Gliding

The ATC is the world's largest gliding organisation, and Air Cadets attend gliding courses at one of the various 27 Volunteer Gliding Squadron's (VGS's) located around the UK. 2308 Squadron attend gliding at 625 Volunteer Gliding School (VGS) at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire.

The backbone of the winch-launch fleet is the Grob Viking (shown left), a two seat glider used for all types of glider training. Cadets can aim to gain Gliding Scholarships and achieve different levels of gliding 'wings'. Many Air Cadets from our squadron have have gained different levels of 'wings' in recent years.

The Viking has no engine and is accelerated to its flying speed by different means. One method is aerotowing whereby a powered aircraft acts as a tug and pulls the glider off the ground and up to a predetermined height by means of a towing cable. However, as a cadet, it is unlikely that you will experience this method of launching a glider. If you are affiliated to a Viking school you will experience the winch launch. A winch (picture right) is a series of drums on which are about 1,500 metres of strong, flexible, steel cable. The winch is powered by a powerful turbo engine.

The picture below shows the cockpit of a Grob Viking