Beginner course

1. DAeC Gleitschirmschule A-licence high-flight course in the Ostallgäu

Organizer: 1. DAeC Gleitschirmschule ↗

The six-day high-flight course runs Sunday to Friday and is the practical stage of training for the German A licence after the basic course. It starts with a refresher on the practice slope and an introduction to reverse launching, followed by high flights of more than 300 m and gradually up to 1,000 m height difference at the sites around the Forggensee – Buchenberg, Tegelberg and Breitenberg – with radio guidance from the instructors. Students practise launches in changing winds, 360s and figure eights, rapid descents, spot landings and flying in ridge lift and thermals, and in suitable weather a flight over Neuschwanstein Castle. Theory under the DHV guidelines (technique, meteorology, special situations, air law) is linked to the flying. After at least 25 high flights and the complete theory, students can take the exam for the high-flight permit (D-Schein) for known sites; the A licence needs at least two high-flight weeks, and the theory and practical exams are taken with a DHV examiner. Selected marked weeks start on Monday and fly almost exclusively at Tegelberg or Breitenberg, without slope training or A-licence theory; they are meant for students with at least ten high flights and recent practice. Students fly their own equipment bought from the school or hired equipment.