Frequently Asked Questions

When?

We can fly all day Saturday and Sundays (weather permitting). During the summer months flying also happens on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Please note we must be informed in advance of your attendance to check that an instructor is available.

Where?

The club flies with with The Ulster Gliding Club which assist us with our activities, and whose airfield at Bellarena we fly from. The Ulster Gliding Club is a member of the British Gliding Association, which is the controlling body for gliding in the UK. The Ulster Gliding Club has 10-15 expert instructors who are happy to fly with us

What?

The Queen's University Gliding Club owns a two seat K-13 Glider, and members can fly it free of charge. Some photos of it in action can be viewed in our gallery. We can also fly the Ulster Club's K-21 or DG-505 two seat gliders, more advanced pilots who reach the "solo" milestone may also use the Ulster club's single seat Grob Astir.

Are gliders silent?

This is a common misconception, and it is not helped when people insist on using the catchy tagline "silent flight". Aircraft of any kind rely on air flowing around them in a specific manner to generate lift. As anyone who has heard power cables humming on a windy day knows, when air flows round an obstacle it makes noise, gliders are obstacles to the air. Gliders therefore make a wailing noise as they fly, which is usually bairley noticable on the ground unless they are flying very fast or are of an older design that is less aerodynamically refined. When we come in to land, we open panels on the wings called airbrakes, these are designed to mess up the airflow and bring us down more steeply, and when they are open they make a roaring noise that can be heard a short distance away.

Inside gliders it is relatively quiet (and newer gliders are more quiet than older less sleek ones), certainly compared to powered light aircraft. We need no headphones, and can hold a natural conversation with someone in the other seat without raising our voices. Power pilots have to have headphones and an intercom to talk to the person sitting right next to them! One interesting thing about gliding is that as the external noise increases with speed, it also does on the inside. Therefore we can "hear" how fast we are going.

Is it easy to learn?

It is very easy to learn to fly a glider. In fact, many would argue that it is technically less demanding than driving a car. The controls are very light (you can steer the plane with your fingertips) and the aircraft is naturally stable so will happily fly for a while in a straight line if you take your hands off the controls! Until you are solo, you will always fly with an instructor, qualified by the British Gliding Association, and subject to periodic re-qualification check flights.

I'm disabled, will that stop me flying?

Will I progress quickly?

That is a product of your natural ability, and how often you fly. If you fly regularly, you will make more rapid progress than if you fly occasionally, and need require fewer flights to go solo. Most people need between 30 and 50 flights to go solo. One of our recent club chairpersons only started gliding in late 2007, took 24 flights to go solo, and by summer 2009 was competing at the UK Junior National Championships!

It is quiet, so is it gentle?

Usually, yes. Bumpy days make it more interesting, but on the whole soaring flights are graceful gentle affairs.

On the other hand, if you discover a love of aerobatic flying and high-g maneuvers, it can be as exciting as you desire. Most of the instructors will be only too happy to show you some basic maneuvers like loops and chandelles. If you've got a couple of flights under your belt already you may well be ready to have a go controlling the maneauvers yourself!

But the wheels are in the middle! Why does it not fall over on the ground?

When you are moving on the ground there is a small amount of natural stability like a bike, but it does not take much speed for the wings to start "working" and hold the aircraft level. when the aircraft is stationary, one wing will rest on the ground. When we move the gliders around, someone will hold the wing tip up and use this to steer the aircraft. When we take off someone will run holding the wingtip, by the time they cannot keep up (it doesnt take long) the wings are able to keep you upright. When you land the aircraft will be nearly stopped by the time the wings can no longer be held level.

Can I bring a camera?

Yes, and we actively encourage it. Some places do not allow cameras in case they are dropped and get in the way of controls, but we encourage it conditionally on it being secured, for example by a neck or wrist strap, and the instructor is happy with it before you fly. Flying is beautiful in general, and in gliders you have an enormous perspex canopy to look out of, giving an awesome panoramic view, it would be a shame not to take pictures. This website will soon have a gallery, so we'll be thrilled if you'd let us publish any nice shots!

What if I don't like the flying sensations?

Some days can be bumpy, and if you really do not like the sensations the instructor can have the plane back on the ground very quickly. Flying sensations are something most people get used to, so if you were unlucky and had a rough day on your first go, we recommend trying again another time in calmer conditions. It's fine to try it and not like it though, you'll still have quite a talking point from your weekend.

How does a glider stay airborne with no engine?

Like a paper aeroplane, gliders gradually exchange height energy to maintain flying speed. Once the glider is released from the tow aircraft, it will slowly descend towards the ground at about 0.5 meters per second. Provided that the pilot can find air that is rising faster than 0.5m/s, for the majority of the flight, you can stay airborne indefinitely. Think of it as like trying to walk down an upwards escalator. That is the theory anyway. With the site gliding at Bellarena, and the spectacular local geography, this is possible of the majority of the days of the year.

How do you get into the air?

There are two primary methods of getting airborne. At Bellarena we are towed up behind a powered plane, this is called aerotowing. The glider pilot only has to hold position behind the tug aircraft, and is able to choose at what position and height to release the rope.

The other commonly used launch method is winching, however it is not done at Bellarena due to insufficient airfield length. The winch is parked on the other end of the airfield from the glider requiring launch, with a cable between them. When the winch rapidly pulls in cable the glider's wings generate lift and the aircraft rapidly climbs. this method uses far less fuel than aerotow, and is correspondingly far less expensive, however the glider is always launched into the same area of sky, regardless of the soaring possibilities there. Additionally the height of launch achievable is dependent on wind, winch power, and airfield length.

