Club all set to fly high with new glider

The Ahmedabad Gliding and Flying Club is set to fly high. And so are cadets of the NCC’s air-wing as well as scores of joy riders who will get a bird’s eye view of the city for a nominal sum. All this, thanks to the revival of the Ahmedabad Gliding and Flying Club which has acquired a Super Blank L23 glider from the Czech Republic. The club, which had been in the possession of the glider for the past one year, got the certification of airworthiness on Thursday evening.

The inspector from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had specially come down to Ahmedabad while the instructors took a test flight of the glider. "It was a great feeling to be airborne after being grounded for about two years," said an elated Chief Instructor R P Singh. "We were forced to stay grounded for two years because when we went to get our previous gliders certified at the DGCA, we were told that there was a rule saying all the gliders above the age of 25 years would be grounded. And our Rohini-make gliders were to be grounded," says Capt Jani, a senior instructor. "Once this happened. we had nowhere to go. So, we went about seeking gliders or loans for buying one. Later, we got to hear from our sources that there was one glider given by the Aero Club to the Police Academy in Andhra Pradesh. They did not have an instructor, runway or any other facility to fly it. So, we took on the condition that we would get it certified for flying and whenever they would need it, we would return it," explains Capt R N Dogra, honorary secretary of the club.

Once acquired, the glider was out of service waiting for the Ahmedabad runway to get repaired and the lack of a certified engineer. "We did not have an engineer certified on this glider. Finally, we man aged one from Pune and got it airborne. For the present, our glider is one of the best. The difference between the previous one and the present one is like driving an Ambassador and then changing to a Mercedes," exclaims Singh. The glider will be available for joy rides to the public. "But first we will have to make some arrangements with the Airports Authority," says Dogra.

Republished from The Indian Express