CENTRAL COAST SOARING CLUB
For Gliding on the Central Coast of NSW
TRY GLIDING - IT'S FUN!
Members NEW Option
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Come and have a flight Learn about it - Take the controls yourself,
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Enjoy the beautiful views of the NSW Central Coast.
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YES - You can Learn To Fly - Come gliding with us Just north of Sydney on the Central Coast
About the club
Central Coast Soaring club Club was founded in 1978, and is very proud of its achievements since then. The airfield is leased from Gosford City Council, part of the conditions of the lease stipulate that no aero towing is to be done from this site. The club welcomes anyone who has an interest in gliding, whether you have an interest in undertaking our air experience flights, becoming a fully qualified glider pilot or joining as a club member, CCSC can accommodate your needs. The club also conducts camp getaways usually every one or two years, these locations can include Gloucester NSW, Lake Keepit or Hunter valley.
WHAT MEMBERS DO?
The club is a registered non profit association run by a committee elected by the members.
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Members join the club to learn to fly gliders, increase their piloting skills and join in with the community of glider pilots in the Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA).
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There are many functions required to be done to make the club run successfully.
A Flying Day:
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Members arrive at about 9:00 am to 9.30 am on flying days, to assist in preparing aircraft for flying, laying out the winch rope and getting ground equipment ready.
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Weather permitting flying will commence as soon as aircraft and equipment are ready and will normally continue throughout the day finishing before sunset.
Members help by manning ground equipment, towing gliders to the launch point, signalling for launches and assisting in moving aircraft onto the launch grid. Pilots take turns at flying in the Club gliders and when it is your turn other Club members will help you get launched.
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The CCSC is very safety orientated with flying operations capably conducted under the guidance of experienced instructors and ground operations and procedures subject to safety audit accreditation principles.
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Flying members: Students learn to fly guided by our instructors. Qualified pilots may fly solo. Instructors instruct! It is all about learning the skills required for safe flying and having fun doing it.
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Instructors: These are pilots who usually have long experience of flying gliders (and also in some cases power aircraft) and who have attended training courses provided by the GFA to reach the required standard for training other pilots.
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Duty Pilots: These are members who have reached a standard of knowledge and expertise to organise operations on the flying field under the direction of a qualified instructor.
Winch Drivers: An important function is launching our gliders which is done by a winch. Once members have reached a suitable amount of experience, they may become accredited as winch drivers.
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Cable retrieve drivers: The launch cable needs to be pulled back from the winch after each launch ready for the next one. All members are expected to become accredited for this function (provided they have at least a learner drivers licence),
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Hook up, lookout and wing running for launches: This is an important task requiring the wing runner to ensure the glider is properly hooked on to the launch cable before launch and, most importantly, ascertaining that the surrounding airspace is visibly clear before a launcg takes place. All members are expected to help with this.
Pushing and towing gliders around: Gliders have to be towed to the launch point, requiring a car driver and wing runner. All members are expected to assist with this.
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Maintenance: The club relies on members to maintain and look after our gliders. Suitably qualified members can perform maintenance and inspections on the aircraft. Others can do things like keeping aircraft clean and assisting in rigging and derigging gliders when required.
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Administration: The committee and club officers administer the club, attending to the many tasks that need to be done running a voluntary club
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Other jobs: Quite a lot of them. eg. Mowing the airstrip, mowing and cleaning around the club house and hangar, general maintenance tasks.