There is a third method of launching gliders, though it is very rarely used nowadays. Bungee launching is the method of the gliding pioneers, whereby a glider is slung off a hillside by elastic rope. Whilst certainly the "greenest" way to fly, it is only feasible when your airfield is on top of a hill, and wind against the slope is generating lift. As such it is now occasionally used at very few clubs, mainly for nostalgia and a unique experience.

How high and how far can gliders fly? Are they fast?

For reasons perhaps better known to historians, aviation uses a bizarre mix of units of measurement. Altitude is measured in feet, yet the wingspan (often used to define the size of an aircraft) is measured in meters. Distances are measured in kilometers, yet airspeed is measured in knots (nautical miles per hour). Whilst it is a little confusing at first, it is safe in that all pilots flying in most countries are using the same system so are less likely to be confused by each other.

The world record altitude reached by a glider was set by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson at an astounding 50,671ft (15.4km). In the UK we lack such powerful up-currents of air as can be found in more mountainous areas like where this record was set, and we tend to have a lot of areas of restricted airspace at higher altitudes, so such lofty heights are beyond us. Nevertheless the UK altitude record stands at an impressive 38,600ft (11.8km), and at Bellarena the record is over 23,000ft (7km). Obviously when you fly this high the air is getting thinner, so above 12,000ft (3.4km)we are required to use oxygen masks and the higher you go the more warm clothes you need.

Similarly when good conditions prevail, gliders can cover vast distances by hopping between one source of lift and the next, one of the popular challenges for advanced pilots is to fly further and faster than their personal best. The UK flight distance record currently stands at 1,108km (688 miles), though Ireland being less famed for reliable thermals, flights of 300km (186 miles) here are seen to be a considerable achievement. Modern racing gliders can be extremely fast also, with top speeds over 150kts (278kph / 173mph). Flying so fast is inefficient however, so we more often fly around 40-80kts (74-148kph / 46-92mph). Needless to say, even at these more modest speeds we can cover distances relatively quickly due to being able to go in a straight line.

Is it safe?

Gliding is definitely an adventure sport, and as such there is an element of risk, and always will be though we do a lot to mitigate this through procedure and training. It is certainly more dangerous than flying in a commercial airliner, but you are more likely to die on a scuba dive. Unlike paragliding or hang gliding, we fly sailplanes where the pilot sits in a cockpit surrounded by structure. In the event of a crash or heavy landing this structure is designed to absorb impact energy and thus we are significantly less likely to incur injury or death due to mishaps than those other gliding sports.

We also wear parachutes in case anything goes wrong in the air, but these are required incredibly infrequently. We feel that the enjoyment of flying, and the reward of doing it using natural air currents. If you would like to know more about the potential risks of gliding, we are more than happy to discuss them, and the actions taken to mitigate them.

How do I join the club?

Send an email to gliding-club@qub.ac.uk requesting your interest in joining, or visit us annually at the Fresher's Fair on the first Thursday (29th September) of term.

Is there such thing as a gliding competition? Do you participate?

There are numerous competitions in gliding. The standard format is for all pilots to race around a long distance task set each day, and to be scored according to their speed or how far they got, with the scores handicapped by the performance of their aircraft. Obviously this is only suitable to advanced pilots, and most university gliding club pilots will be relatively inexperienced.

There is one competition however that is perfectly suited to, in fact designed for university gliding. The Inter University Task Week as its name suggests is a week long competition designed specifically for us. Really it is three competitions side by side, all hosted at the same location. There is a conventional cross country flying competition for the experts, along with soaring and progression competitions that everyone can compete in.

The progression competition awards pilots for any development they make, be it getting one more exercise checked off in their logbook on the way to "solo" status, earning an achievement badge, or simply flying a new type of aircraft for the first time. As instructors and two seat gliders are plentiful, it is generally the pre-solo novice pilots who do best in this competition, being able to have several flights per day and make rapid advances in abilities. The soaring competition is scored directly on how high you are able to fly in the local area, and even pre-solo pilots can enter scores as long as the instructor does not touch the controls for the soaring portion of the flight (they can however verbally give hints).

Given the opportunities for pilots of all abilities, and the wonderful social aspect of the week we highly encourage members to come with us to the Inter Unis, it truly is a fantastic week. It also gives us the opportunity to winch launch, something we are unable to do at Bellarena due to the airfield's small size.

Does the weather matter much?

Can I just turn up at the airfield on any flying day?

Theoretically yes, however if too many people go on one day it is possible not everyone will get to fly. We therefore prefer that if you are planning on going you contact us, if there are already too many people planning on going we'll ask you to go another day.

How do I get to the airfield?

What should I bring?

Gliding does not require any special clothing or footwear, however the airfield can be damp or sometimes muddy, so don't turn up in a suit and tie. You will need the following:

1.) Food/Drink (packed lunch), though there is a small shop 15 minutes walk away, or you might be able to persuade the someone to give you a lift to visit one of many takeaways 6 miles away in Limavady.

2.) Warm clothing, particularly in winter (a good rule of thumb is to bring one more jumper than you think will ever be needed).

3.) Your student card

4.) Payment - Cash or Cheque only

What should I do at the gliding site?

Compared to powered flying, gliding really is a social sport. Even though many people fly solo, it requires a team to run the airfield and launch aircraft. The jobs that need to be done are not difficult, so it is encouraged that you help out when not flying.

1.) Report to the "wendy house" (an ex-double glazing exhibit put on a trailer) and place your name on the flying list. If you cant see it, ask someone.

2.) Help out with moving gliders, launching gliders, keeping the log etc.

3.) When it is your turn to fly - enjoy yourself, Northern Ireland in general and the north coast in particular are beautiful from above!

4.) If flying has ceased before you leave, help put the aircraft back in the hanger.

There is usually a good deal of waiting for your turn to fly and helping out is a good way to get to know people. If the weather is poor or you need a break there is a club house with a kitchen and t.v we are allowed to use.