Gliding Experience Evenings 2008 Flying for £30

Several gliding experience evenings have been organised, where YOU can get your hands on the controls of a glider! You'll take a winch launch in a 2-seat training glider with a BGA qualified voluntary instructor at Bowland Forest Gliding Club near Waddecar. Once launched and cruising in flight, your instructor will either assist you to control the aircraft or can fly it while you just sit back and enjoy the ride. The experience includes either a 20-ish minute soaring flight (probably in ridge lift near Parlick) or two 5 minute circuit flights (in the event that conditions make soaring flight impossible). The events are open to Scouts (aged 13 or over), Explorer Scouts, Leaders and members of Scout Network and Scout Fellowship within West Lancashire (the events may be opened to other counties / areas if there are places left unfilled). Places on each event, available on a first-come, first-served basis. Relatives (e.g. parents) of Scouts etc. transporting them to the event are welcome to have a flight, subject to there being surplus places on the day.

The details...

• Dates and booking process
• Cost
• Requirements for flight
• Appropriate clothing
• The weather
• Directions and Arrival Instructions
• Achievement (badges)
• Flying for non-Scouts
• General Gliding Information
• Printable Resources
• Contact Details

Dates and booking process

Each event starts at 5pm sharp. Please inform when booking if you will not be able to make it on time.

More events can be organised, subject to demand.

Booking process

1. Leader emails me (email preferred) with request for place(s).
2. I respond with availability and reserve places for maximum of 2 weeks.
3. Leader / representative prints any required forms (see bottom of this page) and gives them to participants.
   (NB - Under 18's need to bring a signed BFGC temporary membership form to take part. NO FORM, NO FLY! Parents should have read the information letter before signing.)
   (Over-18's can sign an equivalent form at the event - it has the same meaning, but we can collect signatures on one piece of paper to save admin!)
4. Each participant pays their Leader in full (cheques payable to "Bowland Forest Gliding Club" - will not be cashed until the event).
5. Leader informs me that payment has been made; places are then fully reserved. Leader stores money and gives it to me at the event. Leader provides full contact details, including work / mobile telephone number
6. If a cancellation is made without very good reason, the Leader shall withold £10 of the money paid, for donation to Bowland Forest Gliding Club or an appropriate charity (this decision will rest with Dave Gethin).
7. Participants and leader keep a watch at this web page to check whether the event is proceeding. If the weather is dubious, a decision will be made by 12pm on the day and all leaders will be notified by telephone. If an event is cancelled, all money will be returned and I will do my best to organise alternative flying.

Booking steps (Scout Network or Fellowship member or Leader with no Scouts to fly)

1. Leader / Scout Network member contacts me (email preferred) with request for place(s), including full contact details.
2. I may request a non-returnable deposit!
3. Place(s) are fully reserved (on receipt of deposit)
4. Participant reads through arrival instructions below.
5. Participant keeps a watch at this web page to check whether the event is proceeding. If the weather is dubious, a decision will be made by 12pm on the day. If an event is cancelled, all money will be returned and I will do my best to organise alternative flying.

Cost

The cost for 2008 flying evenings will be £30 for each participant. A non-refundable deposit may be required to secure a place..

Requirements for flight

• Minimum age: 13 years
• Max "all-up" mass of participants: 104kg (16 stone 6 pounds) - Adults can increase this limit by not wearing a parachute - see below
• Minimum height: 1.35 metres
• Maximum height: 1.92 metres (6'4")
• Alcohol in bloodstream: zero
• Children (under 18 years) should be accompanied by parent / leader
• All conditions (including disabilities) that could affect flight must be declared well before the event, though many will not prevent flying

Minimum age

Participants must be 13 years or older. This Bowland Forest Gliding Club policy was introduced due to the occasional child under that age who had difficulty due to the sensations of flight, even though they had wanted to fly and shown no anxiety on the ground.

Maximum all-up mass

The maximum "all-up" weight for participants includes the person plus everything they're wearing and carrying (excluding a parachute that BFGC will provide). Adults may waive the option of wearing a 'chute, which gives a maximum all-up weight of 109kg (17st 4 pounds)(This is NOT a flexible limit! The gliders are very strong but for various technical reasons, including balancing of the aircraft, the weight of the occupants has to be limited. Flying without a parachute carries some extra risk as it removes one possible safety option, hence I require children (for whom the mass rules should not be a problem) to wear them. I (Dave G) do not personally know anyone who has had to use a parachute to abandon a glider.

