250km per hour - <5m off the ground
Soar through the sky like an eagle free in flight, no worries, surrounded only by natures beauty.
As a young girl I always admired the grace and ease in which gliders moved through the sky and often wondered what it must feel like enjoying the freedom of the limitless sky. Later on in life staying on a farm my children and I was fortunate enough to continue admiring them gliding nearly every day - The question still remaining on my lips: “What does it feel like?”
("250km per hour - <5m off the ground - This is what living is all about!! " Theses were the words by Clinton Birch after taking this photo of a friend flying low).
Until I have met up with my friend, a few years ago on Facebook, who just happened to be a gliding instructor (part time) I never knew exactly how gliding worked. He often mesmerizes me with his stories and breath taking photos. All the photos in this article have been taken by Clinton as he is also a passionate photographer.
Gliding:
It is a diverse sport which can be enjoyed at all levels, by both genders and all ages from 14-90 years old. You can take it up for leisure, if you are more competitive by nature then join the international racing championships and for those dare devils out there, you can get your Adrenalin fix by getting involved with the aerobatics side of it.
The Glider:
This gracious man made bird can have a wingspan of anything up to 18m and can reach a speed of over 300mph. The thickness, material and length of each wing depends on the purpose of the glider. If you are into aerobatics, the wingspan of the glider will be much shorter to increase the manoeuvrability.
There are different ways to launch your glider: Most commonly used are by aerotow. When aerotowed the glider gets towed behind an aircraft using a 60m rope. As soon as the desired altitude is reached the pilot releases the rope and the glider takes flight. A very strong stationary engine on the ground at the end of the launch area is used for winch launching using a cable of 800-1200m attached to the one end of the glider. They also use elastic ropes for bungee launching from slopes if there is enough wind blowing up the hill.
Once the glider is launched it gains height by using thermals, ridge lift, lee waves or convergence zones and can stay in flight for hours (soaring). The glider is equipped with different instruments to assist the pilot.
For landing the glider needs a clean strip of about 250meters long. They usually land back at the airfield they have taken off from.
History:
Gliding started already in 1849 with George Cayleys wing-borne hops. Otto Lilienthal built gliders in the 1890”s using weight shift control. The Wright Brothers gliders used movable surfaces for control in their gliders in the 1900s.
Gliders got more popular for sporting purposes in Germany and the United states after World War 1, when construction of motorised planes were forbidden.
As the gliders evolved in the 1930s, materials continuously improving and becoming lighter, they started using it for cross-country flying. Today you can find The ASG29 a modern flapped 18-meter glider with a glide ratio of over 50:1, and the ETA open-class glider is the largest with a span of 30.9 meters and a glide ratio of over 70:1.
Most gliders are built in Europe and are designed to EASA Certification Specification CS-22. These minimum standards for safety in a wide range of characteristics such as controllability and strength.
What makes gliding so wonderful?
You can fly high, fast and far at minimal expenses as there are no fuel costs involved. The only costs are rental for a glider and the towing. You can appreciate the different aspects of the sky, the amazing birds in flight and the serene views from up above. You will experience freedom as you've never had before.
Hope you are inspired to add gliding to your hobby list.
Enjoy gliding and keep smiling, reading, writing and voting.
Don't forget to follow @crazymumzysa
@gavvet features authors to promote new authors and a diversity of content. All STEEM Dollars for this post go to the featured author.
Some really cool shots, especially the one with the rainbow, and article in itself. Thank you for sharing, namaste :)
very nice @gavvet
just awesome :D
Hope you will try it too. Thank you royalmarco.
excellent post!!!
nice article
gorgeous rainbow
The rainbow photo was taken a few years ago at the Welkom, Freestate, South African gliding competition.
It looks liberating. I have considered it, but there is just something about having a backup plan. The combination of speed and altitude bring safety to mind. Gravity is unforgiving. No engine, no parachute, no thank you. I am more than happy watching others soar in gliders.
