Mindfulness of the Airfield
I see a mindfulness on the airfield. There are five aircraft and only one small hangar, so every time it's a big puzzle to get them out, and at the end of the day, in again. After the gliders are ready to go a list has to be made so we all know what to do. We wait and help the other pilots to get the planes ready to fly again.
It is my turn to fly. I am still flying with an instructor, but I'm the one doing the work. After the concentration required for the cockpit check it's time to start. This is the time when you have no control, you are launched from 0 to 100km/h in one second. When you are up you have no time to think, but you must drop the cable, make speed and regain total control of the glider.
Now the most fun part comes. I sit back, concentrate, and become almost one with the glider. Now I look at the situation and let random thoughts control the glider, and if I can't find any thermals, I pick another spot that feels as though it contains a lot of thermals. I go on feeling my way through these pieces of air.
Suddenly, the instructor says I'm too low. I say to him that I know, but that I will be at the right altitude when I arrive at checkpoint. He does not believe it, but I succeed at this; I have succeeded three times now, but the instructor keeps ignoring it. Next I come in for the landing; that is the hardest part of the flight, but my body is acting strangely. It is telling me not to land. But I have to land, so I put the feeling away, and the connection I had with the glider disappears, so I have to land based upon my reactions and what I have already learned. The landing was not a real success if you ask me, but another guy says it was the best landing of the five I have made so far. We roll the glider back to the start place and get back to work.
Constant concentration and knowledge about what happens around you is necessary. If you lose this, there is a chance of losing your life. It may sound a little exaggerated, but people have lost everything because of losing their concentration, and their connection.