Back to reality

I was dead keen to get my own kit when I got back to the UK but the first problem would be that I would have to get my Club Pilot (CP) exam before being able to fly without an instructor. Flying with Steve I had clocked up 22.5 hrs of airtime and completed all of the tasks for the CP apart from forward launches. The reality of being back home with no licence, only one hill close at hand and no job meant that any ideas of flying were put on hold.

I did check out the classified in Skywings but to be honest it was hard to find the right kind/size of wing and within a reasonable distance. A new relationship over the summer also diminished the memory of flying as other things became more important and I wondered whether I would ever fly again.

I returned to India in November for 2 months with my new partner and travelled along the Kangra Valley. As we passed within a few miles of Bir I could see a couple of people flying in the clear blue sky but we didn't have much time and I had no kit (to be honest the thought of lugging a glider round India isn't exactly appealing either). I had begun to doubt whether I realistically had the time and money to really get into flying.