Women’s World Gliding Championships
Did you know you can fly fast and far without an Engine?
Gliding is a magical and accessible sport which means that when the conditions are good, you could fly as far as England to Egypt. 3008km is the world’s longest glider flight and that is all down to wind and rising air.
To keep us moving we use something called Thermals which are columns of rising air, formed by the sun warming up the surface of the earth. If the air contains the right amount of moisture, the water will condense and form cumulus clouds; perfect for going as far. By these clouds forming you can go far and wide, with speeds up to 180mph. That’s faster than the landing speed of a Jumbo Jet!
And these weather patterns happen much more than you might think and in the UK we have over 200 gliding days a year and clubs all over the England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to visit and see the gliders!
Glider pilots learn to work with changes in air, wind, and other weather to gain height and soar high with no engine. The opportunities are endless within gliding, and solo flying a glider is one of the best feelings in the world.
During August the UK is extremely excited to be hosting the Women’s World Gliding Championship where the best from around the world will be competing for the biggest title in the world. Each day the pilots will be set a course of up to 600km to race round – the fastest pilot scores the most points and at the end of the Championship, the pilot with the most points is crowned as the World Number 1.
Follow the competition at wwgc2022.co.uk and on social media @wwgc2022. You can find your nearest gliding club and find out more about gliding at the British Gliding Association website. We hope that we can encourage more young people into the sport, especially girls!
