Well, I’ve never had a blog before so I’ll try and make a good job of it.
My name is Kelly Teagle, and I’m a glider pilot living in Thirsk in the north of England. I started gliding at the Yorkshire Gliding Club when I was 15, and went solo at 16. Gliding is the main driving force behind everything I do (besides my baby son) – it and he are the reason I get up in the morning! Gliding is also the reason that I moved to Thirsk. I originally hail from Huddersfield, but that gloomy industrial town can’t compare to the beauty of Thirsk and the surrounding area.
I’m also a fully-qualified instructor at my gliding club and I really enjoy sharing the joy of gliding with other people. We give trial lessons, and teach people to fly from scratch, then move them on into cross-country soaring and the other challenges that gliding holds. Contrary to popular belief, gliding is NOT just about taking off then drifting straight back down to land – we actually go places, and the challenge lies in using the weather, your brain and all available skill to get from A to B. We can often fly for several hours, and cover many hundreds of miles in one day (and all on the natural power generated by the sun and wind!)
However, I’ve recently become a mum, and I’ve yet to find out how much it will affect my sport. I think I will be unable to go flying for hours on end anymore, however I hope to continue to enjoy my beloved sport. I’ll let you know how I get on!
As I mentioned above, I’ve been gliding since I was just fifteen years old (crazy to think that I could fly a glider before I could drive a car) and after spending over half of my life gliding, I still love it! There’s nothing better on a sunny day than to get in a glider and go fly like a bird!
I’m writing this blog to tell the world about glding and how fabulous it is. I think people just don’t understand gliding and what it’s all about, so I’m going to try to change all that. Gliding really deserves to be better known, especially in the UK!
Keep reading for insights into my little-known sport – I hope you’ll enjoy it!
