LUUGS - About

Gliding	The Society
Gliders	What We Do
Launching	Trips
Lift	Learning to Fly
Gliding Weather	The Cost

Gliding

Unpowered flight can be exhilarating, peaceful, challenging and fascinating and this society is the perfect introduction to it, with excellent opportunities for learning to fly and for participating. The activity of gliding is mainly about using areas of rising air to stay airborne and to travel cross-country and is the perfect entry into aviation.


Gliders Gliders are unpowered aeroplanes, that is, they have no engines or propellors and are designed to fly simply by gliding with no power. While all aircraft can glide, gliders are specifically designed to do so. Some have a glide angle of nearly 60:1, meaning that from a height of 1 mile (A typical cloud base in summer) they will glide 60 miles before they have to find more lift. A Boeing 737 has a glide angle of around 5:1. Gliders typically have long thin wings for efficiency, with spans from 15 to 30 metres. Made from wood and fabric, metal or fiberglass, gliders are very strong. Most can perform loops, and some can fly upside down. Gliders usually fly at between 35 and 150 knots; generally they are flown at their best glide speed, around 40-50 knots. Aside from the lack of a power source, the controls found in a glider are almost identical to those found in any other aircraft. The basic controls are the control column for ailerons and elevator, and rudder pedals. The ailerons roll the glider to turn, the elevator pitches the nose up and down and the rudder yaws the glider from side to side (Click on the diagram on the right to enlarge it). Airbrakes are used to reduce the glide angle for landing, similar to the spoilers on top of the wings of large airliners. As with all aircraft, gliders are equipped with instruments, such as an airspeed indicator, altimeter and artificial horizon (All of which you will be taught how to use). Another useful instrument is the variometer, which shows how quickly the glider is going up or down and is used to find the best lift. Most gliders have more than one, with an audio option so that the pilot can keep attention focused on what is happening outside the cockpit. Most will also have a radio, used mostly to communicate to the people on the ground at the airfield.

Launching Gliders can be towed behind a light aeroplane, up to almost any height, and can be dropped in an area of good lift to begin a flight. The cheaper option is to launch with a winch, more or less like a kite, up to about 1800ft. Winch launches are exciting (0 to 60 in a couple of seconds) and are used for most training flights. On all types of launch someone has to hold a wingtip to keep the wings level until the glider is traveling fast enough for the controls to be effective (there is only one wheel). As gliders also have to be towed out from the hangar and pushed back to the launch point after landing, and as instructors are mostly ordinary club members like everyone else, this makes gliding much more of a team sport than it might appear. Gliders land just like regular aircraft. They approach the runway, flare and touch the ground with their undercarriage and gradually roll to a halt.

Lift Lift is the general term for the rising air currents that gliders can use to gain height; if the glider manages to find some lift rising faster than it is gliding downwards, it will climb, affording more time in the air! Some sources of lift are: Thermals In summer the main source of rising air is convection caused by the sun warming some areas, such as sun facing slopes, dry fields and concrete, more than others. Bubbles of air that are warmer and lighter than their surroundings rise, forming the fluffy white cumulus clouds that you see on a nice day. Gliders circle to climb up to cloud base and set off to the next thermal, or carry on up into the cloud. Hill lift Wind blowing against a slope is deflected upwards and produces good lift to about twice the height of the hill, so that gliders can fly along the slope. For this reason many gliding sites are on the top of a ridge. Wave In the right weather conditions, standing waves are set up downwind of ranges of hills such as the Pennines. These waves can be used to climb to heights of a few miles should a glider manage to find the 'up' part.

Gliding Weather Gliders will fly in rain, but won't be launched in it, as water on the wings affects the performance, and because the visibility is seriously reduced. Likewise low cloud will stop flying. Any other weather is fine, unless the wind is very strong. More specific conditions are needed for good thermals and wave and pilots devote a lot of time to trying to spot the good days. In general, we will always try to be ready to glide even if the weather is not perfect and we won't cancel a trip unless hurricanes are approaching! All that is needed is a positive outlook.

The Society Since it's formation in 1970, Leeds University Union Gliding Society (LUUGS) has been giving students the opportunity to participate in and learn about the world of gliding.

What We Do Our society is largley aimed at introducing people who are completley new to the world of aviation to gliding- no previous experience is necessary! Everybody who joins will get the opportunity to learn to fly a glider with a qualified instructor and to learn about the operation of the airfield. We organise trips to Pocklington Airfield each weekend and Wednesday afternoon during term time. Pocklington is operated by our host club, Wolds Gliding Club (WGC). You will become an accociate member of WGC when you join our society, which would cost considerably more oterwise. Pocklington is also inhabited by York and Manchester gliding societies along with many private members. You can learn more about WGC on their website. If you are already an experienced glider pilot, you are of course still more than welcome to join us and use the excellent facilities at Pocklington!

Trips The society organises trips to Pocklington airfield each weekend and Wednesday afternoon during term time. These trips are organised through the forum on this website and spaces are allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Each trip lasts all day, usually from early in the morning to after sunset. We organise transport, usually by either a rented or a member's car (If you own a car, we would appreciate use of it and you would be reimbursed- let us know!) but the airfield is also reachable by public transport. Once we arrive at Pocklington, we help to set up the airfield- getting the gliders out of the hangars, setting up the winch and so forth- and then take turns through the day to fly. When not flying, there are plenty of things to do to keep things running smoothly. You will be taught how to launch a glider, to drive a tractor and to operate the radio and lights we use for launching. If you’re interested in coming on a trip, read our directions on How to Join!	View Poclkington Airfield in a larger map

Learning to Fly Gliding is not difficult; if you can drive a car you can fly a glider and you don't need any previous experience with either to start learning. As the minimum age for gliding is 16, pilots often go solo before they can even drive. Whilst at the club, you will be taught how to fly the gliders by the WGC instructors, all of whom are voluntary so you won’t be charged extra for instruction! Before each flight, your instructor will typically talk you through the upcoming lesson. Even from your very first lesson, you will be given the opportunity to take control of the glider and you will very quickly find yourself doing more and more of the flying as you progress. Eventually, usually somewhere between 40 and 60 flights, you will be sent off to fly SOLO! Flying a plane by yourself is something everyone should experience in their lifetime. Most members of the society are entirely new to flying when they join and so will be beginning their training at the start of the syllabus. The syllabus is something along the lines of: 1. Effects of Controls 2. Turning 3. Maintaining a Heading 4. Use of Trimmer 5. Approach Control 6. Landing 7. Stalling 8. Spinning 9. Spiral Dives 10. Steep Turns 11. Winch Launching 12. Cable Breaks 13. Aerotowing 14. Soaring 15. Circuit Planning 16 First solo This isn’t necessarily followed in this order and you will be given a training record card to track your progress. You will also be offered a log book to keep track of what flying you’ve done.

The Cost Gliding is almost certainly the cheapest way of flying- aviation can be an expensive hobby but gliding through our society makes this far more reasonable. Membership to the society costs Ł20, after which you only need to pay for transport to the airfield and for whatever flying you do- you are free to do as much or as little as you like! The price list for the cost of flying can be found on the WGC website, here (You can ignore the membership fees, we pay that!)..