Ground Organisation

On any gliding day the ground organisation is important to both safety and operational efficiency.
1. There will be a briefing by the duty instructors to inform the pilots about the set up of the field, weather that can be expected, any safety requirements, local events which might have to be noted.
2. The next task is to get the winch and tow plane out and position the winch.
3. Get the aircraft out of the hanger and have an authorised person carry out daily inspection of the gliders.
4. Take the gliders out to the launch point and commence flying

Far more people than you would expect are required in order to get gliders safely into the air.
- A person to drive the winch.
- A pilot to fly the tug aircraft.
- An LPC(launch point controller)
- A duty instructor who is in charge of the operation
- A person to retrieve the winch launch cable
- Someone to hold the wing tip of the glider until some forward speed is achieved.
- Someone to signal to the tug pilot or winch driver that the launch can commence.
- Someone to bring the winch cable back to the launch point.
- A person to keep the flying log

Of course many of the jobs can be done by the same person depending how busy we are. But it's always a real team effort when you're just out for a days fun or whether you've been doing it for years.