Dumfries & District Glider Club Presentation

The guest speaker at the Lockerbie and District Rotary Club Monday evening meeting was David Neilson an enthusiastic and active member of the Dumfries and District Gliding Club whose base is the Falgunzeon Airfield at Kirkgunzeon near Dalbeattie. David began his talk and powerpoint presentation, by identifying the purpose of each instrument contained within the the instrument panel, the dashboard, of a glider.He then wend onto describe the various types of glider flown by the members of the gliding club. Surprisingly unlike ground based transportation, gliders flying today can be many years old, indeed David's own glider was built in 1958, and other than normal maintenance of the control systems, it remains in largely original condition.

Of course other than a fast moving tether used to get the glider air born, the pilot has to seek out thermals and air waves which as David described are created by the contours of the hills below. Although the members of the glider club restrict their flying activities to the skies above Dumfries and Galloway, our speaker confirmed that in the hands of a skilled pilot, much greater distances can be achieved, and can therefore remain aloft for many hours.

This was an absorbing and enjoyable talk by David Neilson which drew many detailed and interesting questions from his audience and which was drawn to a conclusion by a vote of thanks given by Vice President, Alan Collins.