I went Solo it was Wonderful

By Giordyn Garrick

Straps … Secure. I wait for the instructor to confirm “Straps are secure in the rear,” but there is only silence. It was a landing like many others, but without the nerves that I used to feel. It was smooth and effortless and as the tinny old Blanik trundled to a halt the instructor leaned forward and said, “Pretty much perfect, how about a solo now?”

Alone in the glider I run through my pre-take off checks. As I reach the second C and close the canopy I realize I am truly alone. There would be no instructor in the back seat to take over if I muck this up. My heart rate quickens and my head begins to buzz with adrenalin. I have to force my mind to refocus on the checks. Next, brakes, then the last check, eventualities, the one I never like to think about. Casting my mind back to the lesson where my instructor is pointing out emergency landout spots, I look around me. There are four conceivable options around the airfield if the towrope broke. I run through them all.

The tow plane is ready. My instructor has the rope. He grabs the metal ring on the end of the rope and holds it up, indicating that he is ready. I give him the thumbs up, indicating that I too am ready and he hooks me on.

He runs to the end of the wing and picks it up so that my world is set straight again. My nerves spike as the tow plane moves forward to pick up the slack in the rope, causing the glider to jolt forward again. Pressing the button on the tip of the control column with my thumb, I speak clearly into the microphone, trying not to sound too nervous, “Oscar Mike Alpha, Mike Victor, all out, all out.” My call is answered and my nerves reach an all-time high as the tow plane rolls forward, struggling to overcome the inertia on the glider.

We speed up and I push the control column a fraction to the left, then to the right to steady the wings and then use a small amount of right rudder to keep the glider rolling in line with the tow plane. I leave the ground and at last the plane in front of me hauls itself off the runway too. Flying in formation I tow to three thousand feet. I take a quick look around me to ensure the immediate area is clear of gliders before stretching forward to pull the yellow t-bar and release the towrope.

I let out a laugh, suddenly aware that I am completely on my own. I glance at the altimeter; I am way too high to enter circuit, so I head towards the Chain hills, hoping to bleed off some height. Over the hills I encounter a small amount of lift. Regretfully, I turn away. From the ground you can’t tell how high a glider is and I know my instructor will be watching my every move. If he sees me playing around he will lose even more hair than he already has, and there’s not much of it left as it is.

I turn my face up to the sun and smile, relaxing for a moment and enjoying the sun then I launch into my pre-landing checks, careful to cover everything early. Straps … Secure. I wait for the instructor to confirm “Straps are secure in the rear,” but there is only silence. My nerves return for a moment, I gulp and move on. Flaps … undercarriage is down. I am now low enough to join circuit, so I do so and make my radio call.

I concentrate on my aiming point and the correct height for completing the base and final legs of my circuit using as little brakes as is possible. I find I am doing fifty knots and trim forward to get to fifty-five, about the right speed to make a smooth landing. I am slightly too high so I crack the air brakes open about a quarter before making a ninety degree turn onto finals, trimming forward again as I have to apply more forward pressure to the column to keep the speed at fifty-five knots.

Closing in on the ground, I get a sick feeling of dread, I am too low. I will never make it over the road! I quickly put away the airbrakes and instantly realise I have over reacted, I am now much too high, my retrieval team are going to have to run. Pulling out full brakes, I bring the glider down, getting closer and closer, fighting the urge to pull out of the descent. I wait a few precious extra seconds before releasing the pressure on the column and allowing the glider to flare slightly before floating gently onto the ground, just as I had done less than ten minutes earlier.

I roll down the runway and slowly come to a halt, letting the left wing float to the ground after all forwards motion ceased. I open the canopy and a wave of fresh air washes over me. I have done it, my first solo and not a single mishap! I relax into my seat, letting the huge feelings of triumph and joy radiate through my body.

Extricating myself from the glider I am deluged with buckets of water as my friends race out to help me celebrate in the traditional manner. It was a perfectly acceptable ordinary circuit, but no other circuit has ever left me with such an adrenaline buzz.