I started gliding in late 2021. I’d been up in a glider many times flying with a former partner and I’d enjoyed it a lot. But I was happy being a passenger and had felt no desire to learn.
By Nicki Bourlioufas
I started gliding in late 2021. I’d been up in a glider many times flying with a former partner and I’d enjoyed it a lot. But I was happy being a passenger and had felt no desire to learn.
Then, after that relationship ended, I realised that I missed gliding.
The thrill of climbing to the cloud base, the loops, the Chandelles! That bit of awesomeness was gone from my life and I decided that I would try to get it back.
So, I bought myself five gliding lessons at Southern Cross Gliding Club in Sydney, beginning in November 2021. I vividly recall the first time I flew at Camden, the thrill of controlling the stick, the rudder and elevator. Wow – it felt good!
Worth a Try
I decided to continue lessons through 2022, not sure at all if I could ever go solo, but I thought it worthwhile to try. Unlike more junior pilots, I didn’t have the sense that going solo was inevitable for me. I often wondered if I had what it took.
It turns out I did. With support from some key people, I went solo in July 2023. Those people were Ian Downes, then at Lake Keepit Soaring Club, and Greg Dillon at Southern Cross Gliding Club and a few other instructors in between. With their help, I persisted despite several setbacks. I learned slowly. I was a middle-aged woman, sort of dedicated but managing other commitments, including my PR business and children. I took long breaks between lessons, sometimes 1 to 2 months at a time, which was a very expensive way of going backwards!
After some intensive lessons with Greg Dillon at Camden in June and July 2023, I finally went solo. What a thrill it was! After that, progress came more quickly and I soon moved to XC flying, mainly with others but desiring to do it myself.
Learning in the Air
A few months later, over the skies of Cootamundra, I completed my 5-hour-plus flight in a Junior for the Silver C Duration and Height flights. I was the last pilot to take off, as it took me some time to get ready and I came straight down after the first launch. I went straight back up and completed a 5 hour 24 minute flight. I had a near outlanding when I got as low as 2,000 AGL, but after I prepared to land, I got back up and stayed up.
That flight taught me many things. The need for good preparation, to be comfortable and for wind management in a light glider. I went downwind and followed the road to Young as I didn’t know yet how to use a navigation device. Easy, I thought, just follow the road. But I battled strong winds to get back to Cootamundra. Every time I climbed a good thermal aiming for Cootamundra, I got high but went backwards!
However, the hardest part was the glider seat. I’d neglected to take a cushion so had to keep lifting my bottom off the seat to manage the pain. It was so bad that after I took off for the second time, I’d discarded the idea of flying for five hours and even complained of it over the CTAF, such was my lack of experience with radio use. But it fell together and I went with it – and I’ve improved my radio skills since.
Wonderful Coaches
I also flew cross country in a DG-1000 on that trip, and with Ian Steventon in his Duo Discus. I got a taste of high-performance gliding, which I enjoyed very much, amazed at the grace of the glider and all the information coming from Ian’s flight computer! I then flew in the Darling Downs Easter Regatta 2024, and flew with competition pilot Jo Davis, whose excellent coaching helped me build on some cross country skills I’d already gained by flying several times with Andy Aveling at Lake Keepit Soaring Club in a Duo Discus.
Andy is a great coach, and relentlessly required me to centre thermals, maintain bank angle and leave poor thermals for better ones.
I again flew in a regatta at a Lake fund regatta with Chris Bowman in his ASG 32 in October 2024. I loved flying that glider with such a fun companion! In February 2025, I flew in another regatta at Lake Keepit with Justin Smith, and was again very appreciative of the opportunity to fly with senior pilots who are keen to share their skills and gliders with junior pilots.
Initially, Justin was worried about whether I could fly his big bird, but after a few hours together, he realised I was OK, and he let me take the stick. We shared the flying over a near 500km flight, and my water too, since Justin forgot his own!
Navigation Challenges
I went back to Cootamundra in December 2024 to complete my Silver C distance, again in the Junior. I’d worked out how to use a navigation device and planned to travel north to Young again, coming back with the wind. I came straight down again after my first launch, but launched and stayed high, travelling over 60km north beyond Young and then back again to Cootamundra. With lots of high thermals and very little wind, it was fairly easy and a big relief to get it done.
The next day was even better, so I travelled a 170km triangle, again in the Junior, flying between Cootamundra, north beyond Young, on to Temora and back to Cootamundra, flying in the blue for the last 50km. It was nerve-wracking for me, as I’d never flown solo in the blue before. But the thermals were strong and I got my best climb to 11,000ft without clouds. Some words of advice from instructor John Jurotte inspired me to take that flight. He’d mentioned that with blue skies, you just have to have faith that there are thermals out there and go ahead. So I did, as nervous as I was!
I achieved another milestone this year. In January 2025, I transitioned to the DG-303 after flying a fair bit in the DG-1000 cross country with various instructors. That was a big achievement for me as I have wanted to transition to higher-performance gliders so I can think more about going cross country alone.
The skies – and outlanding fields – await me.
