Employee-Story
Silently taking to the air …
Looking to the skies on a warm day, you sometimes see gliders doing their rounds. You can′t hear a thing - and that′s a big part of the charm.
Gliding silently through the air, depending entirely on thermal lift is what makes gliding the nicest hobby in the world for me. Words can barely describe what it is like being able to explore the world from above, and always discovering new things. My flights have taken me over the Black Forest, the Thuringian Forest and the Rhön. And almost always back again. Even occasional "out landings" have their charm. You meet new people - and until my wife arrives with the trailer, there is enough time to come up with a plausible explanation for why I didn′t make it.
Practice makes perfect
In addition to the "overland flights", generally in a one-seater, I am also active as a flight instructor. Teaching beginners to fly gives me enormous pleasure. After just a couple of flights, most of them are able to fly quite well. Take-offs and, more particularly, landings take quite a bit of practice and can bring some students to the brink of despair. But sooner or later everyone gets there. And it doesn′t matter whether they are 14 or 60 years of age when they take up flying. Both my flight pupils at FSC Altfeld are already flying solo at 15. Unfortunately, I then have to watch from the ground, as they do their rounds and steadily gain in height.
High up over the Alps
The absolute highlights in flying terms were flights over the French Alps. From time to time, we pack the glider onto the trailer and set off for Provence. From there, we fly over the snow-covered "four thousand footers" or the chalk cliffs of the Maritime Alps. These flights make an impression that stays long in your memory and is probably only comparable to the experiences of mountaineers. And if I′ve whetted your appetite, you are more than welcome to take to the air with me.
Enjoy the silence - breathtaking sight from the glider; pictures: Horst Ostrowski
