Big First Week at Raywood Christmas Gliding Camp

We've had a huge first week at Raywood. I did a couple of flights with an instructor on the first day, and was then taken off daily checks. This means I can fly without having to wait for an instructor to come with me every time - and then land and take off by myself. If the conditions are OK - I can get the glider out (after doing the daily inspection) and fly it on an aerotow launch. I did this on the second day (Monday) and was away for 3 hours 16 mins. Ailsa went solo this week too, and later that day she did a 300 km cross-country flight with John Buchanan in the Janus. While still on daily checks, yesterday Ailsa flew to almost 10,000 feet during a 3 hour 25 min flight. Our flights are limited to around the airfield area at Raywood. We are not yet cross-country rated. However, we can use these excellent conditions to get higher than we can at Bacchus Marsh and to stay up a long time. This is just what we need to consolidate our flying skills and learn more by putting into practice everything we've been taught over the past year. My flight earlier this week and Ailsa's yesterday will qualify us for Silver height - part of the Silver C badge. I am also working to finish off the requirements to get my C Certificate. I also want to try and get converted into the club's early pilot single-seater - the 'Junior'.