YES Day at the SG Basel-Fricktal
To coincide with the 125th anniversary of the AeCS, the Basel-Fricktal gliding group held its first YES Day at the LSZI/Fricktal-Schupfart airfield.
However, the event planned for April 12 had to be postponed after a two-week period of sunshine due to continuous rain and low cloud. But it was worth the wait: On April 26, with 6 enthusiastic young people, the program could be carried out as planned and in the best flying weather.
The day started with a joint briefing by the day's flight instructor, before the club members and taster students turned their attention to flight operations and the YES participants learned in the theory room how a glider can take to the air, stay there for hours and land safely again with just one attempt. During the subsequent hangar tour, most of the young people came into direct contact with a glider for the first time. We looked at how a cockpit is set up, followed by a parachute test, seat test and an exterior check of the aircraft.
The entertaining morning was followed by lunch at the barbecue area, which was very generous thanks to the many donations of salad, potato chips, bread, cakes and other items.
The real highlight of the day followed in the afternoon: a flight in the DG-1001 two-seater. The youngsters were able to experience at first hand how finely and directly a glider reacts to control inputs, how air movements can be felt and how great the view is from a bird's eye view. A looping was also requested by some of the participants and could actually be demonstrated to them in flight thanks to the optimal weather conditions.
After the last flight, the participants were able to receive their certificates and make their way home, satisfied and having gained a few more impressions. Some parents would probably have liked to fly with them...