Goals of the Pakistan Gliding Expedition. “Swift wing gliding” 

Goals of the Pakistan Gliding Expedition. “Swift wing gliding” 

1.  The primary goal of the expedition is to fly in the Baltoro Glacier area and if possible to climb above 8000m mountains. Pilots should discover conditions for such flights without engine.
2. Climb with a glider to the vicinity of 8000m mountain in the area; Broad Peak or Gasherbrum or K2. 
3. Promote gliding in Pakistan . Cooperate with Pakistan aviation authorities, local authorities and aviation sportsmen and sport associations. 
4. We would like to learn and share experience with local aviation clubs. It is possible to perform flights together as the planneg glider for expedition is a double seatter.

The location and period of operations.

1. Preferably Skardu , Gilgit or Muzafarabad or another airfield within 250 km from target. The location of the operation has to be a grass or asphalt airfield within 250km from the target ( main Target – Baltoro region)  The runway lenght should be no less than 800m. 
2. Operation from mid July to August for at least 30 days waiting for suitable weather. 

 Required services

1.  Access to airfield runway for 1 – 2 flights a day.  Permission to operate from the runway like normal aviation traffic for take-off and landing. Planned flights should  commence in the morning with arrivals late afternoon thus not conflicting scheduled flights arriving at noon in Skardu.  Pilots are trained to fly at commercial airfields with ATC. Glider is equipped with ATC transponder.   Sebastian Kwa performed flights from commercial airfields in Poland , USA and Argenitina.
2. Permission to fly in Baltoro area up to 9000m Altitude or higher if possible. 
3. Permission to take pictures form a glider in remote mountainous areas. Any limitations are acceptable. 
4. Parking space on the airfield or in the vicinity. All surfaces are suitable for parking. Glider may park outside of the hangar protected by covers. It can be also disassembled to be secured in a gliders trailer in case of severe weather. 

Additional to be provided by the gliding team: 

1. Gasoline 95 -98 octane or Avgas – 2-5 liter per Take -Off. 
2. Oxygen refill for oxygen system in the glider.
3. Accommodation in hotel near airfield.
4. 4WD car to move the glider and the trailer.

Arriving to Skardu. 

1. Glider for transport is disassembled and stored in a special trailer with a total mass of 1500kg. The trailer can be moved by normal civil car. 
2. Long distance shipment in 40ft container by sea to Karach if other ways are not practucal.
3. Although it is possible to get to Pakistan by car in present political situation other sollutions are more probable.
4.  It is also possible to fly part of the route by the glider for example to fly from Islamabad to Skardu.

Responsibility

1. The glider is insured for up to 1,500 000 SDR third party responsibility. Any hull los is only expedition responsibility and it is also insured ( Aero Casco) .
2. Any sensitive fauna restrictions are acceptable. It is a common practice to avoid restricted areas and performance of the glider allows it to fulfill requirements. If for example it is necessary to fly 300m AGL nad away from mountain tops – it is acceptable limitation.  Gliders fly quietly most of time as engine is used only for take – off and in case of bad weather. It is not possible to commence flight if the weather is not good enough so we fly in CAVOK. 
3. It is possiblevto track gliders by regular ATC transponder or other sport trackers that are commonly used. 

The team

1. The pilot in command for all flights is Sebastian Kawa 18 times World Gliding Champion. He flew in mountainous areas an all inhabited continents. He guided gliding expeditions to Himalaya and Caucasus mountains where they were able to ascend above mountain tops without use of an engine. 
2. Additional 5 pilots form Poland will perform pilot flying duties in tandem seat.
3. Aditional guests form Pakistan gliding clubs like PHPA or special guests are welcome to fly with us. 

Gliding ( swift wing gliding )

Gliding unlike paragliding is a sport almost completely unknown in Asia. Pakistan had small number of glider imported also from Poland in last century and there were some gliders built in place in China and India on license. On the other hand there is a large community of successfull paraglider pilots who, together with guests from other countries, explore the second highest mountain range in the world. They flew up to the height of 7550m near K2 and  Broad Peak and they gradually improve. Unfortunately, in strong turbulence and strong wind, paragliding is too dangerous or impossible, so high flights in windy conditions in a wave are not possible. Paraglider could land out on emergency but in this terrain landing on glaciers or slopes above 5000m could be tricky. Gliders have stiff wings, very unlike to break if you keep correct speed. Glider may escape to valley thanks to greater performance. 

Stiff wing gliding is safer and has bigger possibilities than paragliding. It is possible to fly in a very strong , windy conditions and much higher than 8000m. Current altitude record is above 23000m set by Perlan Project. 

 Gliding is popular in Europe, in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. There is a tradition of gliding in South Africa and Namibia where pilots from all over the world perform 1000km flights. Japan has a good gliding tradition and their pilots compete worldwide and set gliding records.

We found out with my co-organizers that pilots from Pakistan are interested in expanding their capabilities to gliding slso.They want to learn, flying together and exploring the eight-thousanders. With  a two-seatter glider, we can demonsttate how to fly a modern glider and fly together to remotest regions.This will certainly attract attention, show the possibilities and improve its recognition. It will create new opportunities in Pakistan, It will also attract pilots from outside, as the region is exceptionally interesting and never flown by glider before. 

The top achievement would be to fly over the top of K2.

Sebastian Kawa