Have you ever dreamed
of flying, soaring the ridges and thermals just as the eagles do? Have
you been inspired by the books of Richard Bach, but never knew how to go
about taking the first step? It's a lot easier than you may think, and
quite inexpensive.
Byron Bay Gliding
Club offers 3 day and week long courses in robust Scheibe MotorFalke and
Dimona self-launching gliders. These courses are run by our Chief Flying
Instructor, Ian McPhee, one of the very best gliding instructors in Australia.
That's not just advertising hype - ask anyone who is knowledgeable about
the Australian gliding movement, and they'll tell you that Ian (known to
one and all as Macca) is regarded as literally a national
treasure, a man who has devoted the greater part of his working life
to promoting the art of soaring.
A three day course will introduce you to
the joys of the air and give you a very good idea of whether the sport
is for you. It currently costs around AUD$500. If you opt for the
longer course, budget around $1500. This fee includes books (Motorglider
Manual, Basic Gliding Knowledge, log book and aircraft handling notes),
one month GFA membership and club membership. Currency
Converter
The best times for
student courses are in Spring and Autumn when the air tends to be generally
calmer. Summer brings strong sea-breezes which make circuit training difficult
for the novice pilot. These same North Easterlies are a blessing to the
experienced soaring pilot, as they produce ridge lift - we have one of
the best ridge sites in the country, and certainly the prettiest. Coorabel
ridge was the site of two Australian records flown some 60 years ago -
Soaring
Coorabel
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