by Sqn Ldr Carl Peters, DLO HQ

Six members of the RAF Gliding and Soaring Association recently competed in the International Military Inter-service gliding competition hosted by the French Air Force at Romorantin, Central France. The Competition was designed to allow pilots of each of the military gliding organisation throughout Europe to compete against each other. As well as a strong French Team, teams participated from Germany, Belgium, Spain and the UK. As ever without the generous support from the RAF Sports Lottery and the excellent sponsorship afforded to us from British Telecom, and aerotow ropes provided by Marlow Ropes, our endeavours would not be possible.

The RAF was represented by Sqn Ldr Jon Arnold (JSU Corsham) who was the Team Captain, myself Sqn Ldr Carl Peters (DLO HQ), MACR Al Clarke (RAF Cranwell) and Chf Tech Martyn Pike (RAF Wyton). Cpl Dave Holley (RAF Lyneham) and Jnr Tech Gary Baker (RAF Benson) formed the ground support crew and flew in the back of the two-seat glider on alternate days. We used two single-seat and one two-seat glider for the competition, borrowed from RAFGSA regional clubs located around the UK. These clubs are established to serve the key main operating bases and are open to all UK service personnel and MoD civilians.

The Competition consisted of cross-country racing tasks, set around a number of turn-points and, quite simply, the fastest pilot round the course won each of the races. Tasks varied from between 162km to just over 400km, with the fastest pilots averaging up to 115kph around the tasks. To cover the cross-country task, pilots use thermals, rising warm air triggered by the heat of the sun, to climb. For a glider, height means energy and once sufficiently high enough, a pilot can then set off on route, covering ground round the course until another thermal has to be found to ‘refuel’ the glider. Differing types of gliders were split in to different classes to balance the competitive advantage possessed by the newest high-performance gliders.

While a long distance flight may last over five hours there are many jobs to do on the ground to prepare the glider for flight. Entry into a gliding competition is very much a team activity with crew and pilot following a tight timetable each morning to follow to ensure the glider is ready for flight. The morning chores include rigging the glider, independent checks of the controls, installing batteries, checking and programming of the navigation systems, and the never ending polishing to ensure the best performance possible can be achieved from the aircraft. To push up the cruising speeds, gliders will usually carry up to several hundred litres of water in the wings. A small amount of water will also be carried in the fin to ensure that the gliders’ centre of gravity remains within the optimum range for efficient flight. This water can be dumped during flight if the pilot encounters weaker soaring conditions however, every morning it has to be pumped into the wings!

These preparations are rounded off by the daily brief. The results from the previous day are announced, the day-winners get to tell everyone how they did it, flight safety points are discussed and the task for the day is announced.

Aero-tow launching, when a light aircraft is used to tow the glider to a pre-determined location and height, was used during the competition. This is not only a fast and effective method of getting a heavily laden glider into the air, it also ensures a measure of fairness in that everyone gets a launch to the same height and place. Typically, all 70 gliders in the competition would be launched in little over an hour using 10 tow-aircraft. During the launch period, the take-off and landing rate is higher than that at Heathrow airport and the Competition organisers took some pride in being as slick as possible.

Once all the gliders from each Class have been launched there begins a 20-minute holding period until the ‘Start gate’ opens. This allows the pilots that were launched last to climb as high as they can and get acquainted with the conditions of the day. The ‘Start–line’ is a 12km line centred around the outbound track to the first turning point. GPS co-ordinates define the start-line and pilots can register a start by crossing it at any point along its length. This minimises the risk of mid-air collisions as the competition field all try and get in the best position to start. Tactics come into play as pilots have to estimate when the best time to start is; to start too early may mean that only the latter part of the flight is flown in the best conditions. However, to start to late might mean that the thermals become weak towards the end of the flight and slow a pilot’s progress. Of course, no one wants to start first either as others may decide to follow for an easy ride.

Once on task, each flight consisted of a series of climbs and glides. To make best progress, we needed to spend as much time as possible cruising rather than having to circle in a thermal to climb. Therefore it pays to only stop in the strongest of thermals. With hot and dry conditions in the area surrounding the Loire Valley we could enjoy climb rates of up to 1000ft/min and we were often able to reach over 6000ft, long glides could be made across the rural areas around Orleans, Tours and Chatellerault. Military low-level routes cover much of central France and it was not uncommon to see a pair of Mirage 2000s or Alpha-Jet streak by underneath the glider. The French Competition organisers chose not to brief when these routes would be active so we aimed to stay safely above the upper altitudes of the routes. To be able to hear a fast jet somewhere around you is quite disconcerting even when you know it should be a long way below your glider!

During much of the Competition the air was relatively dry so the fluffy white Cumulus clouds that form at the top of a thermal in the UK didn’t appear. In such conditions, pilots have to pick likely hotspots that might be generating a thermal or attempt to spot the haze-caps that form on top of the thermal. However, this makes the going difficult and finding the next thermal far more subject to chance, consequently gliders would often stick together in a ‘gaggle’, relying on some else to find the next thermal.

A modern glider can glide an incredible distance, covering up to 50 miles from 6000ft of altitude whilst being capable of cruising as fast as a light aircraft. The skills to win a competition lie in getting the best from the energy hidden in the atmosphere and the glider itself, combining pilot ability and an understanding of the weather conditions. In many ways, cross-country gliding is not too different from sailing, but in three dimensions. Confidence plays a part as well; a pilot that is prepared to glide further after each thermal, confident that he/she will find a thermal at low-level, will make faster progress round the task. However, get it wrong and the pilot may be forced to lose precious time struggling to find a thermal at low-level or, worse still, make an unscheduled landing at another airfield or farmer’s field, literally putting him or herself out of the race. I had the misfortune to land-out on the second competition day, however, the experience got a whole lot better as I opened the canopy and saw the French farmer who owed the field coming towards me carrying a number of chilled beers! By the time Dave Holly arrived to collect the glider and me most of the local village had been out to sit in the glider and I felt I’d done my bit for Anglo-French relations, although my French was no better!

At some point during the flight, the pilot will have enough height to make the ‘final glide’ back to the airfield. During the Competition we were typically making final glides from 40-50km away, relying on the gliders computer and GPS to calculate whether or not we had sufficient height to reach Romorantin given the prevailing weather conditions. Whilst a safety height is included in a final glide, this can be turned into speed as the glider nears the finish line and it is apparent that the glider will have enough energy to cross it, which at Romorantin was at the airfield boundary. Pilots will seek to turn every last scrap of energy into speed to cross the finish line before their fellow competitors. This makes for a good spectator sport as gliders race across the line at 50ft or less at 130knots before zooming up to make a circuit and landing.

Overall, the team achieved more than satisfactory results with Jon Arnold and Al Clarke achieving a very credible second place in the two-seat glider class, flying a Duo Discus from the RAF Cranwell Gliding Club. I flew a single seat Discus and took a while to get back into competition practice and whilst I achieved some good results during the last few days, I struggled to recover from a costly land-out on the second day. Martyn Pike had some very successful days but suffered by flying a Ventus 2 glider with a high handicap rating. The Competition allowed us to get into good competition practice ready for the UK cross-country season and was a great opportunity to meet like-minded glider pilots from across Europe. Hopefully the French Air Force will invite the RAFGSA to compete again!

For further information on the gliding adventurous training opportunities and regional RAFGSA Regional clubs contact the RAFGSA Centre at RAF Halton GPTN 95237 Ext 6483/6198