Junior Gliding Guidelines

Index.

What is Junior Gliding?
History
I am interested, what should I do?
When I arrive, what should I do?
When to arrive?
What is the minimum age?
Who can come?
Child Protection.
What happen if the weather is too bad to fly?
Who can drive the vehicles?
How many flights will the juniors perform?
What does it cost?
Payment.
Poor weather?
What to bring?
Food and drink.
When do we finish?
Are mum and dad welcome to stay?
Can I try it out to see if I like it, or bring a pal or a visitor?
If I like it and want to learn to glide, what do I do?
How does gliding work?
Facilities
What are the privileges of membership?
What staff are there?
Do Junior members have to come every week?
How busy is it?
Can you fly at other times?
Supervision.
Risk and safety
Insurance
Flights in powered aircraft.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme
Logbooks and progress cards.
Bursaries, grants and financial help
Nervous flyers
Lookout!
Contacts

Junior Gliding is the arrangement whereby junior members of the gliding club may be left under the supervision of a group of enthusiastic parents/instructors at certain nominated times.

The club does not operate a crèche but individual club members have pooled their resources to ensure that there will always be experienced parents among the club members on site during the periods of ‘Junior’ gliding. It takes place on Friday evenings from March until October. There is a strong social aspect as well as flying.

Junior members of the gliding club are welcome to attend the club at any time, 365 days per year, and use any of the facilities and equipment that they have been trained to operate – but they must be supervised by an adult. Outside the periods of junior gliding this means that they must bring their ‘own’ adult with them.

‘Junior’ gliding has been running at Shenington for 2 years, since April 2009. We have had a total of 29 junior members plus 3 adult flyers associated with them. We have sent 2 juniors solo on their 16th birthdays and we have couple of prospective power pilots under training. We have numerous buggy drivers, 4 Toyota retrieve-car drivers and one winch driver. We have learned how to pack and unpack the hangar and carry out some simple maintenance tasks as well as helping with the ‘Annual’ checks. We have one qualified LPC and lots of glidex log operators. We have learned how to cook and have obtained Duke of Edinburgh award achievements. We have also had a lot of fun.

If you already know junior members or any of the adult helpers, either talk to them, or come along with them one day. If you are completely new and don’t know anybody yet, don’t worry, just contact Mike or Gillian whose details are below.

Go to the Clubhouse and ask for directions to the launch point; the position of the launch point varies from day to day, depending primarily on the wind direction.

You should always put your name on the flying ‘list’ when you arrive, make yourself known to the Duty Instructor and Launch Point Controller (LPC) and ask what jobs you can do to help. If it is your first visit you will find it all a bit baffling at first; but very soon you will see how it takes teamwork to launch and collect the gliders and you will be shown what to do and how to help. Don’t try to do any task until you have been shown how to do it properly and safely.

On arrival, please make sure that Mum or Dad has a quick word with whoever is in charge (probably the Launch Point Controller – the ‘LPC’) before leaving the site, in case any message needs to be passed on.

A lot of the juniors come directly from the school bus (the Johnsons 270, for example, will normally drop you at the airfield gate) and thus arrive shortly after 5pm. You can arrive as early as you like - if it is school holiday, for example - but be aware that the core of ‘junior gliding parents’ may not be on site until 5pm, unless a specific plan has been made. At other times of day or week there is no organised parental cover.

Remember is expected that – like all members - you will help out while at the gliding club and will normally stay until the hangar is packed. It is sometimes the case that certain juniors will have to arrive late or leave early to fit on with other family arrangements; this is ok but the organisers need to know who is planning to leave early. Otherwise you may not get to fly, or we may end up worrying where you have gone! It is likely that most of the juniors will want to stay in the clubhouse with their pals after flying has finished. Parents are strongly encouraged to come in and join us in the bar.

Junior members quite often want to camp out or stay late. There is no problem with this but parental cover must be in place and it should not be assumed that the junior gliding parents will be responsible. So, if you want to camp out, you need to make your own arrangements.

In poor weather there will be the opportunity for glider servicing or other useful tasks as well as some ‘theory’ tuition in addition to sitting and chatting or playing cards.

