Gliders around the region are flocking to Canberra this winter to take advantage of the prime gliding conditions caused by strong westerly winds.
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Veteran glider pilot and longstanding member of the Canberra Gilding Club Richard Agnew, 58, said Canberra had the perfect conditions for gliding this time of year.
“Last Sunday I managed to reach 20,000 feet [6000 metres] in half an hour. I was going up like a rocket, it was phenomenal,” he said.
Glider planes don’t have an engine and rely on a flying plane to tow them into the air where the pilots use the wind and environmental conditions to navigate the skies, sometimes reaching altitudes equal to commercial planes.
It’s like a paper plane, once thrown it will eventually hit the ground unless another puff of wind keeps it afloat.
Between June and September gliders are looking for the “mountain lee wave” phenomenon.
“It’s like water crashing into the side of a cliff; we want those rippling winds to launch us into high altitudes. Once we are in the mountain lee way it is beautifully smooth," Mr Agnew said.
“We are using the wind to get a high altitude and from there we can go great distances. If I am 10,000 feet [3050 metres] in the air I can go 100 kilometres without finding any other lift.
“Most pilots wouldn’t dare fly in the conditions we fly in."
The same conditions that drew skiers to the snow drew gliders to the sky, he said.
“When a cold front comes through, the skiers get interested because a lot of snow is going to drop. If the wind conditions are above 20km/h on the ground, that’s when I get interested,” he said.
The Canberra Gliding Club is based 12km north of Cooma and sits on an area of high altitude, ideal for the mountain lee wave phenomenon during the winter months.
Mr Agnew joined the Canberra Gliding Club in 1977 and holds the Australian glider altitude record at 33,000 feet [10,060 metres], set in 1995.
“During one of my best flights I managed to fly for almost 17 hours in a glider,” he said.
The club has twin-seat fliers for those learning to become a glider pilot. Hours learning to fly a glider plane are credited towards a power-flying license.
