Glider Pilots Licence

Gliding takes place at the Thames Airfield on weekends plus public holidays or by arrangement.

The club owns two 2 seater gliders (Blaniks) which are used for local flying as well as training. Launching is by aerotow behind the clubs 180hp Cessna 172 or occasionally behind the clubs 100hp Technam Golf microlight.

Having the Gliding, Sport flying and General Aviation all combined in the one club makes for a unique social and exciting flying environment. The opportunities for club trips vary, eg Fly over to Great Barrier Island in the Cessna 172 for fishing with other members or participate in club trips with the gliders in tow to say Dargaville or Raglan.

Training

The club can train pilots to enable safe and enjoyable flying be it local or cross country.

The trainee progresses through the A Certificate then B Certificate syllabus until eventually with further training becoming a Qualified Glider Pilot (QGP). A QGP is roughly equivalent to a Private Pilot Licence (PPL) in power flying.

Training takes place each Sunday under the guidance of the club instructors, initially flying dual in one of the clubs Blaniks until proficient enough for first solo. Then there will be further dual and solo flights to progress through the training syllabus.

Also, there are written and oral exams to be sat as well.

Excellent information is available on the Gliding NZ website where you can click on various links or go straight to detailed information on the training syllabus.

The Gliding NZ operations team has put together an excellent study guide to assist the student pilot called the QGP Training Manual. This is available through the Gliding International Book Store. Email: booksdvd@glidinginternatioal.com.

Trial Flights

You do not have to be a club member to enjoy the thrills of a soaring flight above the scenic Coromandel Peninsular. Trial flights are available to all, and who knows, you might get hooked and take up soaring as a pastime. Just call in to the club at Thames Airfield on any weekend.

Vouchers are also available and make excellent gifts.

Costs (as at December 2008)

Vouchers and Trial Flights - $80.00*

Training for Club Members

• Club membership $256 per year (includes affiliation fee to Gliding NZ and subscription to the Soaring magazine).
• Flying charged out at $36 per hour for the glider time plus the tow cost at $240 per hour. Tows to 2000 ft are around 15 mins so about $36
• Instructor time is free
• A lesson would cost approximately $54.00

*All prices are approximate and can change at any time. Please contact Microflight or the Aero Cluh for more information.