Secondary school age. Existing adult club members may of course come along at any time and bring their families so there may be children younger than this on site. Parents wishing to watch – or participate – may want to bring younger children to watch and of course they are welcome. But we can’t really train anyone younger than about 14. If younger children do come then they may occasionally be able to get a flight but we can’t promise this.

The minimum age to fly solo in a glider or aeroplane is 16 and to get a licence for a powered aircraft it is 17.

Difficult to define. Anyone known to us, or anyone who is keen on flying and who takes the trouble to come along and enquire. Enthusiasts.

The club has a child protection policy and a process for CRB checks in accordance with British Gliding Association best practice. Shenington Gliding Club was one of the first UK gliding clubs to be awarded the status of approved ‘Junior Gliding Centre’ by meeting all the BGA requirements in terms of supervision and skill. Well-behaved juniors are always welcome.

It is very rare to be so bad that no flying takes place at all but the amount of flying is often affected by the weather. Junior Gliding will ALWAYS go ahead on a Friday unless you specifically notified otherwise. We can often salvage some flying from even the most unpromising forecast, and frequently use the motorglider to very good effect.

Only people who have been trained to do so. The golf buggies are very popular with the kids and for these vehicles the rules are
1. maximum of one junior per vehicle at a time
2. no juniors under 14 allowed to drive the buggies at all
3. training will be carried out and name placed on the approved drivers list

It is common for the juniors to be taught how to drive, once they are large enough and sensible enough to do so; then they can contribute more to running the airfield. Parents are welcome to help teach their own children to drive, or they may prefer to leave it to those of the adults helpers who take an interest in such things.

That is up to mum/dad! Subject to the weather we hope to be able to offer 1 or 2 flights per junior per visit. But mum and dad need to let us know how many they are allowed to do! Those who are really keen, progressing very well or are nearing ‘first solo’ may want or need more flights but we will talk to you about this when it arises.

The cost of a winch launch is £7. Flight time is charged at 25 pence per minute. Typical cost of a 5 minute winch flight is thus £8.25. If it makes good training sense to use the motorglider then we recommend this and it costs £45 per hour. A typical motorglider trip would take 20 minutes and cost about £15. Aerotow flights will cost at least £30. Price review due March 2011

Club policy is that payment should be made on the day of the flight. For those juniors who are signed up as members there is an account facility and flights will be booked to their account. Club policy is that accounts should be kept in credit. Please deposit some money into accounts on an occasional basis to top them up and stay in credit or at least don’t owe the club money

We will go always ahead anyway, unless specifically notified otherwise. For those children who are learning to fly, there are lots of things to show them and if the weather is wet we will do some of the indoor stuff. We try not to call this classroom study but in fact there is some ‘groundschool’ that they will have to pick up along the way! So do come, even if the weather seems rubbish.

Always bring boring ‘sensible’ clothes. It is an outdoor activity and can get cold, especially in the evenings. Flat shoes which are warm and dry are important. Even in summer it is essential that junior members bring warm clothes, to include jacket, hat and gloves and warm waterproof shoes. Children who are incorrectly dressed can often be lent some warm clothes from the lost property box but may have to remain in the clubhouse and not participate in the flying.

We normally have a communal pasta-and-sauce meal which the juniors themselves will prepare. If you want your child to take part please say so, otherwise please feed your child or send a sandwich or similar with them so they don’t starve or get cranky. The bar sells snacks, soft drinks and hot drinks so perhaps bring some pocket money?

The gliding club is a members’ club in which all the members work together to keep the cost of flying down to the minimum by teamwork. There are a few seasonal staff but the vast majority of tasks are performed by the members themselves. Some members are formally qualified to give flying instruction, or to fly the tow planes, or to repair and service gliders. All members are expected to become proficient with any task within their capability, even if this is only cleaning gliders or maintaining the flying log. The club is governed by a committee of volunteers.

