Question 1

Is gliding safe?

Accepted Answer

While any form of aviation carries an element of risk, gliding is relatively safe. Gliders are very strongly built, and there is no engine to fail. In the unlikely event of an accident occurring, there is no fuel to burn. The Gliding Australia (GAus) oversees safety standards, pilot training, and aircraft maintenance, and our club has an excellent safety record.

Question 2

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

An Air Experience Flight starts from $280. Training packages are available: 5 flights for $870 or 10 flights for $1,400. For members, a typical flight costs the launch fee ($68-$96 depending on tow height) plus hourly glider hire ($1.20/min for the first two hours, reducing after that). See our Flying Costs page for full details.

Question 3

How long does a flight last?

Accepted Answer

Gliding is a weather dependent sport. In the absence of thermals, which gliders use to stay in the air, an average flight to 3,000 ft will last approximately 20 minutes. When learning to fly, you will be taught how to find and stay in thermals, and a thermalling flight is much longer.

Question 4

What happens when the wind stops?

Accepted Answer

Nothing! Gliders are not dependent upon the wind to stay aloft. When circling in thermals, gliders are drifted along by the wind, but otherwise are unaffected by the wind.

Question 5

How is a glider launched?

Accepted Answer

Our gliders are launched by aerotow using our high powered Piper Pawnee tugs. The glider is attached to the tug by a rope, and the glider pilot follows the tug as they are pulled up to the release height (typically 2,000-4,000 feet) when the glider pilot releases the rope.

Question 6

How does a glider stay up without an engine?

Accepted Answer

Gliders can stay aloft by a number of means. By far the most common is called thermalling. When the ground is heated by the sun, periodically a parcel of heated air ascends, often to many thousands of feet, as the temperature of the air close to the ground becomes higher than its surroundings. If a glider is flown to stay in that column of rising air, by circling, the glider will also be swept aloft. After the pilot reaches the top of the thermal, they fly off, gradually losing height, until they reach the next one. Ridge lift and wave lift are other sources of rising air.

Question 7

How fast does a glider fly?

Accepted Answer

Gliders can fly as slowly as 35 knots (65 km/h) to approximately 135 knots (250 km/h).

Question 8

How high can a glider fly?

Accepted Answer

Thermals can go as high as 14,000 ft or more. The world height record is 14,102 metres (46,000 ft). In Australia, thermals commonly reach 6,000-10,000 feet above ground level on good days.

Question 9

How far can a glider fly?

Accepted Answer

In the summer, flights of hundreds of kilometres are commonplace. The world record for a flight in a straight line is 2,000 kilometres. Australian records exceed 1,000 km in a single flight.

Question 10

What happens if the lift stops?

Accepted Answer

When the thermals stop working, the glider will gradually descend. A glider can fly about 10 km for each 1,000 feet of height, so there is a good chance that an airfield will be within reach. In the event of no airfield being within reach, the glider will land in a paddock. Paddock landings are part of the training of every glider pilot once they are ready to fly cross country. The glider can be retrieved by a tug, or, if this is not possible, the glider is disassembled and returned to the airfield in its container.

Question 11

How long can you stay up?

Accepted Answer

Gliders can remain flying as long as there is lift available. Using thermals, this is about 8 hours. By using prevailing winds blowing up a slope, a glider can be flown for as long as the wind is blowing. The world record stood at around 56 hours before it was recognised that these ever lengthening flights were dangerous, and recognition for duration flights was abolished.

Question 12

How old do I need to be?

Accepted Answer

The lower age limit to fly solo is fifteen, and there is no upper limit provided you are healthy and suffer no medical conditions that may impede your ability to fly. To be a passenger in a glider you can be almost any age at all. Our Club has flown an 86-year-old woman, and several Club members regularly take their children for flights. For practical purposes, our Air Experience Flights are not recommended for children under the age of 12 years, because they often can't see outside the aircraft, and if they get upset for any reason it is difficult to calm them down again.

Question 13

Is there a weight limit?

Accepted Answer

There is a general weight limit of under 100 kg set by the glider manufacturers. While certain of our gliders can carry passengers up to 110 kg, this depends on having a light enough instructor in the other seat. We can't always ensure the presence of such an instructor on every flying day. Please call us well beforehand and we may be able to arrange a particular instructor (or advise you of days when they will be present).

Question 14

Are there any medical restrictions?

Accepted Answer

To fly, you need to be generally healthy — you must never have suffered from epilepsy, fits, severe head injury, recurrent fainting, giddiness, blackouts, abnormally high blood pressure or previous heart disease. You must not be taking insulin for the control of diabetes. If you have suffered from any of these, a medical certificate from a suitably qualified doctor stating you are cleared to fly will need to be produced prior to take-off.

Question 15

How long does it take to go solo?

Accepted Answer

This largely depends upon your aptitude and the frequency of your flying. You could typically expect to go solo after between 20 and 40 flights. People with some power flying experience will generally take less time to learn than someone with no flying experience at all.

Question 16

Can I do aerobatics?

Accepted Answer

We would not normally perform aerobatics on the first Air Experience Flight, until we had time to assess your reaction to the flight. If one of our experienced instructors was satisfied there would be no problems, then aerobatics could be performed. The gliders in our Club fleet are all capable of various aerobatic manoeuvres, such as loops and chandelles (like a wing-over). Naturally, without an engine, and with such large wingspans (15m to 20m), there is a limit to the aerobatic manoeuvres we can fly in our gliders.

Question 17

Do I need a license?

Accepted Answer

Unlike power flying or driving a car, there is no formal license issued to glider pilots. Rather, each pilot keeps a log book which records their flying progress. When the instructor feels that they're ready to go solo, their log book is endorsed. As they gain additional experience and make conversions to the various single seater aircraft in the Club fleet, extra endorsements are recorded in the log book, and Gliding Australia (GAus) certificates are awarded.

Question 18

What qualifications can I earn?

Accepted Answer

Gliding Australia (GAus) offers a structured system of certificates and endorsements: A Certificate (first solo), B Certificate (local soaring), C Certificate (cross-country), Silver/Gold/Diamond badges (distance, altitude, duration achievements), and various endorsements including aerobatics, independent operator, and instructor ratings.

Frequently Asked Questions