WHAT TO EXPECT ON your intro day
You will arrive at the airfield by 8.15am - 8.45am.
Then we start getting the gliders ready for the day: qualified people conduct daily inspections on each aircraft and then we all help get them out of the hangar and onto the airfield. Your buddy will tell you about the gliders and how to move them safely.
If you want to fly, you need to help, or learn to help! :) Everyone at the airfield volunteers. The people running the airfield are doing so voluntarily and giving up their time so that you can learn to fly.
There is always a Duty Instructor running the airfield and a Duty Pilot helping them and organising the flying list(s). This is the list of people who want to fly that day. It is written on a whiteboard on the side of the bus. Generally the Duty Pilot will work down the list as instructors & aircraft become available for students. Your intro day guide will make sure you are on the flying list. Be patient - your turn will come around!
In the meantime, there’s plenty to do keeping the airfield running. You will certainly learn a LOT!
After your flights, your instructor will have a chat with you and write in your logbook.
At the end of the day, the gliders are packed back into the hangar by everyone. You need to pay for your flights (a launch fee + glider hire per minute, each of your ~10 min training flight will be about £10-£15) and optional logbook (£3.50) by card before the end of the day.
We finish gliding between 4pm - 6pm depending on time of year, sometimes earlier if the weather is bad.
Complaints and Harassment
If you have any complaint regarding club members please send it to the OUGC president (Siobhan Tobin) or the senior member (Tim Guilford). We operate under Oxford Gliding Club policy, so any such complaints (e.g. sexual/racial assault) should also be sent to Martin Brown (Chairman of OGC).
Useful links
Frequently asked questions are answered here https://www.ougc.org/resources
https://www.oxfordgliding.com/
https://www.gliding.world/index.php/gliding-the-basics/1-before-you-take-off (very detailed description of how a gliding airfield operates, however remember each gliding club does things slightly differently!)