If it is your first day here, the first thing you have to do is take care of the formalities in the office (opens at 7.30h). Once these are completed, an instructor will accompany you to the hanger. Normally the day starts at 08:00 where we open the hangar gates and pull out the aircrafts we will use for the day. At least one flight instructor or DASSU employee is present to coordinate everything. Nonetheless should everyone feel accountable and handle each aircraft with care and avoid any damages.
To move the gliders in the hangar, we usually use so-called Kullers. As soon as an aircraft has been pulled out of the hangar, the parachutes, batteries and seat cushions for the glider are retrieved from the parachute room. These are labeled with the license plate of the respective aircraft.
As soon as the glider is fully equipped, we bring it to the other side of the runway – the winch launch point. To easy transport the gliders on the ground we use electric golf carts – named Melex. We attach the glider to the Melex with a rope and pull it carefully at walking pace. A person must hold the left wing to be able to control and guide the glider on the ground. Most important: always pay attention while crossing the runway! Look left and right to check for landing aircrafts from both sides and never stop in the middle of the runway.
After the hangar has been cleared, everyone gathers on the other side and our daily briefing will take place. We will discuss the general flight operation, safety issues, the rules for ridge, cross-country or thermal flying and last but not least, the weather.
It is mandatory for every pilot to participate at the daily briefing. If, for any reason, it is not possible for you to attend it, please check with a flight instructor upon arrival. At the end of each briefing we will distribute the aircrafts for the students, their instructors and pilots for that day. Once concluded, the flight operations can start. The aircrafts will be thoroughly checked, always in pairs, and we are ready to go.
To enable smooth and fast paced flight operations, some points have to be considered by all participants:
The car that pulls back the winch cables (Lepo) should always be occupied by a driver and should depart immediately after the fourth and last cable has been pulled. The driver can always ask someone around him to replace him at any time.
As soon as the lepo returns with the four winch cables, all aircrafts in the four launching positions should be ready, including the pilot.
After the aircraft has landed, a melex-driver should be ready to pull it back to the launching area. Therefore it is best for 3 to 4 melex-drivers to wait in front of the workshop for aircrafts, which could land at any moment.
Before boarding, each pilot and student must announce him/herself to the aviation supervisor with his/her customer number, name and aircraft number. Students, who want to fly alone, must also request a flight clearance!
Student pilots should always carry out a radio test with the aviation supervisor before flying. It must be ensured that the student can hear all the instructions of his instructor on the ground!
The winch launches normally occur, without interruption, all day long until 7:30 pm, on exceptional days even a little longer. Of course, you do not have to actively participate all the time. You can always take a longer lunch break at our airfield café. Beginners fly their 8 flights in two to three blocks throughout the day, sometimes with longer breaks in between.
We try to fulfill everybody’s wishes within our abilities. So, should you, for example, have not been able to fly in the morning, chances are good you will make up for it in the afternoon and evening.
As a student you will receive at the beginning a so-called training booklet. This blue booklet will be signed by your flight instructor every time you accomplished new exercises. This is useful for other flight instructors to see your current training level.
Important: The booklet is your personal document during the training. You should always carry it with you and make sure to let the instructor sign it after each day!
In the evening, once the aircraft is not flown anymore, the last pilot is responsible for the cleaning and must put back the equipment into the parachute room:
Clean the aircraft, especially remove the mosquitoes from the wings
Remove the battery and connect it to the charging station in the parachute room
Reorganize the parachute and the foam cushion on the shelves
Once all the aircafts are back in the hangar, everyone can start to relax.