 The PLs and APLs visited the Portsmouth Naval Gliding Club to have a go in a glider and camp on the airfield. This allowed us to use the expertise of the pilots and instructors to help us work through the Air Activities Staged Activity Badge. We were pleased that our friends, 2nd Portchester Scouts, joined us once again on another of our adventures. We had planned on going gliding on Friday evening, but unfortunately the clouds were too low. This reduced the visibility at one thousand feet to unsafe levels. This was disappointing news but, as we were staying overnight, the club made room for us the next morning. This also gave the Scouts a good example of how weather can impact aviation. Friday evening was not wasted, however, as we were given a tour of the hanger and the aircraft inside. The flying instructors gave us an interesting talk about the gliders, their controls and safety in the air. As a "thank-you" to the instructors, the Scouts cooked them dinner on the Trangias. This also gave them an opportunity to practice with the equipment they'll be using on the PL expedition on Summer Camp. Saturday morning saw us rapidly strike camp and have breakfast. Each Scout then gave a short talk on the research they'd done on their aircraft of choice, before we were driven over to the launch point. All the Scouts (and two of the Leaders!) were propelled up, one at a time, in the gliders by high-speed winch. We had really good views of the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Gosport. The instructor then gave us the chance to pilot it ourselves for a short time! The instructor then brought the glider in for a gentle landing, where we helped to push the glider back to the launch point. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, as there were lots of smiling faces at the end, despite the nerves at the beginning of the day! |
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