David's World

November 12, 2007

Good weather for some gliding at Portmoak

Just two pictures I took yesterday, flying Snoopy, a beautiful yellow single-seater glider, which is a wooden glider made in Germany (in the 70's or so), type Ka8b.

I was soaring some hills and a bit of mountain wave near Portmoak in Scotland, just north of Edinburgh. The lake in the pictures is Loch Leven.

Do you need a pilot's license to glide?

Aaron: yes, you do. Depending on the country the requirements are slightly different, but generally you learn to fly in a gliding club. You can expect to go "solo" after 40-70 flights (about 6-9 months, but can be done after a training course as well). At that point, you are allowed to fly gliders on your own, usually only locally and with a good briefing from an instructor. After a while, you pass a few check rides (and a ground school exams) just like with any other pilot rating. As said, the details differ a bit from country to country.

Flying gliders is a lot cheaper though than flying single-engine power planes, and instruction is usually free (at least in Europe) because most people involved in the sport are volunteers.

Thanks for answering. I'll have to keep this in mind as a hobby. The thought of a "glider club" has blown my mind. Not sure there are many here in the Northeast United States.

Aaron, oh yes, there are such clubs, but they seem to be a bit smaller on average (and less widespread) than, for instance in Germany or here in the UK. Check the website of the Soaring Association of America (IIRC) for a list of clubs by region.