Sam Soars Solo on his 16th birthday
Sam Amis flew solo for the first time
in a glider at the Southdown Gliding Club, Storrington on Monday 29th
March – the day of his 16th birthday. Sam, from Pevensey in East
Sussex, has been training as a glider pilot for over a year and was
itching to fly on his own but UK aviation laws prevented him from
flying a glider solo until he was 16. Sam and his father Mark,
together with members of Southdown Gliding Club prayed for good
weather so he could complete his dream but the special day nearly had
to be cancelled due to poor weather. Fortunately, a fine gap appeared
for a couple of hours and Sam’s gliding instructor (Brian Bateson)
declared the conditions safe for him to fly on his own for the first
time. Watched nervously by his father Mark, who is also a glider
pilot, Sam was strapped into a K21 glider and was towed aloft by one
of the club’s Piper Pawnee tow-planes.
After his 15 minute solo flight, Sam said “It was a bit nerve-racking at first and the weather was a bit bumpy in places but it was an amazing feeling to fly entirely on my own for the first time. It’s a really good achievement which I’m very proud of.”
Senior Gliding Instructor, Brian Bateson, was equally proud: “Sam has been ready to fly solo for some time having trained alongside his father, Mark. Unfortunately the law meant he had to wait until he was 16 before he could fly on his own. When I flew with him over the last week I could see he was skilled and responsible enough to fly solo. Together with his father and other club members, we all watched nervously as he was towed aloft by the chief tug pilot, Angus Buchanan, to 1200 ft above the airfield. He flew a text-book flight and made an excellent and safe landing!”
Sam is studying for his GCSEs at St Richards Catholic College in Bexhill. He is one of a band of young members in the Southdown Gliding Club’s cadet scheme. The scheme, which heavily subsidies flying costs for youngsters who show talent and enthusiasm, has proved popular and very successful. Other young members have started promising careers in aviation from such beginnings. Sam said that this achievement has now made him contemplate a career in aviation and hopes this first solo flight might be the first step!
Southdown Gliding Club is one of the largest and best equipped voluntary-run gliding clubs in Britain. It has around 200 members and over 50 gliders based at its airfield at the foot of the South Downs in Storrington, West Sussex. The club has the latest in gliding technology where budding pilots of all ages can now learn to fly state-of-the-art gliders capable of soaring for many hours and over long distances. Glider flights of over 200 miles are not uncommon from Southdown and its top competition pilots have even achieved flights of over 500 miles – flying at speeds in excess of 100 mph and staying aloft for many hours in rising air currents.
For more information about the club, membership and trial flights, visit its website at www.sgc1.org or call the club’s office on 01903 742137.
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