Become A Pilot

Once you have decided that you want to learn to fly, the first step is to join a club.

If you are a woman and sense glider pilots are predominantly men, you’ll be correct! But thankfully that’s changing, helped by our ‘Women and Inclusivity in Gliding’ work and the supportive community ‘Women Gliding‘. As a young person, do ask about funding opportunities, as well as links to the vibrant and highly successful ‘Junior Gliding’ community.

All BGA clubs follow a learning syllabus that will take you right from the earliest stages through to becoming a fully qualified glider pilot. Clubs provide training free of charge with fully qualified BGA instructors and your first target will be to fly solo. Don’t worry – you will only do this when your instructors are certain that you have all the necessary skills to safely take-off, fly and land the glider.

After you’ve successfully flown solo, the training continues, eventually leading to an assessment of your accumulated flying skills and knowledge and knowledge, including in-flight navigation and dealing with unusual situations. At that point you’ll be a fully qualified glider pilot and you’ll be able to apply for a Sailplane Pilot Licence.

Once you are a qualified pilot, the sky really is the limit and, depending on your personal aspirations, you can decide to take advantage of further specialised coaching to develop, for example, into cross-country flying, competition flying, or even glider aerobatics. You can even become an instructor who will train the next generation of pilots.

For further information on becoming a glider pilot, speak to your local club.