Gliding at MDP Wethersfield

Posted by admin on Sunday 4 October 2009 under 2009 | Be the First to Comment

It was an early start for a Sunday morning but never the less that didn’t deter Cadets Essex, Brantigan and I from going gliding with our Commanding Officer (CO); Flt Lt Coles. It was an interesting start to the day as the CO had traded in his new car for something a bit slower for the day just so that we could all get to MDP Wethersfield. We arrived at our destination before 0900. Fortunately we found that the weather was clear with some nice thermals all perfect conditions for gliding.

Upon arriving at our destination, having completed the required documentation for the day, we sat down and watched a flight safety video before getting into the land rovers and heading out to the runway. Upon arrival at the runway I was kitted up first and, after being weighed, I headed out to my glider. Then all I needed was for the sudden acceleration as the glider got winched up to 1,000ft. Once at this height I spent some time in the air before landing again and then completed two more subsequent launches giving me a total of 45 minutes in the air. During this time Cadets Essex and Brantigan had been helping with the launches of the gliders at the same time as learning the “lingo”.

In the afternoon I helped with the launches whilst Cadets Essex and Brantigan enjoyed their flights. This consisted of hooking up the gliders, checking it’s clear for launch and passing messages on from the pilots. When the gliders landed I, with help, was required to line up the aircraft ready for the next launch.

By the end of the day Cadets Essex, Brantigan and I had completed all of the GIC’s that we were allowed to do and really enjoyed the day.