GLIDING TRAINING · SPL

Glider Pilot Course

We run the course once a year. Theory starts in January and flying begins in April.

Not sure yet? Try a Pilot for a Day trial flight at lietaj.me ↗ Application form
Instrument panel of the L-23 Super Blaník glider OM-0218 in flight beneath the clouds
AGEfrom age 15
DURATION1 to 2 seasons
OUTCOMESPL licence

Who can apply

How the course works

Ground school in the club classroom JANUARY – MARCH

Theory

40–80 hours in the club classroom, ending with a theoretical knowledge exam. You can also sit the Transport Authority (Dopravný úrad) test once practical training is under way.

The L-23 Super Blaník glider OM-0218 being prepared for launch, a helper holding the tow rope APRIL – AUTUMN

Practical training

20 hours in Blaník L-23 and L-13 gliders. Every exercise starts with a briefing on the ground and ends with a debrief. Your first solo flight may come after 30 to 50 launches.

A young pilot wearing a parachute beside the L-23 Super Blaník glider OM-0218 AFTER 1 – 2 SEASONS

SPL licence

The SPL is valid in every EU member state and has no expiry date. How long training takes depends on the student and on how often they come flying.

A single-seat VSO-10 Gradient glider on the airfield NEXT

Further types

Conversion to the single-seat VSO-10 and Standard Cirrus gliders.

Thermal soaring

A glider has no engine, yet it can stay airborne for hours. It climbs in thermals – columns of warm air rising from sun-heated ground, often topped by a cumulus cloud. The pilot circles in one, gains height and then glides on to the next.

Thermals are limited in both time and space, and rise at roughly 1 to 10 m/s. Birds use them in just the same way when they circle with outstretched wings. Thermals make it possible to fly long distances on nothing but the energy of the atmosphere.

How thermals work – an article on lietaj.me ↗

PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE CLUB’S BLANÍK OM-0218 OVER THE SPIŠ REGION

Glider cockpit above forests, with the High Tatras on the horizon Glider wing above a town and fields A town in a basin between fields and forests, seen from the air A historic town with red roofs and a motorway, seen from a glider Forested ridges beneath a glider wing View from the Blaník cockpit beneath cumulus clouds, with the High Tatras on the horizon The High Tatras ridge on the horizon, seen from a glider cockpit A line of cumulus clouds over mountains and a reservoir, with a glider wing in the foreground

Training days at the airfield

View from the rear seat of a two-seat glider flying over a town Two pilots in a glider cockpit in flight View from a glider on aerotow behind a red tug aircraft over a town An instructor and students at a pre-flight briefing around a table on the airfield A student cleaning a glider wing after flying Instrument panel of a modern glider in flight beneath the clouds A student and instructor putting on their parachutes beside a Blaník glider before a flight A two-person crew in a glider cockpit before launch A smiling pilot and instructor in a glider cockpit in flight

Wave flying

From autumn to spring the Tatra wave is flown from our airfield, lifting gliders to around 8,000 metres.

Wave flying: requirements and information →

Applying to join the club

Once you have sent your application form, our Head of Flight Operations will be in touch.

Bc. Ján Šabľa, Head of Flight Operations +421 911 103 000 aklubsnv@gmail.com

One application form for the whole club

Fill in your name, contact details and year of birth, and choose the gliding section. We will check your details and get in touch, and once you are approved you will receive an invitation to the club app.

Fill in the application form