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Gliding Scholarship (April 2010)
![Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (DSFC)](javascript:PopupPic("/military/images/glidingschol.jpg");)
During the Easter break three students from Welbeck DSFC went on RAF sponsored Gliding Scholarships - two to RNAS Predanack in Cornwall and one to RAF Syerston in Lincolnshire. The week and a half was engineered towards providing some flying time and working towards gliding wings.
The course at Predanack started on April 2nd after a few hours on the train bound for sunny Cornwall. However, this was to be the last we would see of the sun for a few days as the weather did its best to keep us on the ground. This gave us time however to get to know the other people on our course and to get our heads into the training manuals in preparation for the theory test towards the end of the week. After a few days the weather still hadn’t improved so we found ourselves learning to create our own entertainment, sometimes with the help of the Gliding Squadron’s Land Rovers, encountering a bit of Cornwall’s picturesque coastline as well as some truly skilled off-road driving.
We finally got into the air on Tuesday the 6th, and from then on it was long hot summer days spent out on the airfield, using as much of the daylight as we could. Gliding in the Viking is an awesome experience as the aircraft is launched into the air via a cable and winch system, and the views from 1700ft, which was the highest launch I got, were truly extraordinary. We finished the course on the Sunday with a presentation of blue wings, a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanics of flight and some experience of CFI Mark Wardley’s flight testing (Mark used to be a Red Bull Air Racer).
![Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (DSFC)](javascript:PopupPic("/military/images/glidingschol1.jpg");)
On the first weekend of the Summer Half Term Marc and I were invited to RAF Syerston to get some more gliding in over the Bank Holiday. It started off looking as though we weren’t going to get much flying in with similarly bi-polar weather conditions to our Easter course, however by the second day the skies had cleared and we were out in the air slowly getting back into the swing of things. By the end of Monday afternoon we had both got to the stage where we were allowed to fly solo for the first time, being awarded our silver wings. It’s a fantastic experience and one that I would recommend to anyone who can give up some time for the opportunity.
Kathy Morten, Portland 09E
