Visiting Another Gliderport

Editors Note:  The gliding season has begun.  Many have plans to visit another airport on vacation or fly a contest this season.   As we leave our home routine there is an increased risk for damage and incidents at an unfamiliar location.  Adam has traveled the world flying at many airports.  His experiences will help make the best of your trip.

So you’ve made it to the competition or holiday site for some flying with your friends, I find it most important and useful to establish a routine early. This will help make up for the change from your day-to-day life and should provide you with a sound settling-in factor.

Daily Routine

Timing, it’s a key factor of all this, it should cover all your necessary activities with ample time.  I find with anything gliding, it takes longer than you anticipate, so allow a large chunk of time on the first day, it’ll pay dividends later when you’re relaxed, and your friends or competitors are running around like headless chooks!  Not good for safety either of course...  So don’t hurry anywhere, use that extra time you allowed yourself to cope with minor contingencies, which are inevitable.  Once you're settled, tighten up the routine, but always allow some extra time.

If you establish this early, then your time at the camp or competition can be relaxed, so you can devote your entire energy to the day and event itself.  After all, you’ve worked hard for this holiday or it has certainly been the focus of your endeavors for the past few years or more.  So don’t be lazy, establish the routine early!

Accomodations

Accommodation is important, if you find what you started with to be not up to your standard, then you must act decisively and promptly, or at worst, changes made so it does not irritate you for the time your there.  This is a big factor in your enjoyment factor, adequate sleep and energy retention are critical.

Diet

Have you thought about meals?  Naturally, these arrangements must be made too.  While you might not be able to replicate what you have at home, you should however be able to keep it moderately similar so as not to cause too much grief for yourself.  International competitions are tough for this, so bring along some creature comforts to settle you.  Luckily if your mental preparation and physical fitness are on point, then in the next two to three weeks, your not-so-perfect diet will not cause any significant deterioration in your performance.  But why take the risk?

Exercise

When you are at a competition or just flying with your buddies, it’s pretty tough to keep up a physical exercise program.  I find it’s beneficial to start your morning off with a thirty-to-sixty-minute walk before breakfast.   You are able to start planning your day, getting a feel for the weather, think about tactics that are required or a goal you’d like to set yourself.  It is amazing how much subconscious inputs come in from the weather that becomes useful later.  If you have a rest day, remember to stay in a routine, eat what you would usually eat, exercise like normal, avoid a beer at lunch, etc – you’re mental and physical game will be fully ready and alert for the next flying then.

But of course, if you’re with mates on a gliding holiday – enjoy a beer, why not!?

Banner Photo Taken by Maciej Gebacz

 Adam Woolley was born into the gliding world, being the 3rd generation in his family. Going solo at 15, his thirst for efficiency in soaring flight & quest for a world championship title to his name has never wavered. One big passion is sharing his experiences & joy with other glider pilots all around the world. Adam is an airline pilot in Japan on the B767 & spends his off time chasing summer around the globe. He has now won 7 national Championships & represented Australia at 5 WGC's & 1 EGC.