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Trial Flight Days

"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying." - Friedrich Nietschze

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Although in theory you could come out to the airfield for a trial flight whenever it's open, the easiest way to get your first flight in is to come out to one of our pre-arranged trial flight days. We'll take you from Cambridge, to the airfield, and back again.

Trial flights cost £20 for the first flight, and £16 for any subsequent flights, all-inclusive. If you become a member of CUGC on the day of your trial flight, the cost of your trial flight will be reduced to £10). Because we're a student club, we can only fly current students ("in statu pupillari"). If you want a friend or significant other to come get in touch with Julia (jmr86), but we make no guarantees.

Our Trialflight database system allows you to book trial-flights online with the minimum of fuss. Trialflights book up fast, so we recommend you book early to avoid disappointment.

 

Information for those taking or thinking about trial flights:

 

Please wear warm clothes (skirts are not a great idea!) and strong shoes for your trial flight. Remember your cheque book and camera if you want to take pictures. Sunglasses can be useful too. Unfortunately there is unlikely to be food available at the gliding club so you may like to bring something of your own.

 

Your flight will last up to 15 minutes (normally around 7 minutes) and you will be able to use the controls and have a go at flying yourself (under the guidance of your instructor!) if you want to.

 

Please note that there are a few situations where we cannot (for safety reasons) offer a trial flight:
  • If you weigh more than 224lbs (102kg).
  • If you have ever suffered from any of the following: Epilepsy, fits, severe head injury, recurrent fainting, giddiness or blackouts, unusually high blood pressure, a previous coronary.
  • If you take insulin regularly for the control of diabetes.
You will need to make your own way to the airfield (about 15 miles West of Cambridge).

A Trial Flight Story
"Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away, and be at rest." - Psalms 55:6

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I'd never flown before. Well, I'd been on holiday to the Costa del Crap, but three hours in a cramped seat with rubber food wasn't exactly a stunning aviation experience. So here I was, sitting in a glider. Dave, my instructor for the flight, was sitting behind me in the two-seater aircraft, describing what was going to happen in the air. I half-listened whilst trying to convince myself that it was much safer to fly without an engine. Some sort of kite-like affair was what I'd expected, but it was a real aeroplane, a sleek, white fibreglass machine.

Dave told me about the launch: "We're going to be towed up to about fifteen hundred feet by the winch". Looking ahead, I saw a thin steel cable stretching off into the distance to a machine barely visible at the other end of the airfield. Someone rushed over and attached the cable to the underside of the glider, and then began talking into a radio. The cable ahead started to tighten - I realised it was too late to back out now. Suddenly I was forced back into my seat as we accelerated from 0-60 in under four seconds. Dave eased the control stick backwards and we were off the ground and climbing skywards very steeply. After what seemed like only a few moments, Dave released the cable: the umbilical cord to the glider was cut and we were free.

"Do you want to have a go at flying it?" asked Dave. I grabbed the control stick. "Just ease it to the left a bit" - we rolled to the left and started turning. I tried turning to the right and then accelerating to 100 mph. We went searching for thermals - rising pockets of air - that would carry us higher. Soon we were 4000 feet above the Cambridgeshire countryside. It was calm, serene and so quiet: we were alone in the sky and as free as birds. You could see for miles, and Dave pointed out Cambridge, Ely Cathedral and Grafham Water. He told me that by flying from thermal to thermal you can fly hundreds of miles in a day without an engine, and that pilots see how far and how fast they can fly. I could understand why they do it - the sense of freedom is incredible. It was an experience that I'll never forget, and well worth sixteen quid.

Article written by Pete Thelwall.
Appeared in Varsity .