An up-and-down day

I went gliding on Easter Monday. The soaring forecast was half decent – the best for a while. When I arrived at Camden I found that, unusually, there was no queue of pilots wanting to fly the high-performance two-seat glider so I phoned Jan to see if she wanted to come out for a ride – and she did.

She arrived at Camden early in the afternoon to find I was already in the air. While Jan was driving from home, a woman had turned up to ask about gliding at Camden. She was a power pilot many years back and wanted to come flying again. One of the other members persuaded her to take a flight, and as an Air Experience Flight instructor, it was my job to take her up. She was a bit nervous at first but was a good pilot and we had a pleasant 45 minutes aloft.

The DG1000 at Camden.

Then Jan and I had a lovely flight of just over an hour, ranging south from Camden over Razorback to Picton, looking down at the small towns, hobby farms and big rural homes below. The thermals were a bit weak, but that meant the air was not too bumpy and it made for a comfortable ride. We were called back because there was now a queue for the glider – an instructor and student wanted to use it. The club rule is that you should return after an hour of flying if anyone needs the glider. 

The only problem Jan had was getting in the glider. This particular model – a DG1000 – is quite high off the ground and if your legs are not long (and you’ve had a hip replacement) it’s quite a stretch to get your leg over!

I finished the day by flying the Piper Pawnee tow plane so the rostered tow pilot (also an instructor) could do some glider flying with a trainee. A busy day – one hour 50 minutes gliding and about 45 minutes power flying. Not as busy as my towing shift the previous week where I did 18 tows in a day – a personal record! Good fun. Towing again on Friday, weather permitting.