In gliding there are booming days. Thermals provide rising air everywhere you look and even the least experienced members can keep a glider in the air. People get their own gliders out and do whatever they like. Some may be looking to achieve particular aims. Others might just want a nice flight. But everyone with there own glider gets very excited and the airfield in bustling with activity. And once all is said and done everyone goes home with a smile on their face.
In gliding there are also flat days. Days when there is no rising air at all, and the glider slowly drifts back to earth after the launch. No one stays up and the instructors prioritise teaching people. Often you will find the more experienced members sit back and stay on the ground on these days. They have been flying so long that a short flight barely interests them anymore.
Then there are scratchy days. There are thermals, and they are workable. Well, maybe. An experienced pilot that gets lucky can keep the glider airborne for some time. The aim on these days isn’t to achieve anything during the soaring flight, its to have a soaring flight at all. And on the surface these days look as chill as any other. But look a bit closer and you will notice something.
You will notice some members quickly and quietly sneaking into the launch point the moment they land. Or you might here someone say “Who is flying that glider?” as they look into the sky. Because under the surface there is a competition raging. Everyone is playing and there will only be 1 winner. Someone will get the LFD. The longest flight of the day. The person with the LFD at that time (if they aren’t in the air trying to get an even longer flight) is fretting about whether a glider currently flying will beat them.
They want to know who is flying, you see whilst there is competition for the LFD most weeks, only certain people are contending for the top spots. Everyone knows who these people are. If you are ever at an airfield and you hear someone say something like “That’s it, they wont come down for an hour now” or “Are they thermaling Again?” Well these are the people. They take every launch with thermaling as a priority second only to safety.
And when all is said and done, the days flying over, how is the LFD celebrated? Well there will be very little mention of it. But I promise you, if you were to peak in the winners logbook, take a look at the winning flight, and in the notes section you will see 3 little letters. LFD.
