'The day I found my wings'

I'VE put on my parachute and pulled the straps tightly and, somewhat unflatteringly, around the top of my legs. I feel like a blonde Ninja Turtle, but I'm sure I won't be worried what I look like if I have reason to tug on the metal D ring as hard as I can.

"We keep this all nice and tight," says Andy Parish, deputy chief flying instructor at the Yorkshire Gliding Club, as he settles me into the front seat of a DG 1000 glider. "It's good, especially if we're doing any aerobatics."

I can't tell if he's joking about the aerobatics thing but one of the guys from the club chips in mischievously with: "Have you ever flown one of these before Andy?" There's a lot of camaradarie at the club, which is based on top of Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, in North Yorkshire.

Andy hops into the seat behind me and runs through the safety checklist. I'm normally rather claustrophobic but it's roomier than I expected in the front seat and, as we taxi down the grass runway, bobbing along behind the motor plane or 'tug', I feel a surge of excitement. The line taut, we're soon soaring into the sky, climbing higher and higher above Sutton Bank. When the cows look the size of ants and the houses like they belong on a Monopoly board, Andy releases the tow line and the glider sweeps noiselessly to the left. He points out Helmsley, the vast expanse of the North York Moors and a patchwork quilt of bright yellow rapeseed and green fields in the direction of York. The views are simply breathtaking. "You can see how green and beautiful England is up here," says Andy, 45.

The gliders, or sailplanes, are designed to reach speeds of about 180mph and are capable of heights in excess of 30,000 feet. The wing is the key to the performance, using the movement through the air to stay aloft.

The glider pilots rely on using the same rising air that birds use to fly in in order to stay up. Andy attempts to find a thermal - formed when warmer air heated by the sun breaks away from the ground. When the atmosphere is damp, cumulus clouds form at the top of thermals which provide the pilots with markers to find them. Today, there is only blue sky and a slight haze. It is up to Andy to guess where the 'blue' thermals are, using ground features and the feel of the glider.

"It takes years of practice," he says. "Learning to fly is a relatively straightforward process, but learning to stay up and travel vast distances is a lifetime's apprenticeship. I've been doing this 26 years and the thrill of it never goes away."

As we fly into a thermal the glider bobs about and Andy steers it in wide circles. We climb higher, with just a slight whistle of the wind for company.

The other types of 'lifts' the gliders use include hill lifts - where the glider is flown along the face of a hill and the wind is deflected up and over the top, sending a mass of rising air - or a lee wave, which is sometimes found downwind of mountain ranges where the airstream oscillates. The Yorkshire Gliding Club experiences lee waves whenever there is a westerley wind from the Pennines. It allows members to reach super heights of 32,000 feet and it's hardly surprising the club's setting attracts people from across the world.

We sweep round for a staggering view of Kilburn's famous White Horse. Andy lets me take control of the glider using the joystick and it's remarkably responsive, giving the illusion that I'm a real glider pilot, although he still has his feet on the pedals which control the rudder. Andy used to be a systems analyst and now loves nothing more than the buzz of taking new people gliding. He also enters competitions, which involve gliders racing over a number of days around a course with the fastest winning. Points are awarded for each day's flying. All the gliders have basic instrumentation showing height and airspeed but the racing gliders have GPS navigation systems and flight computers to help pilots decide how high to climb and how fast to fly for optimum overall time.

"One of the good things about gliding is that it's a sport where women can compete equally with men because it's a mental game and not based on strength," says Andy. "It is one of the most inclusive, accessible and cost effective air sports."

One of the Yorkshire Gliding Club's most famous past members was Amy Johnson - who went on to become famous for her flying exploits around the world. There is also no upper age limit for the sport, which requires the same level of fitness as it takes to drive a car, but pilots need to be aged 16 before they can fly solo. This weekend there's a 100-year-old chap from Leeds who'll be going up in a glider for a birthday treat. It's also possible for people with a range of disabilities to fly.

The club, which was formed in 1934, operates seven days a week, and Andy advises budding pilots will need between 50 and 100 flights and seven to eight hours of tuition before they go solo. One of these is Howard Marshall, 64, of Normanby, a recently retired computer services manager who had a "Boy Scout love of planes". Like many, he was introduced to the sport with a trial flight as a birthday gift but admits his first solo flight was frightening.

"I talked to myself constantly but it was also totally exhilarating," he says. "But flying is only part of the fun, there's also the social side to it here. We have a good crack."

We approach the grass landing strip swooping in past the White Horse. A couple of walkers are taking our photograph and Andy brings the wheels down and the aircraft in low to the ground. I fear we're about to decapitate them, but he executes the perfect landing instead.

"How did you enjoy it?" he asks when we're on the ground.

The flight was exhilarating, I say, and strangely relaxing. It's peaceful being 2,000 feet up in the air. It's even worth looking like a Ninja Turtle for.

* The Yorkshire Gliding Club has trial vouchers available for £75 which includes a trial flight and three months membership of the club. Contact (01845) 597237 or visit www.ygc.co.uk for more information.