0:00:18 > 0:00:19PROPELLER WHIRS
0:00:23 > 0:00:25MUSIC: Sunshiny Day by Neffa
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We'll be off in about three seconds.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33One, two, three.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34And that's us up here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36And we're up, we're up.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39'Today I've come to the Ulster Gliding Club at Belle Arena
0:00:39 > 0:00:43'to experience at first hand the power of the weather.'
0:00:43 > 0:00:47- And we're going to go to 3,000 feet today, Barra.- 3,000 feet?
0:00:47 > 0:00:50That's quite high up for something that doesn't have an engine. Well...
0:00:50 > 0:00:51THEY LAUGH
0:00:54 > 0:00:58'One way the glider stays in the air is by using a thermal, which is
0:00:58 > 0:01:03'a stream of rising warm air formed by the sun, heating the ground.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09'It's time to release ourselves from the tug plane and fly solo.'
0:01:09 > 0:01:13- OK, off we go.- Tell me when.- Now.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Woo! We're doing it ourselves.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17That's it.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19We are on our own.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Wow, look at that. That is beautiful.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32It's the weather now that's literally allowing us to fly
0:01:32 > 0:01:33without an engine.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Absolutely. We are soaring.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37Oh, ho-ho!
0:01:41 > 0:01:42It's a bit scary!
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- That big burst, that was the lift?- The ridge lift.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52So the ridge lift is basically the wind that hits the bottom of
0:01:52 > 0:01:56- the mountain and lifts up and essentially pushes us up in the air? - Yes.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00See, we're getting lift all the way along there.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01Woo!
0:02:01 > 0:02:02HE LAUGHS
0:02:03 > 0:02:05You're going to give me a heart attack!
0:02:05 > 0:02:07THEY LAUGH
0:02:07 > 0:02:09MUSIC: Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
0:02:23 > 0:02:29Well, that's just a very small taste of the energy that can be in the atmosphere, Barra.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31This must be how birds feel.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35This is really just harnessing the power of the weather.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Absolutely. That's what soaring and gliding is all about.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44# Cos I'm as free as a bird now
0:02:48 > 0:02:51# And this bird you cannot change... #
0:02:51 > 0:02:55- You really do get a buzz, from it, don't you?- Oh, absolutely, Barra.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I've done a 300km flight.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The buzz when you land and the sense of achievement,
0:03:00 > 0:03:05but I'll maybe come round now and head in the general direction
0:03:05 > 0:03:07of back towards the airfield, OK?
0:03:07 > 0:03:08OK.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09Woo!
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Oh, that, that's a long way down!
0:03:16 > 0:03:19We generally think of clouds, we think, "Oh, there's going to be
0:03:19 > 0:03:23"a chance of rain here, what do we do, you know, bring the washing in?"
0:03:23 > 0:03:26But we harness it for this.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28'The weather might be keeping us airborne,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'but how do we land this thing?
0:03:31 > 0:03:33'Ho-ho!
0:03:33 > 0:03:35'Now I know what they mean by a wing and a prayer!'
0:03:35 > 0:03:37- Here we go?- Yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Almost touchdown.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Woo!
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Wow. Touchdown!
0:03:44 > 0:03:45HE LAUGHS
0:03:45 > 0:03:47GLIDER RUMBLES ALONG GROUND
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Fantastic!
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- And surprisingly smooth. - Well, thank you.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Didn't know what to expect there.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Thankfully I didn't need my parachute. THEY LAUGH