Gliding losing its wings in city

LUDHIANA: The adventurous era of motorless gliding which began with Sir George Cayley, considered a trailblazer in aeronautical engineering, who designed the first successful unmotorized glider to carry a human being aloft in the early 19th century, seems to have practically come to an end, at least in the state.
The last one of the gliders used by the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to impart their first flying experience to cadets and motivate them to go for a career in flying in defense services is rarely being used these days.Lying unused in NCC hangers at Patiala, this glider is counting its last days.
Even recently two more gliders at NCC hangers in Sahnewal Air Force Station had attained their TTLE (total technical life expired) after being flown for 25 longs years.
Inducted in NCC in 1984, the glider -- ARDHRA (G)-814 had attained TTLE on March 12 this year, after having seen 11,665 launches.
The other glider - ARDHRA (G)-815, which had 7,702 launches, was declared unfit for flying on March 15 this year.
Used by the NCC wings for teaching basics of flying to school and college students, these motorless gliders should have provided the debut flying experience to thousands of students across the state.
Due to the absence of an engine, these gliders are launched with the help of a winch that pulled the cable attached to it, the flight of these gliders depended on the weather conditions and expertise of the glider at handling the sailplane.
As the glider is pulled by the winch, due to the principle of aerodynamics, the glider gets air-borne. After receiving the desired height, the cable was released and after that, the duration of its flight depended on the capability of the glider.
Wg Cdr HS Gulati, Commanding Officer of NCC air wing at Sahnewal Air Force Station, said, "After learning the basics of flying with the help of these gliders, numerous students get encouraged to adopt flying as a career."
Himself an ex NCC cadet, Gulati has done around 1,000 launches and was one of the few cadets who did their solo on ITG-3 gliders way back in 1988.
He said students going for their first-flying experience are very excited. "The NCC is doing a good job in motivating youngsters to join Air Force. We wish this saga continues," he added.