These thoughts went through my mind too mrosenquist but we all have to die it is just a matter of when and how.
Don't get me wrong, I actually am not afraid to die. That day will come. But I choose to have a say in the matter. No need to be haphazard about it and in this case, my logical brain says "not today". :)
I understand that was just my logic behind my fear.
I feel the same way about flying. Always been obsessed with heights. I had my first flying lesson a few months ago and hope someday I can afford to train for a licence to fly.
Really exciting stuff. I'm following :)
You are so lucky beanz. It seems to be easier to get a gliding license. In south Africa you need to be able to do 35 takeoffs and landings then they will consider you. In America is seems like they are more strict though. I truly hope you will get that desired license. Thanks so much.
Some day maybe. It's incredibly expensive but if I were in a position to for lessons it'd be worth the money! I hope for your dreams to come true too. 😊
Nice post.Thanks...
Wow wow wow! I hate flying myself, totally phobic, but this looks awesome.
I know how you feel, thanks. This is something I am going to try as soon as I make enough Steem Dollars.
That'll be an awesome - "steemit's first steem-powered glider"!
Isn't it more dangerous than motor planes? What if there is too much wind and you can not reach the airport to land?
The pilots get trained to read the wind currents. There are less accidents with gliders in South Africa than your small commercial planes.
On the bucket list for sure
A very definite for your bucket list and it is not even expensive. Have fun and let me know how it felt.
Thanks for you post!
It was a pleasure writing this post. Will you go gliding?
This is what life is all about, doing what you love to do and always do it for the sake of satisfaction.
By the way @gavvet, did you received my message on steemitchat? I have something for you there.
I would love to know how it feels like to fly.
@crazymumzysa
I bet birds know nothing about the engineering of flying but they are still masters of the skies. Don't bother with the details and enjoy yourself.
Very good advice kyriacos, thank you. What kind of birds are these, they have very interesting wings. Love it.
Ahhhhhhhh Gavvet!
I have been following you since my first day here on Steemit and I have since read multiple articles about you featuring other contributors.
You are truly providing great value to this community with your standards of honor and consideration for others!
There are many people who's lives have been changed because of your compassion and support and you are setting a truly honorable example!
I have read multiple accounts from other accounts about how your feature helped them in this community get attention and recognition. I can't say enough how important it is and I now pledge to also do the same for others when I have enough influence to help as you do.
Thank you for all you do~*~
@gavvet It's obvious that you care about helping people; that's something we can relate to (we feed 40,000 free meals a year and provide clothing, housing, and education for those in need as well). We respect your honorable use of your position--your support of this community is undeniable, and we recognize your contribution!
He (@gavvet) is our Gardian Angel for sure.
Bless the angels!
I really appreciate the idea of more established authors promoting the less established ones but this looks a bit weird to me: @crazymumzysa uses her account to promote @thegoldencookie, while you use yours to promote @crazymumzysa.
Isn't this getting out of hand a bit?
Yes it might look a bit weird :). I took the idea from @gavvet to also promote other authors. I have featured quite a few already.
IMO you (with your own reputation already in place) would have probably benefited more, if you had published this post on your own. As it is, you get just Steem Dollars but you are forgoing the Steem Power you deserve.
@crazymumzysa is doing a great job of promoting other users.
I helped set up that ecosystem initially, just like @jacor, @dragonslayer109 and @terrycraft.
I reserve the right to give them a little boost if needed to increase their following so that their entire sub-communities can reach more.
@crazymumzysa This is very well written.
I would love to try this.
Thanks @gavvet for sharing.
This makes flying accessible to almost anyone. An inspiring article.
This was my thought too. Go find a local gliding club and you will be surprised at the affordability for taking a guest gliding and also becoming a licensed pilot yourself.
Gracias por compartir este material, me gusta mucho lo que ha publicado
But is it SAFE??......Some stunning photo's.
really wonderful photos and story, thanks
Beauty of bird's flight. We will be as birds to fly over the earth
Bhj