Gliding - Training and Regulation

Training and Regulation

In addition to national laws controlling aviation, the sport in many countries is regulated though national gliding associations and then through local gliding clubs. Much of the regulation concerns safety and training.

Many clubs provide training for new pilots. The student flies with an instructor in a two-seat glider fitted with dual controls. The instructor performs the first launches and landings, typically from the back seat, but otherwise the student manages the controls until the student is deemed to have the skill and the airmanship necessary to fly solo. Simulators are also beginning to be used in training, especially during poor weather.

After the first solo flights glider pilots are required to stay within gliding range of their home airfield. In addition to solo flying, further flights are made with an instructor until the student is capable of taking a glider cross-country and of handling more difficult weather. Cross-country flights are allowed when they have sufficient experience to find sources of lift away from their home airfield, to navigate, and to select and land in a field if necessary. In most countries pilots must take a written examination on the regulations, navigation, use of the radio, weather, principles of flight and human factors. Proposals are being made to standardise the training requirements across European countries.

In addition to the regulation of pilots, gliders are inspected annually and after exceeding predetermined flight times. Maximum and minimum payloads are also defined for each glider. Because most gliders are designed to the same specifications of safety, the upper weight limit for a pilot, after allowing for a parachute, is usually 103 kilograms (230 lb). There is also a limit, 193 centimetres (6 ft 4 in), on the tallest pilots who can safely fit into a typical glider's cockpit.