Gliding High
Question: how high can a glider reach? Answer: an incredible 28,500ft. That is the number of feet Nick Norman and Moritz Korn from the Cairngorm Gliding Club clocked up during a flight over the Cairngorms. While they did not beat the UK record of 30,000ft, according to the British Gliding Association it is the highest altitude recorded for several years. And it turns out the pilots had not originally planned to soar so high. Returning from a trip to Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, the pilots came across a weather condition known as a mountain wave. After gaining clearance from air traffic control, the two men surfed the wave of air up to 28,500ft before returning to their club at Feishiebridge. Now that’s what you call a ‘soar’ spot.