Aircraft

The aircraft purchased by
Walking on Air (WoA) is a K21 glider,
manufactured by Alexander Schleicher of
Germany. The K21 is an established glider which
the manufacturer Schleicher was able to provide a
factory conversion for the K21, allowing hand-control of the
machine from both the front and back seats. Being already
tested and certified to German standards, this conversion saved
us a lot of time and effort in making the WoA glider, "WA1", ready
for wheelchair-users.

The WA1 K21 is a two-seat glider (or sailplane), constructed of glass fibre. Although
notionally classed as a pilot-training aircraft, its performance, with a wingspan of 18 metres,
compares very favourably with many single-seat gliders. Despite being docile in handling and
relatively easy-to-fly, it is also capable of extended cross-country flights, high-altitude soaring, and
most types of aerobatic manoeuvre.

The controls of a glider operate in almost the same manner as a small
power plane; a control-column or joystick being the main flight-control, and
operating ailerons for roll (turning) and an elevator for speed-control.
Conventionally, two foot pedals operate a rudder. The rudder is needed to
"balance" the turn, and to steer the aircraft on the ground. It is this need for
foot-control of the rudder which the design of WA1 eliminates, by substituting an extra hand-lever for the pedals.

The instrument-panel of WA1 is, again, not all that different from any other light aircraft, perhaps one of the key factors being that the instruments must operate from onboard batteries, there being no engine or generator. WA1 is fitted with sufficient instrumentation for cross-country flight capability, a 760channel radio capable of communicating with Air Traffic Control and a precision electronic soaring instrument, the "vario" - which acts as a sensitive detector of rising air.

As in most two-seat gliders, the pilot-under-training sits in front, and the instructor at the rear. Whilst a number of other aircraft, power and glider, have been modified for hands-only control, as far as we know WA1 is the only aircraft in the UK to have full 2-seat hand controls. With dual hand-controls, instruction can be given by a person using the same control configuration as the pilot-under-training, or either seat can be reconfigured for conventional hand/foot control as required. This also provides for the ability for a hands-only pilot to becoming a fully-qualified instructor, able to train able bodied pilots in the art of flying.

A possible downside to the use of a glider is the greater need for ground crew. Whilst a power plane can in principle be operated by a single person, a glider does need help with getting airborne, typically in the form of a tow plane with its pilot or winch with driver and two or three ground-handlers. Thus WoA is bound to be a people-intensive operation, a fact which makes us grateful to those who lend their muscle-power in dealing with the glider and assisting those with disabilities!
WA1 normally lives in a hangar at its base with the SGU at Portmoak. However, as with most gliders, the wings and tail plane are detachable to allow road-transport in a fully-equipped road trailer, allowing for expeditions by WoA to other soaring sites in the UK.