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Air Force Academy cadets fly in a TG-15A glider Feb. 23, 2010, above Colorado Springs, Colo. Cadets typically fly 10 to 15 training sorties in the TG-15A and undergo 50-hour cross-country upgrade training before they can fly cross-country solo in the TG-15B. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)
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Glider program gives cadets wings
Posted 1/27/2011
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by David Edwards
U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
1/27/2011 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- Cadet 2nd Class Charlie Meyer and Cadet 1st Class Justin Lennon are members of the glider aerobatic team here.
Academy glider pilots compete in two categories: sportsman and advanced. The former is for juniors, the latter for seniors.
One of the unique aspects of competitions in this sport is that there are no age categories. Private individuals can bring teams to compete against college-age flyers. Some people start by entering competitions and working their way up to professional sponsorship.
"You got 20-year-olds competing against guys who have been doing it for 20 years," Cadet Meyer said. "You have to pay attention every second you're in the air. You don't have the luxury of moving around, so you monitor your position constantly."
Glider aerobatics training at the Academy follows a progression. Cadets first learn basic flying. After a process that includes about 65 flights, they reach the level of instructor. Another 30 flights, or so, qualifies them for aerobatics. The next step is competition in the sportsman category. The concluding upward bump, to intermediate, requires 10 more flights.
Both Cadet Meyer and Cadet Lennon said that nothing they had done prior to joining the Air Force Academy could have prepared them for glider aerobatics. Neither of them had ever done anything remotely close to it.
"Our goal is to take someone who has never been in a plane before and teach them to fly," Cadet Meyer said.
Glider aerobatics is different from other intercollegiate sports in another respect as well. Whereas most teams spend the regular season tuning up for a conference tournament or some sort of championship event, glider aerobatic teams have a much more limited window.
The season starts in September and runs into November.
When the season ends, the placing is definitive, and the Falcons recently finished second and outperformed rival Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for the first time.
Each event tests flyers in three types of routine: known, free and unknown. The free routine is determined by the individual.
Judges watch pilots' routines from the ground and assess a grade for each maneuver. The grade is multiplied by the number of points awarded for each move, so the score is rendered as a percentage of the total possible points.
Cadets also fly demos, meaning they have something akin to the all-star games familiar in other sports. But unlike those exhibitions, glider aerobatics demos take place more often than once a year.
As a senior, Cadet Lennon is done with competition for the Falcons, so he is passing on the lessons he's learned to those who will have opportunities to use them. He's also scheduled to fly the glider demo at the Academy's graduation.
"What I think about is making your own roller coaster," he said. "It's so much fun, and it's all hands-on. Once you get used to it, it's great." |
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