Gliding

About Gliding

Regular trips

Weekend: Saturdays and Sundays
Additional mid-week trips if there is enough demand on Wednesdays.

I don't think I can do it

If you can ride a bike you can fly a glider.

How do I go flying?

As a club, car sharing arrangements are made each week allowing a car full of people to fly each time, so don't worry if you don't have a car! This is organised through our discord.

Do you want to learn to fly?

Joining UWE Gliding Club gives you access to our world-class gliding training facilities at Cotswold Gliding Club in Stroud. Cotswold Gliding Club is one of the UK’s premier gliding clubs, and membership of UWEGC gives you access to all of their facilities, including their new training fleet of ASK21 and DG500 two seat training gliders.

I want to go flying! What do I do next?

We aim to fly every weekend. Each winch launch is £10.50, and includes instruction with our experienced gliding instructors. Once you've joined you can go on as many trips as you like. You don't need any prior experience to join, and with commitment you could fly solo within a year! If this sounds like it's for you then sign up here.

What can I expect from a day at the airfield?

Unlike powered flying, gliding relies on volunteering and team work so you'll be stuck right in the deep end learning about airfield operations! The day starts with unpacking the hangar and towing the gliders out to the runway. Once there you'll be helping the launchpoint run smoothly by helping launch gliders and retrieving gliders that have landed. Then your turn will come to fly and you'll be launched above the beautiful Cotswolds.

What if the weather is bad?

We always try our best to get everyone flying, however we have no control over the weather! If certain weather aspects are too bad, we simply cannot fly. However while at the airfield you can take time to take in a lecture from an instructor or play around on their simulator to home in your skills. So theres always something to do on a non-flying day. We also appreciate any help to maintain our assets.

Already a solo glider pilot?

Why not take advantage of free soaring in our own Cirrus 75 and K8 gliders! The Cotswolds Gliding Club also has a selection of K8, K18 and K23 single seaters in their club fleet to soar above the cotswolds.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us by social media or email (uweglidingclub@gmail.com)

Costs

Aviation is often regarded as being a past time of the elite; high training and operating costs excluding all but the wealthiest of society. However, that is not the case with gliding. Gliding offers a low cost, effective and safe method flight training, an hour long soaring flight in the summer costing around £30 in total. A comparable flight in a powered aeroplane would cost in excess of £200!

The Committee:

President - Matt Waite
Vice-President - Teddy Nebel
Treasurer - Chris Hunt

Support committee:
Equality and Participation - Faris
Events and fundraiing - Fynn
Social Media - Finn

Below is a full breakdown of the costs of learning to fly with UWE Gliding Club:

UWE Gliding Club Membership (paid annually)	£70
UWE Sports fee (paid annually but covers all UWE sports clubs)	£20 for students £40 for alumni
Launch fee (paid per launch)	£10.50
Soaring fees	UWE owned gliders (Cirrus and K8) are free for UWE students CGC gliders are free for first 5 mins, then a small charge per minuet thereafter. This fee differs per glider type but it’s typically in the 20-30p per minuet range
Petrol money (paid per trip)	We typically ask for a levy of £5 per person per trip

What will you learn? – The Gliding Syllabus

Ground briefing	Covers basic principles of flight, operational procedures safety and emergency information
Basic flight training (roughly 50 launches)	Initial: Basic airmanship, straight and level flight, effects of elevator, ailerons and rudder, turns, circuit planning, approach and landing, launch, effects and use of airbrakes, soaring Emergency procedures: Cable break, stalls, spins and spiral dive
Solo	First solo: First 12 or so solo launches in a two seat training glider (such as a K21 or K13) Single seat conversion: Conversion into basic single seat glider (such as K8 or K23)
Bronze	Ground exam (one exam): Air Law and ATC procedure Human Performance Meteorology Communications Principles of Flight Operational Procedures Flight Performance and Planning Aircraft General Knowledge, Airframe and Systems Navigation I Navigation II Oral Exam: Pre-flight exam based upon the premise of the ‘Daily Inspection’ and supervised by a Full Category Instructor Skills test: A practical test (much like a driving test) aimed at identifying competency in the air and ability to safely operate in a number of normal and emergency parameters. Usually consists of 5 launches, these looking to establish a pilots ability to fly precisely and safely deal with unplanned events (such as cable breaks etc…)
Cross Country (XC)	Navigation exercise: One hour practical exercise in a motor glider, whereby you plan and fly a cross country task Field Landing exercise: Often combined with the Nav Exercise, the field landing exercise ensures pilots are able to safely pick out and land in a field.