A different view of the world
FERNDALE – The East Rand Gliding Club invites residents to enter their Valentines competition where they stand a chance to win an introductory flight on a glider.
Ferndale resident, Trevor Perkel spends most of his free time teaching people how to fly glider planes and said nothing beats spending time in the sky.
Perkel is the chief flying instructor for the East Rand Gliding Club and introduced his friend Mike Nel, to the sport, who has been flying for about five years.
“My friend called me about five years ago and invited me to try out gliding, At first I was like, ‘what’s that?’ and then I learnt how to fly by myself and I have never looked back,” said Nel.
He explained that glider planes were supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and then glider’s free flight did not depend on an engine.
“Gliders don’t usually have an engine and therefore need help to get up in the air,” he said. “That is when the wing design and the air flow come into play in order to keep them flying. One way that gliders get up into the air is called an aero-tow, which is a rope that is connected to the glider. When the glider is at the right altitude, that’s when the pilot will release the rope.”
He added that Randburg residents who wanted to learn how to fly glider planes would have to travel all the way to Brits to take lessons and invited them to rather make the trip to the Springs-based club which was a non-profit organisation and only charged for the running costs with the lessons being free.
“Being up in the air is fun and challenging. In the beginning, I didn’t think I could do it but after flying at 9 000 feet I have never looked back. It’s really a different world up there, seeing the roads become tiny little lines and cars just dots,” he said.
He pointed out that it took only 40 hours of flying to obtain a gliding pilot’s licence and there were seven key areas that potential pilots would have to be examined on.
“Once you’ve been up there you’ll always walk on the ground looking up to the sky,” Nel said.
Want to take your love to the skies? The East Rand Gliding Club would like to offer a Valentine’s Day prize of an introductory flight for you and your partner in a motor glider. A home-cooked breakfast will be served after your flight. Just send an email telling us how special your relationship is to randburgsun@caxton.co.za
