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Gliding

Gliding is unpowered air sport with sailplane, winch or aerotow launch, thermals, weather reading, navigation and task flying. Competitions use distance, time, goal or precision tasks under FAI/IGC context.

LevelMain sport FamilyAir Sport CategoryAir sport

AI-generated illustration: Gliding — AI-generated illustration

Classification

Category Air sport

Family Air Sport

Level Main sport

Getting started

Kurzbeschreibung Unpowered flight with a sailplane, thermals, task flying, navigation and controlled landing.

Geeignet für Suitable for people who like weather, technique, calm decisions and club operations.

Cost Taster flight, club membership or flight school first; owning a sailplane is not needed for entry. Club fees, launches, flight hours, training, radio/navigation, weather windows and possible licence costs. Gliding club, aero club, flight school or FAI/IGC-adjacent structure. Gliding is weather- and club-logistics-dependent, not spontaneous like an indoor sp…

First progress First flight feel is immediate; solo/licence pathway takes many flights.

Fitness level low to medium

Was du brauchst

gliding club
instructor
sailplane
winch or tow
radio
weather briefing
airfield

First steps

book a taster flight
visit a club day
understand briefing and launch method
clarify training pathway

Gliding club, national aero-club structure, SSA/BGA club finder or flight school.

Fly only with school/club, instructor, weather approval, preflight check and legal airspace.

Weitere Angaben

Aliases Soaring, Segelfliegen, Gliding

Tags gliding, air-sport, luftsport, segelfliegen, soaring

Rules and format

Die Grundlagen

Ziel

Complete a gliding flight or competition task safely, legally and with best distance/time/precision.

Teilnehmer

pilots solo or in two-seat/team context.

Teamgröße

one pilot or crew per sailplane.

Spielfeld

airfield, airspace and task/thermal area.

Dauer

Depends on format and event.

Wertung

distance, time, speed, turnpoints, goal arrival, logger data.

Gewinnbedingung

Best valid time, placing or score in the announced format.

Ausrüstung

sailplane
radio
vario/GPS
winch/tow
safety equipment

Wichtige Regelpunkte

airspace breach
safety breach
logger/task error
launch/landing issue
rule breach

Regelquellen

Federations and sources

Federations

FAI
World Air Sports Federation (FAI)
FAI Gliding Commission (IGC)

Gliding World Air Sports Federation · federation-guide · high
FAI Gliding Commission World Air Sports Federation · commission-guide · high
Learn To Soar Soaring Society of America · beginner-guide · medium
Glider Flying Handbook Federal Aviation Administration · training-handbook · high