Minimum height

The minimum height is a guide and is set at the point where the participant will probably be able to reach the rudder pedals. Participants who are smaller may be able to fly, but without being able to take full control of the aircraft. In any case, the instructors must be satisfied that the participant is SAFELY RESTRAINED by the aircraft harness and is likely to ENJOY the flight!

Maximum height

The maximum height is a guide. I am 6' 4" and just about fit in the BFGC training gliders. Persons 2 inches taller may just be able to fit in, but please discuss with me.

Alcohol and Drugs

It is worth noting that the legal limit for the amount of alcohol that can be in your system when flying is about on quarter of that allowed for driving a car. This is effectively a "zero tolerance" limit and applies to all people engaged in gliding activity, including groups who are flying under instruction. Therefore, to avoid disappointment on the day, please ensure that the adults amongst you are made aware of this so that they can ensure they are clear.

The use of any drug other than alcohol that would reduce your capacity to pilot the aircraft is not advisable and may also be illegal.

Supervision

Members under 18 years of age should be accompanied by a parent or leader to ensure efficient control of younger members at the launch point.

Conditions that may affect flying

All physical and medical considitions may affect flying should be declared well before the event (ideally during booking), to allow advice to be sought if necessary. These include any condition which may create or lead to a dangerous situation in flight, especially BLACKOUTS of any cause (e.g. epilepsy, severe head injury, recurrent fainting or giddiness, high blood pressure, angina, coronary heart disease, insulin dependent diabetes etc.). You must also disclose any medical condition which may cause difficulty while flying (e.g. bronchitis, asthma, sinus disease, ear disease, defective sight (inability to read a car number plate at 25 yards - corrective glass may be used), migraine, diabetes of any form, kidney stones, psychiatric disorders, severe motion or travel sickness, any condition requiring treatment with drugs of any kind.)

Appropriate clothing

Each participant should wear their Scout neckerchief with a *secure* woggle. A Scout shirt with "activity" pants would be suitable attire, but it is important that the participant is comfortable! Any comfortable trousers should be worn, but should not have large rips or flared / overlength legs that could potentially become caught on aircraft equipment. Airfields are exposed places, so a waterproof / windproof layer, jumper and fleece (or two) should be brought as well (be prepared!). You will probably be surprised how warm flight in the glider is in comparison with standing on the field!

The weather

You may be surprised what weather conditions are compatible with gliding! We will fly in strong winds (depending on the direction) and even when there are rain showers (these can mean strong convection and, hence good lift!) Constant rain, low cloud or gale-force winds are non-starters, however. We will also not launch if we are aware of thunderstorm activity in the area (despite the huge amounts of lift these massive clouds can give) due to the potential for lightning strikes while launching.

Directions and Arrival instructions

Please refer to the printable sheet available below

Achievement

The Scout "Aeronautics" Activity badge would be completed by taking part in the evening. The event could also be used as airtime for the Explorer Scouts "Air Activities" badge. Bowland Forest Gliding Club offers a cheap junior membership with heavily subsidised flying rates for junior pilots (aged under 18) that could allow Explorer Scouts to complete this badge.

Flying for non-Scouts / Gift vouchers

In case you wish to arrange other gliding lessons (e.g. as a gift), Bowland Forest Gliding Club offer a voucher scheme. Please see the club website for more details.

General Gliding Information

• High-resolution photos from a BFGC publicity day provide an illustration of gliding at BFGC.
• The British Gliding Association "What is gliding?" page may help to answer some questions.
• Wikipedia also has an informative article on gliding
• Any other questions? Email Dave G (apologies if I am slow to respond, but I'll try my best!).

Printable Resources

The standard county password is applied to some of the documents below. Please contact Dave Gethin if you do not know this. These should be supplied to participants / parents of participants before booking onto the events.

• Information Letter for Parents [PDF Document, 229kB]
• Directions and arrival instructions [PDF Document, 162kB]
• Temporary BFGC Membership Form (over 18's can sign an equivalent form at the event) [PDF Document, 37kB]

To read the above files, you will need to download a PDF file reader if you do not have one installed. Adobe PDF reader is made by the inventors of the PDF format, but requires a large download.
An alternative reader is Foxit PDF reader (1MB download last time I looked).

Contact details

West Lancashire Scouts flying evenings 2008 are being run by Dave Gethin at Bowland Forest Gliding Club on behalf of all members of West Lancashire Scouts. Please do not contact Bowland Forest Gliding Club directly regarding these events. Dave Gethin is a member of Bowland Forest Gliding Club and helps with Explorer Scouts in Preston District.

You can reach Dave through the following methods:

• By email: gliding@air.westlancashirescouts.org.uk
• By phone: number available via County Office on 01995 61336

© Dave Gethin and West Lancashire Scouts 2008