How It Works

From Takeoff To Landing

A strict procedure is followed for every glider flight, from takeoff through to landing. The actions of the glider pilot, the tow plane pilot, and the ground crew must be coordinated.

One end of a tow rope is attached to a tow plane, and the other is attached to the engineless glider. The attachments are a metal ring in a movable jaw, allowing the glider pilots to "release" the rope after takeoff.

The "wing runner" levels the wings and signals to the tow pilot that the glider is ready for launch. The tow pilot slowly takes up the slack in the rope. Once the rope is taut, the wing runner signals "all out" and the tow plane and glider begin their take off roll.

The tow plane departs with glider in tow. Once both the glider and the tow plane have sufficient speed, they pull away from the ground, the glider following closely behind the towplane.

The tow plane pulls the glider to the requested altitude, typically between 2000' and 5000' above the ground. Once in straight and level flight, the glider pilot completes their pre-release checks, releases the tow rope and the two aircraft part ways. The glider turns up and to the right and tow plane turns down and to the left to create a safe separation.

If conditions allow, a skilled glider pilot can remain airborne by using rising air in the atmosphere. We refer to this as "lift" and there are a few natural phenomenons that can cause it. Lift can be a result of convection, or a result of air moving over terrain. A single glider flight can last many hours.

In preparation for landing, the glider pilot completes a pre-landing checklist, and performs a square pattern called a circuit around the active runway to position themselves for a good approach.

On approach, the glider pilot manages their speed and energy with airbrakes or spoilers until they are overtop the runway. As they approach the ground they flare and bleed off any remaining speed until the glider settles for a smooth landing.

The pilots exit their glider with smiles on their faces. They hold one wingtip to keep the glider level as a ground vehicle tows them back to the launch point. They are ready for another flight.

The Types Of Lift

The true beauty in soaring is the phenomenon we call lift. The air currents that can make for an uncomfortable ride in a powered aircraft are the thing that we as glider pilots get really excited about. To harness the power of the sky is to experience true freedom

Below, is a basic description of the three types of "lift" that can take a glider and its occupants up, up, and away! If conditions are just right; once launched a glider can be piloted tens of thousands of feet above the earth and hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away with nothing more than the forces of nature.

Type 1: Thermals

You know when you see a great number of birds all flying together in a circle without flapping their wings? They are taking advantage of the most common type of lift that glider pilots uses to stay aloft. It is lift resulting from convection in the atmosphere.

As the sun warms the earth, it creates a pocket of warm air near the ground. This warm air then lifts off and creates a column of rising air in the lower atmosphere. We call these columns of air "thermals". As the air rises, it cools, and because cooler air has a lower capacity to hold onto moisture, at the right altitude (where the temperature reaches its dew point) the moisture condenses out of the air producing a flat bottomed cumulus cloud. Something a glider pilot is always happy to see! A skilled glider pilot can read the clouds to find their way through the otherwise invisible columns of rising air.

On a good soaring day, a glider pilot can fly from thermal to thermal or down long streets of cloud-marked thermals, often covering great distances. From Chipman, glider pilots have flown over 1000km in a single flight! The best soaring conditions in Chipman are typically from April to June.

Type 2: Ridge

Ridge lift occurs when air moving across a plain encounters a mountain or large hill. Because the air cannot go through the object it is forced to flow up and over. The upward movement of air along the ridge creates lift.

The lift can be found on the upwind side of the terrain and is typically limited to an altitude not much higher than the top of the ridge. A glider pilot can fly along the ridge and stay aloft as the wind conditions continue. Ridge flying is some of the most exhilarating and scenic flying one can experience.

While Chipman’s terrain does not offer us the ability to do ridge soaring locally, many of our members attend organized events in locations with mountainous terrain like Cowley or Valemount.

Type 3: Wave

Similar to ridge, mountain wave also results from air flow over mountainous terrain, and is found on the lee side of the terrain as opposed to the upwind side.

Wave is a phenomenon that requires very specific conditions to develop: stable air and high winds that increase with altitude, flowing across the mountain peaks. As the air passes over the mountains, it develops into a wave, similar to water flowing over rocks in a river.

Wave can often by visualized by lenticular clouds (often layers of them) created as the moisture in an air mass condenses and then evaporates again as it changes in altitude through different parts of the wave.

Rotor cloud is also commonly produced and it indicates an area of very rough, turbulent air underneath the wave. As glider pilots we do our absolute best to avoid it!

If a glider is able to connect with the rising part of the wave they will be treated to steady, strong and smooth lift that can take them tens of thousands of feet up. It is not uncommon to reach altitudes of 30,000ft or even 35,000ft in wave lift. In 2018, wave conditions allowed the Perlan Project to reach an altitude of over 76,000ft! Now thats a long way up!.

In Alberta, we are incredibly fortunate to have the best wave conditions in the country. Westerly winds over the rocky mountains produce wave conditions on a relatively regular basis. The best season for wave flying in Alberta is typically through the fall.

Page updated

Report abuse