Flying Team Spring Update

Flying Days

From next week we will now be able to fly during the daytime on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Evening flying will be available on Wednesday and Thursday. Any member can fly any day(s) they want now, just message in the WhatsApp so we can help arrange transport! Evening flying provides a much more convenient way of flying without as much of a time commitment as daytime flying.

Training Week

Thank you to everyone attending, the uptake has been good. We still have spaces available for Wednesday 23^rd, Thursday 24^th, and Friday 25^th of April, and these must be booked by close of play on Sunday. With the winch out and a dry field, expect many flights per day and rapid progression with close instructor support. Having an instructor ratio of no more than 1:4 and the same instructors all week allows a great personal link with instructors and continuity of training.

Midlands Varsity

We are hosting the first Midlands Gliding Varsity against Loughborough and Nottingham Universities. We are looking for a high uptake from Leicester for this as we are hosting and need to beat them on our home soil. The competition will be in three ‘cups’. Progression will see pre-solo pilots earn points for getting parts of the gliding syllabus completed. The soaring cup is for post solo students to test their flying skills against the other universities to earn points for duration and height gain. The cross-country cup lets students earn points for completing a set cross country route, with half points available for students flying the challenge with an instructor. Registration will open on Tuesday.

Interuni’s

The inter-university gliding competition this year will be hosted by Southampton University at Aston Down from the 26^th July till 3^rd August. This will follow a similar format to that described above for midlands varsity. For the pre-solo student this is in effect a training week where your progress earns us points against the other Uni’s. We hope for a high uptake on this as it was an excellent event last year and we hope to replicate our success. Please do join the whattsapp chat for this to help us plan to accommodate and transport everyone.

Captains Commentary

I have seen great progress this year from our members new and old, with more green continuing to appear on the progress tracker. However, it is easy to notice a large number of our members have not flown or fly very infrequently. Now the taught segment of the University year has ended and the gliding season is beginning I welcome you to the airfield and assure you it is not too late to start, rather if anything the perfect time to start. The winch has been out for a number of weeks which removes the financial barrier and gives you the carrier pilot experience. Further, the beginning of evening flying means you don’t have to commit an entire day of your weekend to come and fly and with the present weather it’s a great excuse to get outdoors.

We still have spaces available for the latter part of training week to which I would urge you to attend to kick start or boost your progress. Additionally, I would like to remind everyone you can keep flying until the end of August on your current membership, so there is still lots of time to go solo this year.

I look forward to the upcoming competitions hope many of you will attend. These are great opportunities to progress your flying and socialise with the other juniors.

Please do get in touch if you need any mentoring with flying or have any questions.

President’s Commentary 

Hi guys,

It is with immense pride and gratitude that I write to you today. In just two years, our club has grown to over 100 members—a remarkable achievement that speaks to the massive interest gliding could have. Your commitment to gliding, learning, and supporting each other has created an incredible community that continues to thrive.

I want to congratulate you all on your progression in gliding. Whether you are just beginning your training or pushing on past solo, the hard work is very visible. The green marks on our progress tracker are multiplying, and it is amazing to see so many of you take to the skies with growing confidence.  

Now, as we get towards the end of the year it would be great to see you make the most of every opportunity to fly. With the gliding season finally kicking off (and cheap flights with the winch), there is no better time to work through your training cards and reach solo. 

Furthermore, I strongly encourage all of you to participate in the upcoming Midlands Varsity at the end of June and the Inter-unis. These events are not just about competing against posher unis they are also a great opportunity to progress further and have some fun socials in the evenings (chodka time), learning, and making lifelong memories.. 

Thank you for making this club what it is today and hopefully I’ll see you flying as much as possible.