Cape Town - The Cape Gliding Club has been in existence for 60 years, and has a fatality-free training record. This kind of information is comforting when you're about to go up in a glider for the first time.
Formerly located in Cape Town, the club has been operating in Worcester for about 20 years where conditions for the sport are world-class, said John Spargo, who invited me to give it a try. “Soaring is a non-profit organisation run by people for the love of soaring. You can come learn to fly here – there is no charge for instruction.”
It’s a team sport; you can’t do it on your own, said Spargo. This is immediately evident as you stand on the airfield and watch the enthusiasts getting airborne, wheeling the glider into place, attaching the rope to the tow plane, and assisting after the landings. Besides privately owned aircraft, the club has a fleet of single-seater gliders for use by members at an advanced level, as well as two two-seater training gliders, a two-seater glider for aerobatics, and two tow planes. Members maintain the fleet and the club facilities.
Conditions for a successful flight depend on wind, heat, thermals, ride and wave lifts, all of which affect speed and altitude. The tow plane will pull the glider, typically until either reaching a height of about 3 000 feet (the imperial measure is used in this sport, in metric that’s about 1 000m) or until the glider finds some lift, at which point it unplugs from the tow plane. That’s just the beginning – the record altitude at Worcester is 30 000 feet, but that doesn’t happen every day; the average is between 3 000 and 5 000 feet. Anything above 12 000 feet takes you into controlled air space.
After watching a few take-offs and landings, it was my turn to climb into the front seat of the tiny cockpit of GOK (or Golf Oscar Kilo), while instructor Mike Pascoe got in behind me. One very important piece of equipment was a parachute. Because gliders are small and light, you sit in an almost reclining position with your legs stretched out in front of you. My feet didn’t reach the rudder pedals and Pascoe told me not to touch anything but the control stick in front of me, and then only when he said so.
The tow plane had us quickly airborne and we circled lazily upwards until we were close to the top of the mountains which surround Worcester – and when I say close, I mean really close – where ridge lift takes place. There was a small “thunk” as Pascoe released the rope, the tow plane disappeared, and we were gliding on the air. It was not quite as silent as I had imagined it would be, but it was almost surreal and quite beautiful to know we were 3 600 feet above sea level with no motorised power and everything relied on the pilot’s skill. The control stick moves the glider up and down (“houses bigger, houses smaller”), as well as turning left or right. Pascoe let me do that bit for a while, so I can now add “flew a glider” to my CV.
An introductory flight costs between R800 and R1 000, and is offered to attract new members to the sport, which can be for leisure or competition. While further instruction is free, there are membership fees which go towards a share in the club’s resources and assets, and all your flying time.
l For more information, see www.cgc.org.za, e-mail [email protected], or call the chief duty pilot Michel Reolon on 082 803 1797.
To learn more about how gliders work, go to science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/glider1.htm
Weekend Argus