Club member profile - Pete
We asked our Club members how they started gliding, what they enjoy and have achieved at Devon and Somerset Gliding Club.
Pete Harmer
| Why did you start gliding? | Having left home and started work at Farnborough, somebody suggested that I should do something at weekends and pointed out that there was a gliding club on the airfield where I worked. Within the month, I was airborne in a T21. |
| What is your most memorable flight? | I really like exploring new places, so a good flight at a new site is always memorable. |
| What is your most memorable moment? | Finally getting my 3rd Diamond (500kms flight), 26 years after the 2nd Diamond (5000m height gain) |
| What keeps you motivated? | Every flight is different, and the fascination of using the sky in a different way, each day. |
| Does gliding influence other areas of your life? | I spend a lot of time gliding and there isn't much time to do anything else. |
| What single word sums up gliding for you? | Challenging. |
| Why do you like owning your own glider? | It gives me the freedom to fly when and where I want to. |
| What do you like about DSGC? | They are a friendly bunch and its a lovely place to fly. |
| Why do you enjoy instructing? | I want to help other people get as much enjoyment out of gliding as I have - 1500 people so far. |
| Why do you enjoy flying cross-country? | It feels like I've achieved something when I fly round the countryside and get back to where I started from, making the best possible use of the soaring day. |
| Why do you like flying with other people? | It's good to discuss tactics, and it's handy to have someone to pass the sandwiches. |
| How many different types of glider have you flown and do you have a favourite? | 230 different gliders, of 96 types. I've enjoyed flying all the 7 gliders that I have owned, and I've always said that the best glider is the one you happen to be flying at the time. |
| Where else have you flown? | 94 different sites - Most gliding sites in UK, and a selection of gliding sites in Europe and USA. |
| Age: | 65 years |
| Occupation: | Retired Aviation Medicine Physicist |
| Started gliding: | 1964 -1966 and 1973 to date - brief interruption for girls and cars. |
| Number of launches: | 3,400 launches P1, and 5,200 launches Instructing |
| Number of hours: | 3,050 hours gliding P1, 1,030 hours gliding Instructing, and 325 hours Power |
| Total cross-country flown: | 52,000 kms |
