A Gliding Glossary

Gliding, like most sports, has its own jargon which can be very confusing to the uninitiated. To help you understand some of the information in our web site, here is a short glossary on some of the words and phrases you might find.

Ab- Initio.	Beginner or trainee.
Aerotow launch.	A launch where the glider is towed airborne by a powered aircraft. For more information click here.
Aileron.	Part of the wing, which is moveable by the pilot in flight, to control the glider in roll. For more information click here.
Airbrakes.	A moveable part of the wing top surface, used to control the amount of aerodynamic lift generated by the wing. For more information click here.
Altimeter.	An instrument in the cockpit that informs the pilot of his/her height above the ground. For more information click here.
A.S.I.	Air Speed Indicator. An instrument in the cockpit that tells a pilot at what speed the glider is moving. For more information click here.
Assistant Cat. Instructor.	Assistant Category Instructor. An instructor who has less experience than a Full Cat, but who is trained to carry out most instructional duties. We have around twenty Asst. Cat. Instructors at The Wolds G.C. For more information click here.
Badges.	A system of awards within the gliding world from Bronze badge, through Silver and Gold, to Diamond badge.
Basic Instruments.	Basic instrumentation usually consists of an ASI, Altimeter and Simple variometer. For more information click here.
B.G.A.	British Gliding Association - The governing body of all UK Gliding Clubs
Basic Instructor.	The Basic Instructor is the first step on the instructing ladder. It allows trained personnel to be P1 during trial lessons for prospective members. For more information click here.
Carbon Fibre.	A modern alternative material for the construction of gliders.
C.F.I.	Chief Flying Instructor. The person in charge of all flying and safety matters. For more information click here.
Circuit.	That part of all glider flights that is carefully planned in order to be certain that the glider lands in the precise place that the pilot has decided upon.
C of A.	Certificate of Airworthiness. A certificate granted annually by the BGA if the glider has passed a stringent engineering inspection.
Control Column.	The main control in the cockpit - commonly known as the "joystick". For more information click here.
Cross country.	A flight that takes a glider out of normal range of its home airfield.
D.I.	Daily Inspection. A careful inspection on all aircraft, carried out each morning to ensure their airworthiness.
Elevator.	Part of the tail of a glider which is moveable by the pilot to control the glider in pitch. For more information click here.
Full Cat. Instructor.	Full Category Instructor. An instructor who has the relevant experience and training to qualify as a CFI. We have seven Full Cat. Instructors at the Wolds G.C. For more information click here.
Glide-angle (Best Glide).	The angle of descent at which any given glider flies. i.e. if a glider has a glide angle of say 25:1 then it will fly 25 units of distance along for every one unit of height. Therefore the higher the glide angle the higher the performance.
G.P.S.	Global Positioning Navigation System. A navigation aid that tell the pilot his position based on signals received from a satellite network.
G.R.P.	Glass Re-inforced Plastic. A material of construction of most modern gliders.
Knots.	Nautical Miles per Hour. 1 nautical mile = 6080ft or 1.85 km.
Launch point.	The place on the airfield where launching is taking place. This changes from day to day depending upon the wind direction. For more information click here.
Lift.	Any atmospheric condition that causes a glider to gain height. For more information click here.
Motorglider.	A powered aircraft, light enough to be classed as a glider but with a small engine fitted for self launching. For more information click here.
Outlanding.	Where a glider lands at a place that is not its home airfield i.e. in a field or at another airfield. For more information click here.
P1.	Pilot in Charge.
P2.	Usually the Co-Pilot or trainee in a Two Seat Glider.
Pitch	Movement about the lateral axis. For more information click here.
P.P.L.	Private Pilots Licence. Only applies if you wish to fly powered aircraft.
Retrieve.	To collect a glider and pilot, usually by road, after an outlanding. For more information click here.
Rig/De-rig.	To rig a glider is to assemble and fix all the parts of the aircraft together and prepare it for flight. To de-rig is the opposite, and usually to place the parts in its trailer.
Roll	Movement about the longitudinal axis. For more information click here.
Sailplane.	For our purposes, all gliders.
Sink.	Sinking air. The opposite of lift. For more information click here.
Soaring.	Extending of a glider flight through use of natural lift such as thermals or wave. For more information clickhere.
Task.	A cross country flight that has been deliberately planned. For more information clickhere.
Thermal.	A rising column of warm air. For more information click here.
Trailer.	A large road trailer that is used to transport and store de-rigged gliders.
Tug.	A powered aircraft used to tow gliders airborne. For more information click here.
Turn Point.	A pre planned waypoint along a Cross Country route. For more information click here.
Variometer.	An instrument that informs the pilot of the vertical speed of the glider. i.e. the rate of climb or descent. For more information click here.
V.N.E.	Velocity Never Exceed. Simply the maximum allowable safe speed of a glider.
Wave.	An atmospheric condition caused by strong winds blowing over a mountain range e.g. The Pennines. This can sometimes result in strong lift. For more information click here.
Winch launch.	A launch where the glider is pulled upwards by a cable attached to a winch - can be likened to running with the string of a kite. For more information click here.
Yaw	Movement about the normal axis. For more information click here.