Black Mountains Gliding Club
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Expeditions

We welcome visitors and expeditions

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The club

Flying

Members

General

Introduction

Talgarth is an exhilarating place to fly and your group will take many fond memories home with them. The club welcomes visitors, and is keen to be a first class host.

Compared to many clubs, resources are limited (good things come in small packages), we therefore need to co-ordinate your visit with the other demands on the club:-

  • Trailer parking space becomes a problem in busy periods.
  • Demands on instructor time become high.
  • The 27 acre airfield does not lend itself to very large numbers of aircraft flying at any one time.
  • The relatively small fleet, (2-K13's and 1-SZD Junior) soon reach maximum utilisation.
The club has a policy of encouraging visiting pilots, particularly post solo and developing pilots, but for safety and efficiency we need to know the demands your group will make on us.

We would like you to enjoy your visit so, to help us help you, please read these notes, consider the points raised and provide the information requested.

Thank you for your assistance.

Group Skill Levels

How much instructor support is required for your group? Most pilots find a good briefing and site check adequate for their needs. Some wind conditions (more commonly found in autumn and winter) can demand further training, particularly if pilots are inexperienced.

Local soaring is possible in all wind directions except for east through to south. For the more adventurous, certain ridge runs are only permitted (solo) for cross country pilots, early pilots need to take an instructor.

Visiting instructors may only instruct at Talgarth after clearance from the CFI. Approved instructors are most welcome to conduct their own two seat training, if they wish.

Medical certificates

Visiting pilots who may wish to fly P1 in a club glider must provide a copy of his/her medical certificate to the club before flying.

Aircraft

How much will your group rely on the club two seater fleet. Pilots are encouraged to bring their own aircraft. A radio transceiver (130.1) is a highly desirable safety item. Pilots are advised to have evidence of both insurance and Cof A.

Tents/caravans

How much space will you need? We must know in advance how many tents / caravans are coming. Space is at a premium in the busy period and unexpected campers may be redirected to local campsites.

Training

By prior arrangement, evening lectures can be given by the resident instructor. This is an ideal opportunity for a group BBQ! Sometimes wet weather lectures can be laid on at short notice. The subjects can include Use of Radio, Altimetry, Hill Soaring, Field Landing, Bronze C subjects, Map Reading, Airspace and so on. Let us know if your group has an interest.

Specialist Training (a chance to do something different )

We are able to draw on the specialist skills of some instructors. Limited opportunity exists in the following subject areas - Instrument/cloud flying, aerobatics (though we don't have a suitable two seater at present), field landing (for real), hill soaring. Let us know in good time, so arrangements can be made.

Summary

The attached questionnaire is aimed at providing us with the information we need to make your visit a memorable experience. Thank you for your co-operation.

Booking checklist

We are happy to answer general questions by telephone or e-mail. We will only make a definite booking on a written request, preferably by e-mail but failing that by post. You will get a confirmation.

Please make sure that your booking request has all the following details:

  1. Name of group leader
  2. Contact address
  3. Telephone 1
  4. Telephone 2
  5. E mail address
  6. Name of home club
  7. Proposed arrival date
  8. Proposed departure date
  9. Total number of people in party, including
  10. How many ab-initio
  11. How many Talgarth cleared instructors
  12. How many instructors would like to become Talgarth cleared
  13. No of single seat aircraft
  14. Number of two seat aircraft
  15. Number of trailer spaces required
  16. Any special objectives (fun week, X country, 5 hours, aero-tow conversion etc)

Updated: 21 February 2007 MF