JENNIFER HOAR
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A 500-kilogram glider overshadowed the Cyril Flood rotunda on Saturday, as Dubbo locals got a taste of the sport of gliding ahead of the 2015 Junior World Gliding Championships at Narromine later this year.
Members of the NGC were on hand to explain the engine-less aircraft, while a state of the art flight simulator gave people a chance to see what it would be like to steer a glider.
“Gliding is the purest form of flying that you can imagine,” NGC president Chris Stephens said.
Despite having no engine, gliders are still capable of reaching speeds of 300 kilometres per hour, and soaring distances of more than 1000 kilometres.
They take to the air with the aid of a powered aircraft - a ‘tow’ - and glide, using rising thermal air currents to gain altitude. In Australia, juniors can glide solo from the age of 15.
The Junior World Gliding Championships will kick off at Narromine on November 30, and it will be the first time Australia, or indeed the southern hemisphere, has hosted the biennial competition.
“To get the world championships we had to compete against Germany, France, Spain, South Africa and South America on a balance system, and Narromine in Australia was selected as the best site,” Mr Stephens said.
Narromine pipped the competition because of its “international standing, reliable weather and the friendly people”, he said.
“Narromine is one of the recognised gliding centres of the world.”