The gliding club shares the use of Shenington Airfield, near Banbury. This is private land, not a licensed airfield. There is a heated clubhouse with lecture rooms, bar and kitchen. There are toilets, bunk-house and showers; a number of members keep caravans on site and stay over in these, or camp, especially at weekends. There are hangars and a workshop. The club has a fleet of gliders (two-seaters for training and also some single-seaters and a motorglider) and has the use of some light aircraft for launching the gliders by aerotow. The majority of glider flights are launched by the winch, which is cheaper. The club is a full member of the British Gliding Association.

Members are entitled to come along to the club at any time 365 days per year and use any of the equipment or facilities that they have been trained to operate. There is a rota of volunteers, backed up by a handful of staff, to run the airfield. All members become ‘checked-out’ at any task they are capable of and are expected to participate in the running of the airfield so far as they are able. Typical tasks include

Keeping the flight log – called ‘glidex’
Fetching landed gliders
Assisting with signalling or launching gliders
Escorting visitors
Driving the cable retrieve vehicle
Driving the winch
Flying for fun/receiving instruction
Giving Instruction in gliders or powered aircraft
Tidying the clubhouse
Servicing the gliders
Running the bar
Mowing the grass
Decorating the clubhouse
Going on occasional retrieves to fetch gliders from fields far away!

The club is a voluntary organisation but there are some part-time seasonal staff. There is a part-time manager and during the summer there is daytime winch driver and at least one duty staff instructor. The Friday evening group is entirely run by volunteers. There will always be a winch driver and a launch point ‘controller’ and at least one instructor per glider at any time that flying is taking place.

No. But we expect that you will come fairly regularly if you are interested. It is not fair to expect the adult volunteers to commit to coming along otherwise.

This depends on the weather, how much daylight we have and which students turn up. We are close to our maximum capacity at the moment.

Yes. There is a ‘casual’ flying list system at weekends and midweek training is bookable via the office. The club also runs training courses and flying is available every day of the year.

While it may appear very relaxed, in fact there is a close degree of supervision at all times while flying is taking place. This is primarily arranged by the ‘duty’ instructor whose decisions and instructions must be followed. It is important that junior members are capable of understanding and following instructions.

Supervision is strong and the level of risk is low but gliding IS an adventure sport.

Personal risk is not insured by the club and your own domestic insurance policy may not cover airsports. Note also that domestic motor insurance does not normally cover ‘airside’ use and thus your car insurance is likely to be invalid if you drive past the car park and on to the airfield itself. The third-party liability risk is covered by an ‘aerodrome operators’ insurance policy which the club holds.

From time to time all members are likely to be offered the chance to have a flight in a powered aircraft, quite possibly one of the tugs. This is considered part of the fun. It is possible to be trained to fly the motorglider and obtain a powered aircraft licence (PPL) at Shenington.

Gliding is a recognised activity by this scheme and junior members can use their gliding towards D of E at all levels

The club does not offer direct financial assistance, although individual club members are very generous and often give encouragement and practical help such as free rides in aircraft. There are a variety of scholarships, bursaries and grants but these are normally available only to people who have already made a start in gliding and need help to continue to develop their flying skills; applications normally need to be endorsed by one of the senior instructors. A number of the current SGC juniors have benefitted from grant assistance to date.

Those who are learning to fly will have logbooks and progress cards which should be filled in by their instructor each day. We normally keep the Junior members’ logbooks at the club.

Quite a lot of people are apprehensive about flying at first, but quickly get used to it. The winch launch is steep and exciting and experience has shown that many juniors prefer just to watch and not fly at all on their first visit. In such cases we often use the motorglider – it is much more sedate and offers reassuring side-by-side seating. The motorglider is a good machine for nervous beginners, and later on it is an invaluable tool for circuit planning, navigation, field landing or other advanced exercises.

Flying should be expected 365 days per year on all runways and grass areas during daylight hours, even if it seems quiet. More than one runway may be in use at any time – please look out carefully, and if a glider of aircraft is approaching you, move to the edge of the runway.

Mike Cuming 07747 841348 mikecuming@crabb.biz

Gillian Crabb 01295 678004 gilliancrabb@googlemail.com

Gliding Club office 01295 680008

Clubhouse payphone 01295 688121

Email address office@shenington-gliding.co.uk

This document was produced in early March 2011; it is likely that all prices will rise at or shortly after the AGM in late March.