Blue Skies Unlimited | Darling Downs Soaring Club (DDSC) and ultralights from Avid Aviation

The skies around Dalby and the Downs turn on arguably the best year-round flying conditions in Australia, making the region an ideal home for two different styles of aviation.
Gliders from the Darling Downs Soaring Club (DDSC) and ultralights from Avid Aviation give the black soil plains a different perspective and offer the chance for adventure.
Learning to fly is surprisingly easy whether it’s soaring or powered flight.
DDSC instructor Ralph Henderson says “it’s no harder than driving a car”.
Club instructors can train people from their first flight through to world championships, and the club boasts a number of national male and female gliding champions among its members.
Ralph emphasises that gliding is not a particularly expensive sport and training is flexible.
“People can go solo in a week if they want to, or it can be spread out over six months."
The club has a number of aircraft with ownership shared among members. Owning a share in a glider with three or four others comes for as little as $10,000.
Avid Aviation owner and Certified Flight Instructor Bob Keen, who has been a member of DDSC for 30 years, also branched out into the world of ultralight aircraft in 1981.
Bob says the early days were reminiscent of “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," but the sport has moved ahead a long way since then.
Ultralights are now known as recreational aircraft and their activities and maintenance are regulated by Recreational Aviation Australia.
Training usually begins in a two-seat Drifter, and after about 20 hours dual training and another six or so solo most pilots are ready for their restricted licence.
It is possible to be a licensed pilot by age 15 - “that’s years before you can get your licence in a motor vehicle," says Bob.
Recreational flying is surprisingly affordable, resulting in aircraft sales and flight hours climbing rapidly over the past 10 years.
“There is a strong emphasis on safety, which is backed up by excellent training, and regular aircraft maintenance,” he says.
So take flight with DDSC or Avid Aviation and open the door to a new sport that will take you up, up and away.

Darling Downs Soaring Club www.ddsc.org.au