Learn to fly with the Nelson Lakes Gliding Club:
‘tis the joy of soaring distant wildernesses as a bird on the wing
Join our club! We provide the aircraft & we train pilots
To feel at one with nature and belong in the air
Could I do it too?
The short answer is probably yes! Almost anyone can learn to fly.
Our club has catered for members ranging in age from 13 to over 80+. The medical requirements for gliding are less restrictive than those for a private pilots license for general aviation powered aircraft. You will need to pass a basic medical check by your own GP prior to going solo and get him or her to sign a form available from the national website (gliding.co.nz). This requirement is to ensure that you have no illnesses that could prevent you from flying safely on your own.
Where do I start?
The best way to start is with one of the club's IntroPacks. The IntroPack includes three instructional trial-flights, a booklet/leaflet on gliding and a DVD. Current pricing is on the ‘Membership info’ page and represents fantastic value! To purchase one, contact Fred McKee on (03) 544-8595, but be aware that a waiting period may apply, Fred will be able to provide an estimate of when you could join the ranks. If after completing your first three flights you think ”This is for me, I need more of this” then you have the following options:-
Option A. Weekends with the Nelson Lakes Gliding Club.
This is the traditional low cost, time-honored way of learning. Each weekend the club has a roistered duty instructor for at least one day of the weekends’ flying. You fly with this instructor. Typically you will get three flights a day. It will probably take about 50 flights from our winch launch to gain the necessary skills to fly solo. This normally takes most people about a year but much depends on how many weekends you come and fly. (People who can come regularly each weekend find it much easier to learn.) Total cost for training in our fiberglass two seat gliders is likely to be about $1200 plus annual club membership of approximately $430.
As a not-for-profit club, we rely on everyone helping out to keep our costs to a minimum. Once you have started to learn to fly you can help out on the ground while waiting for your training flights. You can “run the wing” on launches, drive the retrieve-car to haul back the winch cable, retrieve gliders and, after instruction, drive the winch. Usually you would spend a full day at the airfield, both flying and helping out. It is not a boring day for those who know how to fit into a team and work where it is needed.
Option B. 6 day intensive residential course with Nelson Lakes Gliding Club: Glider training and introduction to mountain soaring.
The club runs a residential course at St Arnaud in approx mid-Feb each year. It is a grand way to learn to fly as you do it without ""forgetting"" skills from one weekend to the next, hence a shorter time to solo is often achieved. On the other hand when the weather is good we interrupt the circuit training to go off on longer cross country trips with students. This will show you the wow factor of why you will want to be a glider pilot. Then there are lectures at night and the camaraderie of fellow students staying at the Red Deer Lodge in St Arnaud. the costs of this course are for most pilots less than weekend training as you learn quicker, but you need $1200 to accompany the application to join the course and numbers are limited. If you are interested send an email to info@glidingnelson.co.nz.
Option C. Immersion training with Southern Soaring or the Taupo Gliding Club.
These two organisations offer courses most weeks of the summer season After this course you are likely to be solo. You come back to us in a good position to soon be “”rated ““ to fly one of our two single seat sailplanes as a full club member.
How am I taught?
In all options you are taught to fly by qualified instructors, who follow the training syllabus set by Gliding New Zealand. The training syllabus can be found at here.
What happens once I go solo?
Your journey in flight doesn’t stop once you go solo. On the contrary it is just the start of a soaring career. After your first few solo flights you can work towards cross country, passenger and QGP (qualified glider pilot) ratings, badge awards (for flights of certain distance, height or duration), competitive flying, instructing others and much more. There are cross country instruction within our club or with the commercial organisations at Omarama.
Where can I get more information?
Feel free to contact the club if you have any questions about gliding. info@glidingnelson.co.nz Training information, photos, other club contact details and more are available on the Gliding New Zealand website. Many books exist on learning to soar; these can often be found at the local library. Our club has a library available for all members to borrow from. We also have copies of a short video, known as Lucy learns to fly, available for loan.
For more general information on Gliding, check out the following Wikipedia link: