Gliding Weather Watchers with Barra Best

PROPELLER WHIRS

MUSIC: Sunshiny Day by Neffa

We'll be off in about three seconds.

One, two, three.

And that's us up here.

And we're up, we're up.

'Today I've come to the Ulster Gliding Club at Belle Arena

'to experience at first hand the power of the weather.'

-And we're going to go to 3,000 feet today, Barra.

-3,000 feet?

That's quite high up for something that doesn't have an engine. Well...

THEY LAUGH

'One way the glider stays in the air is by using a thermal, which is

'a stream of rising warm air formed by the sun, heating the ground.

'It's time to release ourselves from the tug plane and fly solo.'

-OK, off we go.

-Tell me when.

-Now.

Woo! We're doing it ourselves.

That's it.

We are on our own.

Wow, look at that. That is beautiful.

It's the weather now that's literally allowing us to fly

without an engine.

Absolutely. We are soaring.

Oh, ho-ho!

It's a bit scary!

-That big burst, that was the lift?

-The ridge lift.

So the ridge lift is basically the wind that hits the bottom of

-the mountain and lifts up and essentially pushes us up in the air?

-Yes.

See, we're getting lift all the way along there.

Woo!

HE LAUGHS

You're going to give me a heart attack!

THEY LAUGH

MUSIC: Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Well, that's just a very small taste of the energy that can be in the atmosphere, Barra.

This must be how birds feel.

This is really just harnessing the power of the weather.

Absolutely. That's what soaring and gliding is all about.

# Cos I'm as free as a bird now

# And this bird you cannot change... #

-You really do get a buzz, from it, don't you?

-Oh, absolutely, Barra.

I've done a 300km flight.

The buzz when you land and the sense of achievement,

but I'll maybe come round now and head in the general direction

of back towards the airfield, OK?

OK.

Woo!

Oh, that, that's a long way down!

We generally think of clouds, we think, "Oh, there's going to be

"a chance of rain here, what do we do, you know, bring the washing in?"

But we harness it for this.

'The weather might be keeping us airborne,

'but how do we land this thing?

'Ho-ho!

'Now I know what they mean by a wing and a prayer!'

-Here we go?

-Yes.

Almost touchdown.

Woo!

Wow. Touchdown!

HE LAUGHS

GLIDER RUMBLES ALONG GROUND

Fantastic!

-And surprisingly smooth.

-Well, thank you.

Didn't know what to expect there.

Thankfully I didn't need my parachute. THEY LAUGH