish I’d have thought of this before I went up!).
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