All instruction is conducted by British Gliding Association qualified instructors from Four Counites, and is free of charge.
Training follows the same scheme as the RAFGSA, and when you begin flying you will be issued with a progress card detailing all the skills you will be tought in order to fly solo. No previous flying experience is required.
As you progress through the training scheme your instructor will sign-off the tasks you have learnt successfully until you are finally sent solo. Some people find learning to fly more difficult than others, but the number of training flights is likely to be between 30 and 50, with the minimum requirement being 20.
Once you have flown solo, you can apply to the British Gliding Association (BGA) for a gliding certificate and 'A' badge to show that you have reached solo standard.
When you have started to fly solo you will still have 'check flights' with an instructor to ensure you are not developing bad habits!
Badge Scheme
This is a brief guide to progression through the gliding qualifications. Training for these qualifcations is available at Wittering
Awarded when you complete your first solo flight. The full requirements are:
The BGA Laws and Rules, which you must read, can be found in the resources section, as well as the application form.
An extension of the A-Badge (almost identical with slightly stricter conditions).
The full requirements are:
The B Badge application form can be found in the resources section.
The Bronze Badge is traditionally seen as the 'average' qualification in gliding.
When combined with the Cross-Country Endorsement, it forms the Gliding
Certificate. All of the component parts must be completed within 1 year of each
other, and they are:
aerotow)
resources section. Email Rob or Jon for answers/explanations, or contact an
instructor
Before holding the Cross-Country Endorsment, you are forbidden from flying outside
gliding range of the airfield (in other words, you must always take-off and land at the
same airfield).
The X-Country Endorsement provides training that will allow you to fly away from the
airfield, and in doing so achieve distance qualfiications and partake in competitions.
All parts of the endorsement need to be completed with 1 year of each other, and
they are:
The glider pilot license has no direct requirements, and is simply a combination of the Bronze Badge and Cross-Country Endorsement. Its purpose is to provide an internationally recognised licence that guarantees a certain level of gliding skill (in a similar way to the driving licence). The Gliding Certificate application form can be found in the resources section.
The Silver Certificate is the minimium level required to enter a recognised gliding competition, and also the level required before you may train to become an instructor. It consists of three seperate achievments, on which there are no time limits, they are:
