To clarify the points raised by Rory O’ Conor and John
Smith

Gliders in the UK are not generally allowed to fly
in IFR only airspace, such as Class A and airways.
However some gliding clubs who are situated in or
close to Class A or Class D airspace (e.g. Portmoak
and Dunstable) have local letters of agreements that
allow some access to controlled airspace by their members
under defined conditions. These agreements do not apply
to glider pilots from other clubs who happen to be
transiting the area and can be withdrawn at any time,
so they are not exactly rights but are better than
nothing. There are also some wave soaring boxes that
can be opened by an advance telephone call and then
a radio request in flight.

When I first started flying X-country, you were allowed
to cross Airways, provided you crossed them approximately
at right angles in VMC and kept a good lookout. This
right was removed sometime in the 1990’s when a wave
soaring glider got a bit too close to an airliner somewhere
over South Wales.

Derek Copeland


At 16:48 06 September 2006, John Smith wrote:
Pity that Derek does not appear to have read the references
provided by
Rory. The items on the SGU website relate to the Scottish
TMA around
Edinburgh and a local agreement between the SGU and
NATS Edinburgh that
permits easier access to the South though defined routes,
an agreement
between the BGA, SGU and Scottish Air Traffic relating
to crossing the
airwayS viz P600 andB226 subject to prior notification
and radio calls, and
an agreement between the BGA, SGU and the Scottish
Control centre that
permits gliders from Portmoak access to the Northern
part of the Scottish
TMA and southern part of P600 at weekends. No mention
of the Scottish Wave
boxes in any of these.