Hello there,
My story about flying is very simple. Just like every small boy I wanted to be a pilot. It started with plastic models of planes. Every holiday with my parents was an experience for me when we flew somewhere. I was happy to watch starting and landing planes. This fascination with airplanes remained into my adulthood. In my 32 years I started training with gliders. Until this moment I knew something about flying (like ordinary people) but about ‘flying with gliders’ nothing. It was a new world for me. A world with the miracle of flying in silence and peace without engine noise. After 6 months I got a pilot's license and became a pilot. My dream came true and it was amazing. After 4 years I fulfilled another dream and bought my own glider LS1-C.
For my first cross country flight I had to wait almost 4 years to get a pilot license. All those 4 years I only flew around my home airfield in safe distance to land and made my flying technique better. For me it was very difficult to believe that if thermals are around the airfield, it will be in other places (I knew they were out there). But one day it came. My decision to fly. It was 4.8.2018. This day was perfect for long distances. I prepared the track LKBE-LKHB-LKTA-LKBE. It was around 150km. I prepare a glider VSO-10 Gradient and put the glider to grid and wait. It's my turn. It was an amazing enjoyment, to leave a safe area and fly to places from where I can't fly back if I don't find thermals. It was strong and very high thermal Lifts in this day, (our best pilots which flying in Australia, or South Africa speaking about this weather that was same like in Australia) I saw new places which I had never seen, like big water reservoir from which drinking almost all Prague and middle Czech, another airfields, another gliders in the air, our first highway in Czech D1 it was so nice. I flew very safe, not for points or for good average speed. I didn't want to take any chances and make it a stressful situation. Then I can descend so low that I have to land in another airfield, or in another field and wait many hours for transport. I took every thermal lift which I found. When I reached my first turn point I started to coming back and I see that the area where I need to fly back home is closed with storm clouds and when I came near LKTA all area around my home airfield (around 50-80km) was under storm clouds and it was raining.What now, my first fly and I have this trouble. I stayed calm, my mind did not panic and made some decisions.
First: I'm safe, I have around 2000m AGL, second: backup airfield (LKTA) is around 5-10km third: I'll wait until the storm leaves. I was in a good position, a storm was coming from west to east and I was waiting in the south just on the edge of the storm. I found thermal lift and raising up and listening to the radio how it is in my home airfield. On the radio I hear that I'm not alone waiting somewhere in safe thermal lift. And then when I heard that the rain stopped, I waited there around 20 minutes, and I had around 2500 AGL and airfield was around 40km from me I took all my courage and flew under clouds, there were no places with sun, no chance to get more high if i will need it, in some places still raining that was why I can't fly directly, I must fly between raining areas like snake and then I see my home airfield and I knew that I can do it. Finally I arrived at the airfield with more than 800 m reserve. I was so happy that I did it and didn't give up. Finally was my first trip between turning points 149,9 km and average speed was 57,8km/h.
Flying is for me an amazing way to relax. If you raise up in thermals without engines, just with power from earth, circling with birds and being in peace with nature. It is an indescribable experience for people who didn't try it. So never stop dreaming and do your best to fulfill your dreams because it is never too late!
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