The rainy summer weather has hampered my gliding progress, but on Friday, it added to the excitement. I had a check flight with my instructor and soared in some good thermals to 3700 feet. There were some big showers coming in from the coast so we landed after 36 minutes.
I was ok to go solo, so after another student had a flight, the instructor told me to get in a short solo quickly before the rain storms set in for good. The tug took me into some light rain, but I hung on till 2000 feet, then released the tow. The rain was getting heavier, so I pulled out the airbrakes to lose height and positioned myself for a circuit. I could see from the windsock that there was a strong crosswind on the strip so, as taught, I added 10 knots to my approach speed to allow for the windshear at low level.
- The club’s PZL Junior single-seat glider.
When I descended below tree-top level above the airstrip, the turbulence over the trees and the windshear tossed the aircraft around. The adrenalin flowed freely, but I managed a good landing despite the roller-coaster ride! An unforgettable seven-minute flight. I got soaked walking with the wingtip as the glider was towed back along the strip and then straight back into the hangar. No more flying that day!
I’ve graduated to flying a single-seat glider, the PZL Junior. This flies well and is much lighter than the two-seater. I’ll have fun in it when the weather improves.
