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Gliding

CCF Gliding Course, Portsmouth Naval Gliding Centre, Gosport
20–26 August 2010

Having already agreed to the usual 2 weeks of scuba diving at HMS Raleigh during the summer holidays I wasn’t really looking to do another CCF course. When asked to act as female duty officer on the new gliding course and told that I would get to glide, the temptation was too great.

The joining instruction arrived telling me that the course was only for 6 cadets, another officer and me. How easy was that going to be? The only drawback was that we were to be accommodated on board HMS Bristol which is about to go in for a very overdue major refit. I’m spoilt by the usual Officers’ Wardrooms.

We spent the first two days on lectures and learning how to do all the necessary safety checks. This gave me the chance to put on a parachute and sit in a glider for the first time. I had already started to get excited and we hadn’t even got out of the hanger. The weather was not on our side and we spent quite a lot of our time on alternative activities in the Portsmouth area. Luckily enough we had a minibus so we could take ourselves off when gliding was not possible.

The first time I went up it took my breath away. Everything I had learnt in the lectures went straight out of my head. I was very lucky to have a member of the Army Gliding Team as my instructor. He laughed when I told him that I couldn’t concentrate on anything because I was far too excited. What made it so amazing was the position of the gliding centre itself. Having taken off you are immediately over the sea with the Isle of Wight straight ahead of you.

If the weather had been better and the cadets had flown for all 5 days some of them would have been flying solo by the end of the course. How scary is that!

Happy Flying.

Lt. Lynn Elliott

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