During the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci invented flying machines and Michelangelo depicted life in the skies. Now we can live their dreams on a journey through the Tuscan skies in a glider.
Your flight instructor will lead through an unforgettable experience. Alessandro Fortebracci, descendant of the knight Braccio Fortebracci, is the Mugello’s Aeroclub Volovelistico’s volunteer instructor with a mission: to take people up into the sky and teach them how to fly.
Up you go, towed by a propelled aircraft, leaving the roar emanating from the Mugello ractrack behind you. Your glider feels like a feather and lifts you higher at 60km an hour. After seven minutes of towed flight to an altitude of 700m, the 50m chord is released and your glider flies like a bird. Enjoy the silence and blue skies while you float among the falcons.
Our planet’s beauty is revealed with an aerial view of the Mugello’s rolling hills as the thermal air currents pull upwards against the downward pull of gravity. For those experienced enough to find the invisible thermals, pure glider flights can last from one hour to eight. Fly with the falcons: they hint the presence of a thermal with their circular patterns. Fly next to them and you’ll have time to notice, from above, other means of conquering the skies: you’ll fly over the nearby hang-glider launch point.
A gentle landing on one wheel confirms that gliders are one of the most airworthy types of aircraft, albeit the lightest and the most exciting.
Have a glance at paradise by visiting Mugello’s Aeroclub Volovelistico and talking with the pilot who will take you up into the skies. For more information, see the Aeroclub’s website at www.mugellogliding.aero.
