After the splendid flight I made to the Mont Blanc with Michel Trial, I was authorized to fly “solo” again on a glider in the local area (note that I did not glide for two years – although I started gliding thirty years ago) This means in Fayence that you get a Ka 6 at your disposal and that you can fly from Fayence to the Mont Lachens (1700m).

How does a typical day looks in Fayence ?

As of 8.30 am, pilots are gathering in the local bar for a typical French breakfast, meaning a croissant and a (strong) little coffee. By 8.55 am , all the pilots go to the briefing room where Christian GAUDEFROY (the chief pilot of Fayence) starts his daily briefing at 9am sharp. It is not appreciated when you arrive late. The briefing consists of several parts: 1) short discussion about the flying activities of “yesterday” whilst mentioning the most important facts. 2) A very detailed and professional weather briefing by “Pierre” , covering all weather aspects you can imagine. After Pierre’s weather briefing, you know what to expect. 3) Who flies what ? Every pilot needs to tell what he likes to fly and chief pilot Christian Gaudefroy distributes the individual planes to the pilots so that everything matches wonder well. He marks the initials of every pilot on the blackboard. 4) Now, all pilots get a parachute and a battery 5) Finally, pilots go to the hangars to tow the gliders outside and put all the material in the airfield. This typically takes an hour, so by 10.30 am all gliders are ready for the day.