Planning For Flying
Planning for Flying. Ready for Cross Country?
With the soaring season approaching, here are some resources I use to plan my flying.
The Weather
The cross section from the Met Office is posted on MOMIDS for each day we are flying. This will normally be uploaded to our Messenger Ops Group on each day. It gives the weather expected at RAF Shawbury.
For a broader picture you can watch the weather forecast on the BBC and there are also several websites:
https://www.xcweather.co.uk/GB/forecast?Loc=GB XC Weather gives a good indication of the expected wind and if you put in a location it gives a more detailed forecast for next seven days including expected cloudbases.
For a soaring predictions you can use RASP which is free at this link:
http://rasp.stratus.org.uk/index.php/rasptable-desktop
Or a forecast for an individual location at the Blipspot at this link:
http://rasp.stratus.org.uk/index.php/blipspot-maker
Choose SHY in the trigraphs, type an S then scroll through to select it and the day you want.
There are also weather services you can pay for like Skysight and TopMeteo. You can actually plan your route and it will tell if the forecast conditions are good enough.
NOTAMS
NOTAMs (NOTices to AirMen) will tell you if there are places to avoid. For example if airspace is being used for an air display or if there is some particular aerial activity. I use this website to check NOTAMS:
Just scroll in and click on the ones you are interested in to give you the detail.
A lot of glider pliots use SPINE to view NOTAMs which you can download.
Navigation and Radios
If you intend to leave the local area then do ensure you have an up to date chart (map) and that you have marked up your route taking note of any airspace and radio frequencies of places you might need to talk to. This can be automated either using a bespoke electronic navigator or software on a mobile phone. It is vital to know where you are and avoid airspace.
Logging
If you are looking to make a BGA badge claim then you will need a log of the flight using the .igc format. A lot of the FLARMS fitted to the gliders can produce an igc file. Another popular option is to buy your own logger like an FR300. FR 300s are good for claims up to Gold badges but are a position recorder so you need to have an extra 100m for any height claims.
Post Flight
When you have completed your cross country or wave flight please upload the details to the BGA ladder. It is really straight forward now as attaching the igc file auto populates most of the boxes. You will need to setup a profile the first time you use it. Uploading our flights on the ladder is free advertising and we are included in the Services ladder so people can compare how active the military clubs are. The data is also harvested by the BGA to show where gliders fly and is great evidence when the BGA is contesting the next piece of proposed controlled airspace.