Gliding Scholarship at 611 VGS

Posted by admin on Tuesday 26 June 2007 under 2007 | Be the First to Comment

I arrived at Watton on Saturday and was greeted by cold and overcast weather. The first stage of the course was to sort out my accommodation, hand in forms, health and safety etc. Afterwards I went and met my fellow students. There was 8 of us in total, which is the average number for GS students, and we got on well with each other immediately.

After the introduction to the course we were told, despite the bad weather we still would be flying, although sinking would be a better word for it as on cold day air sinks taking gliders with it. But fortunately for us we were all able to complete our Gliding Induction Course (GIC) which consisted simply of learning to bank, pitch and yaw. After the short introduction flight we packed up for the day and headed for dinner at the local pub with high spirits. But this was to dramatically turn on its head the next few days.

Day two of the course we awoke to the sound of rain. We were reluctant to get out of bed as we know that we could not fly in rain, this is because the rain collects on the wings diminishing lift and thus making the glider fall dramatically. Normally on days when the weather is bad the instructors take us out to the cinema or bowling to stop us going mad, but according the met office the weather was expected to clear, so we stayed on base. But the weather didn’t clear that day. In fact it didn’t clear for another 4 days. Within those days we watched countless DVDs, learnt all the theory there was to know about the glider and had some very complicated and depressing lectures on weather fronts.

On Thursday the weather transformed from cold and wet, to hot and sticky. But still, even though we could fly, our spirits we still low as we feared as a result of the bad weather we would not have enough time to complete the course. To conquer this fear we worked laboriously on the ground to get the aircraft up in the air as fast as possible.

Because we all had done the theory prior to our flights my instructor didn’t spend a lot of time explaining manoeuvres such as stalls and advanced turns. He simply demonstrated once then let me practice. So come Friday I had covered everything and was practicing circuits. A circuit is basically a circuit around the airfield. You simply take of f then fly round and land again.

As well as flying circuits with my instructor he made sure that I understood launch failures. This happens when the cable breaks or the person operating the winch falls asleep. The procedure is very simple, if you are below 250 feet land ahead. If you are above 250 feet do a 180 Deg turn, fly down the runway until you get to 250 feet Deg then, wherever you are, turn 180 Deg again and land. When it came to practice them my instructor gave me no warning, but just released the cable. This didn’t come as a shock as I knew that he was going to do it eventually, so I was always prepared for a failure. After the practice I made my launches as if he was going to pull the cable again, just in case.

On Saturday the flights continued. As you would expect, landing was the most difficult manoeuvre to grasp. It happened so fast so there was no time to think, you just had to learn to do everything automatically. You had to make sure the speed stays on 55kts, you are aligned with the runway, be aware which way the wind is blowing you and correct it, adjust the glide slope with the airbrakes (which don’t slow you down, but make you fall faster) and then the final stages make sure you get the correct landing attitude, the nose is pointing down the runway then pull back to stall gently and touchdown. Exhale. Then realising you are still moving apply the brakes and stop.

We spent all day doing circuits, mainly to practice landings. But at around 4pm my instructor said I was to do it alone this time. This came as a shock to me as I didn’t expect it. He spent the next 5 minutes going over what I was to do. Whilst this was going on all other aircraft were put away and the 2 metre section of cable that goes from the aircraft to the cable chute was replaced with a brand new one, to decrease the chances of a cable break. After the take off brief I was on my own.

Once in the cockpit I began my take off checks. Then got the ground crew to prepare the aircraft for launch. Gave the order to “take up slack” and the winch driver slowly brought the cable in until it was under tension. Then when the glider started to move I shouted “all out” to the wingtip man who passed it to the winch man who applied full power and I was away. I read in the manual that on your solo flight your aircraft will be lighter and therefore climb faster. I thought this was obvious, but I didn’t realise the difference it would make having 11 stone removed from the aircraft. On launch I shot up like a rocket, I had to push down on the stick for fear of going into orbit. I reached from 0 feet to 1000 feet faster than a modern jet then I released the cable. I was now on the upwind leg. For this leg I had to fly straight for about a mile where I would turn to the right 90 degrees or if I got to 900 feet. Once I turned I was on the crosswind leg. Because I was so light I wasn’t sinking faster enough so I was too high once I got to the crosswind boundary. So I followed normal procedure and did a 270 degree turn to the left to come out on the downwind leg, which is parallel with the runway. This is the longest leg of the circuit, and the part where everyone sings to themselves. I don’t know why, but you end up singing automatically as I discovered when I caught myself humming the chorus of dam busters. About a km off the landing point is where you should turn for the base leg. The altitude for this is 400ft. When I levelled out I was at 700. I had gone through a lot of thermals (which is rising air) on the downwind leg and gained a lot of altitude. So I opened to the airbrakes fully and let the glider sink till I was at about 300.

When I am dead in line with the runway turn another 90 degrees to line up with the runway and continue the final leg. Left hand on airbrakes open them to half, eyes fixed on the landing point on the runway, right hand pitching the aircraft up and down to maintain 55kts and feet adjusting the rudder to keep the aircraft heading towards the runway. Landing point slipping underneath the aircraft, I am too high, so open airbrakes to increase descent rate, too low now to adjust glide slope. Left hand holding airbrakes to half, right hand still holding 55kts. 10ft now, pull back gently maintain level attitude. Speed decreasing now and ground rising up, right hand pull back slowly so the main and rear wheels touch down first. Left hand comes back, airbrakes open and brakes applied until the aircraft comes to a halt. Exhale.

Once I am out of the aircraft the other students come running out to help push the aircraft back and congratulate me. Although the flight only lasted about 5 minutes, it was an incredible 5 minutes which I doubt I will ever relive again.

That evening the squadron had a party. The theme was pirates so everyone had to wear some sort of fancy dress to do with pirates. The party lasted well into the early hours of the morning of Sunday the final day.

The final day of the course started out with more flying for the couple of people who had not gone solo yet. Then afterwards we cleaned the entire place and got ready for final parade, which wasn’t that formal at all. The final parade consisted of thankyous and the presentation of our wings. Then we all said our goodbyes and departed.

Seven out of the Eight that attended the course got their silver wings, which is quite an achievement considering we only had 4 days to do it in. The GS course is one of the best opportunities the ATC can offer and I would highly recommend it to any Cadet who is offered this opportunity.