SAFA Skysailor Magazine

14 SKY SAILOR September | October 2021 respect that task deserves and informs my risk assessment. From there on, dwelling on it will only get in the way of quick, clear and rational thinking, so it has no place in my mind. Some may mistake the control of fear as a lack of fear, or even recklessness, but it’s quite the opposite for me – I control my fear so it doesn’t control my actions or my thinking. With that tucked away, I was free to concentrate on doing the task the right way. My good mate Mat was also in the group, and flew first. We have very similar back- grounds to our approach and thinking, so seeing him sail through everything cemented in my mind that there was nothing to fear. I felt more relaxed. It’s my turn By the time it was my turn, I was keen to get started. Before the first manoeuvre – an asymmetric collapse – I again felt a little niggling fear somewhere in me, but within seconds of ‘just doing it’, I was smiling. Before long I was doing frontals with full speed bar. The manoeuvres were so benign compared to what I imagined they would be! It was actually fun to get the glider into ‘undesirable states’ and have it come back, with minimal input from me. The flight was over all too quickly. By the end of two flights on the first day I felt like my glider and I were becoming really good mates. I was having a boys’ weekend away and getting to know it better, while trusting it more and more with every minute in the air. By the last (fifth) flight on the third day, I was placing my orders with Rafa before launch: “I’ll do a left nose-down spiral this time, then as many full-stalls as I can, solo if that’s okay. Only say SIV: Is it for you? Photos: Mat Farrell