Gliding (March 2005)

MDP Wethersfield

    On the 28th of march, Sgt. Gardner, cadet Meacham and myself went for a day of gliding at MDP Wethersfield. I was very excited about the day as it was my first time gliding. When we got to the airfield the weather did not look good as it was very foggy, but fortunately there was no wind. We sat in the briefing room for about an hour of watching TV. We were briefed about the weather conditions and then watched a safety video about the aircraft we were going to fly in - THE GROB VIKING.

    After watching the safety video we were showed around the aircraft and what to say when the glider is ready to be launched. After being shown around the glider we were taken out to the airfield.

Click here for the "Introduction to a Grob Viking" video

    We were shown where the gliders were going to be launched from, and were told that one of the instructors would go up on his own to check the flying conditions. I was then asked to hook the winch to the instructor's glider and we watched the glider zoom off into the fog hoping that when he landed he would give the OK for us to go gliding. When he landed he gave the OK and we started getting gliders in the air. After the first load of cadets had done their GIC (gliding induction course) it was my turn to go up.

    I was given a parachute and strapped in to the glider then the ground crew moved away from the glider as it was hooked to a winch and the canopy closed. Then the crew levelled the wings for takeoff (as there are no wing gears) then the instructor said "take up slack" and the slack cable tightened up and the glider started to move. By now I was absolutely terrified and knew that when the phrase "all out" was said, I was going to be shot up from 0-60mph in under 3 seconds. By the time I was thinking about that, the phrase was given and I clenched my fists as I felt the glider shoot off the runway pushing me into my seat. Then the glider was airborne and started to climb at about a 45 degree angle to 1,000 feet in about 7 seconds. When we got to 1,000 feet the instructor let off the winch cable and we started to glide around the airfield.

Click here to see the launch of a glider

    Whilst in the glider in my first launch I was getting used to what the aircraft feels like whilst in flight. It was a very smooth flight for that launch and we landed after touring the airfield. From my second launch to my last I was shown how to pitch and roll the aircraft and also how to find thermals. After my turn in the glider I helped launch the gliders and attach the winch cables to the gliders for the rest of the day. When all the cadets had been up a CWO asked me if I would like to go on a extra flight as part of his "tour 25 cadets round the airfield" training. I was then strapped into the glider again and went up for a tour about the history about the airfield. After I had landed from the tour flight, cadet Meacham and Sgt. Gardner went up for a tour flight and did the same thing. When the day's gliding was finished we helped put the gliders back into the hangers and clean the dead insects from their wings. The day's gliding was great and we all enjoyed the day out and look forward to going again.
 

Cadet Jack Yardley