Advanced Topics

Cross Country (XC)

As you improve your soaring skills, you'll be able to stay airborne for hours. On a good day, you could fly for hundreds of kilometres. Flights that take you outside of gliding range back to the airfield are called cross-country flights. Flights as far as Saskatchewan, Drumheller, and to the edge of the boreal forest have all been made from here. Instructors can provide additional training for licensed pilots interested in cross-country soaring.

Talk to your instructors for more information.

Cowley Camps

Every year the Alberta Soaring Council (ASC) operates 10-day gliding camps near Cowley, Alberta.

• The summer camp, typically held around the August long weekend, often features fair weather and thermalling flights that can extend to much of south-western Alberta. Opportunities to ridge soar the Livingstone Range and occasionally wave conditions are present as well.

• The fall camp, usually held around Thanksgiving, tends to offer wind conducive to mountain wave development over the Livingstone mountain range. This allows for flights exceeding 20,000 feet on a regular basis.

Club gliders can be packed into trailers and transported to Cowley for either camp.

See the Alberta Soaring Council page for more information.

Badges

The FAI Badge program is an international proficiency program open to all club members. A badge requires the pilot to demonstrate or achieve a specific level of performance, while observed by an Official Observer (OO). For example, a silver badge requires a 50 kilometre flight, a 5 hour flight, and a 1000 metre altitude gain.

The SAC Badge program supplements the FAI program with additional "training" badges. Most are earned as part of your initial training, but a bronze badge requires landing a glider within a 150m target and practice with rigging/de-rigging a glider. This is a necessary step in preparation for cross-country flights.

Talk to your instructors for more information and to find OOs at the club.

Instructing

The Edmonton Soaring Club instructors are all volunteers. Pilots with sufficient experience flying intro rides are encouraged to become instructors themselves. The costs of your seasonal flight checks will be covered by the club, and each flight is paid by the student. It's a great way to pass on your joy of the sport while getting plenty of flight time in a 2-seat glider.

Talk to the Chief Flight Instructor for more information.

Towing

We welcome experienced PPL pilots who are interested in flying one of our powered tow planes.

Talk to the Chief Tow Pilot for more information.

Competitions

The Soaring Association of Canada (SAC) organizes the Canadian Nationals, with the host club changing each year. These competitions typically involve a large number of gliders attempting to complete the same triangular course in the fastest time. There is also a national Canadian team who travel internationally to compete in gliding competitions.

See the Soaring Association of Canada page for more information.

Records

The SAC maintains a list of Canadian citizen records, and the FAI also maintains a list of worldwide records. Records can be set for distance, speed, or height, and separated by aircraft class and flight plan. Records require proof, typically by an Official Observer and a recording from a GPS device inside the aircraft.

ESC members hold multiple Canadian records in single-seat gliders:

• Bruce Friesen has speed records for 100km, 200km, and 400km triangles (134.2kph), and for a 300km out and return (113.6kph)

• Melanie Paradis has distance records for free out and return (253.4km), free triangle distance (338.8km), and for 3-TP distance (324km)

ESC members also hold Canadian records in two-seater gliders:

• Ray Troppman and Michael Carson have a 3-TP distance record (419.8km)

• Melanie Paradis and Patrick Pelletier have an altitude record (9831m, 32254ft) and a gain-of-height record (7257m, 23809ft)

Talk to your instructors for more information.