Gliders are basically light aircraft without engines. Older gliders are made of wood and metal, modern ones are made from glass and carbon fibre. All are strong and controllable so pilots can fly them safely and accurately, normally landing within a few feet of the chosen place. They have long efficient wings and glide from 20 to 60 times as far as then descend. As the normal rate of descent is only about 150 feet a minute, any faster rising air can be used to gain height and prolong the flight. This is called soaring and in good conditions gliders can climb several thousand feet in each area of warm rising air or thermal and then glide several miles to the next one. In this way long cross country flights can be flown around pre-planned routes, usually finishing back at the starting point. There are different ways to launch a glider, typically a winch launch or aero tow is employed. Winch launch is the cheaper and efficient way to launch a glider up to a certain altitude. Winch pulls in a 3000ft cable attached to the glider which then climbs, rather like a kite, to a height of 1000 – 2000ft depending of the direction and strength of the wind. The cable is released at the top of the launch and the glider begins a wide circuit of the airfield. If no rising air is found the flight will last about 5-10 minutes and the glider will land close to the starting point. As an alternative to the winch, gliders are sometimes towed up behind a powerful light aircraft and released at a height of 2000ft or more. This is called aero towing. Gliding is an affordable way to take to the skies, especially when you consider the cost to hire powered aircraft. Gliding also promotes ‘Green Aviation’ and is extremely environment friendly. The optimal weather conditions for gliding are sunny and not too windy. Generally speaking, the only things that will stop you flying are persistent rain, low cloud and gusts of wind over 30 mph. Gliding involves flying unpowered aircraft using the same naturally occurring currents of air that birds use to fly. Using these invisible currents of air, known as ‘lift’, you can soar to great heights and travel great distances around the country at average speeds of over 100 miles per hour. Typical cross country flight distances are around 300km, but flights in excess of 1,000km and altitudes of over 30,000 feet have been achieved in the UK with even greater heights and distances achieved in the mountainous regions of the world.