Namibia

Boundless flying ...

Gliding in Namibia

Namibia is one of the best gliding destinations in the world. Remarkable thermal updrafts at over 6,000 m let you fly breathtaking routes. You will enjoy weather reliability throughout your holiday - you can fly almost every day during the gliding season from November to January.

A limitless flying experience! Pure gliding awaits you.

In Namibia, about 900 x 400 km can be flown freely with only a few airspace restrictions. In the south of the country, we have likely the largest gliding area in the world, with approx. 500 x 400 km up to FL195. In addition, the flight area in the east extends another 900 x 200 km into the airspace of Botswana.Vast flights of up to 1,400 km have already been achieved. 1,000 km FAI triangles and 1,000 km target-return flights are easily possible, with top pilots flying over 1,000 km on about half the days during the season.

Climb rates of 8-10 m/s are even sometimes found, marked by shouts of joy in the cockpit. The general altitude clearance is FL195, which means that you can make a final approach of over 200 km from almost 6,000 m.

Dry savannah and open space ...

The landscape

You will fly mainly over the Kalahari, a dry savannah marked by open space and thorn bush. Because of the sand, the Kalahari is referred to as a desert. It lies on both sides of the Tropic of Capricorn and stretches from South Africa's Northern Cape province through Namibia and Botswana to Angola and Zambia. Its area is over one million square kilometers.

In the west, the Naukluft Mountains often mark the weather boundary althoughthe permitted flying area extends into the Namib Desert beyond it. Where the air masses of the Namib and the Kalahari meet, 100 - 200 kilometer long convergence lines are created - an incredible flying experience!

From your cockpit, the Kalahari looks flat and endless. With clear visibility, you can see the turning points far ahead. At lower altitudes, you discover the largely untouched landscape: the salt pans and endless dunes of the reddish sand desert in the east, the rocks and canyons of the Naukluft Mountains, and the bizarre white shapes of the Namib in the west.

The soft evening light reveals a breathtaking Africa that you will remember forever.

Sun, sun and more sun ...

The climate

Namibia has more than 300 days of sunshine a year. From October to April, during the Namibian summer, the daytime temperatures are about 30 °C. Around the turn of the year, it can even reach 40 °C. Due to the low humidity, these temperatures can easily be tolerated. At night, the mercury hardly drops below 20 °C.

In the highlands of Namibia, the summer brings the rainy season. This means that between November and April, heavy rain falls on average on four to nine days per month. During this time, spectacularly beautiful natural phenomenon appear in the sky and on the ground.

This is the perfect time to fly, as there are usually only localised and temporary showers. It is often clear at night, so you can watch the impressive starry sky at a pleasant 20 °C - an unforgettable experience!

Namibia ...

About the country

The name Namibia is derived from the Namib Desert, which runs the entire length of the western coastal area. The name was chosen to accommodate all of the Namibian peoples. Many different peoples live in Namibia: Damara, Herero, Himba, Ovambo, San (Bushmen), Nama (Hottentots), Kavango, Rehoboth Baster, Boers, about 20,000 German Namibians, about 750 Austrians, etc. Namibia's white population is about 6 % of the total population.

As diverse as the people, are the languages. With English as the official language, one can communicate well throughout the country. Afrikaans is also very common. There are many other local languages, such as Ovambo, Rukwangalie, Damara or Nama, which stands out because of its four clicking sounds.

The arid landscape was originally inhabited by the San (Bushmen) and Damara peoples. The area of today's Namibia became a German "protectorate" in 1884 - German South-West Africa remained a German colony until the end of the First World War. Even today there are many German street and river names. In 1920, the League of Nations placed Namibia under South African mandate, which introduced its own laws, such as those of apartheid. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in the course of the Namibian Liberation Struggle on 21 March 1990 (Walvis Bay 1994).

Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world due to the large area of the Namib Desert. There are just 2.5 million inhabitants living on 824,000 km². The country has a stable parliamentary democracy and is considered safe and free. The capital and largest city of Namibia is Windhoek. The economy is strongly characterised by agriculture, fishing, tourism and mining - especially for diamonds, uranium, gold and silver.