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Gliding Clubs in the UK

Take a look at our list of UK Gliding Clubs and start by contacting the one closest to you. The less time you need to spend travelling, the more time you will have at the club and the more frequently you will fly! Remember that many gliding clubs are not like commercial companies. Some of the larger ones may employ administration staff to deal with enquiries like yours, but smaller ones may be entirely run by volunteers who may only be there on one or two days a week. Don't worry if you need to call a couple of times before you speak to someone, it's worth the trouble!

Although there is no such thing as free flying, the flying lessons themselves are free. Instruction is given by BGA qualified instructors, the huge majority of whom give their instruction for free. The only thing that you will pay for is club membership and the use of the glider. Many clubs offer fixed price to solo from as little as £600, so at an average cost of £20 a week, you could be flying solo, free as a bird, in a little over 6 months.

Common Misconceptions:

1. Gliders are dangerous because they have no engine...

Gliders are designed to fly without an engine. Let's imagine for a moment that you are at a height of 5500 feet (about a mile high) in a light, single engine, aeroplane when the engine stops. Your aeroplane has just turned into a (rather inefficient) glider! If your best gliding speed is 60 mph and your rate of descent is 1000 feet per minute, you will have a maximum glide range of just over 5 miles and must decide where to land within 3 minutes.

If you are in a glider at 5500 feet, you will have a glide range of some 30 - 40 miles and around 40 - 50 minutes to decide where to land. Which would you prefer?

2. Gliders need a strong wind to fly...

Early gliders used to rely on the wind blowing up the side of a hill or ridge to stay aloft. Modern gliders can still use this technique and there are several gliding clubs around the UK that are based at hill or ridge sites, however glider pilots also use warm, rising air called thermals to gain height.

3. Gliders are not real aircraft...

Unlike a hot air balloon that can only go up or down and be blown in the direction of the wind, a glider is an aircraft sharing many of the same controls that a jet airliner has! There is a stick, or control column, that operates the ailerons and elevator and pedals that operate the rudder. The glider can be flown with great precision and accurate flying is the key to the successful glider pilot.

4. I can't afford to own an aircraft...

You don't need to! Gliding clubs generally own a fleet of aircraft which you, as a club member, will be able to fly, first as a trainee in a two seater with an instructor and later in a single seater, solo. The club will insure the glider and cover the running costs, you will be charged an amount for each launch and a soaring fee for time in the air, which is much more cost effective than buying your own! Some club members do sometimes decide to buy a private aircraft however, and often they will group together in a syndicate to share the costs and the flying time.

5. It's very difficult to learn to fly...

Although there is, of course, a degree of hand/eye/brain coordination required, learning to fly a glider is not generally considered to be any more difficult than learning to dive a car. If you can drive, you can probably learn to fly!

Civilian Gliding Clubs:


Andreas Gliding Club

Isle of Man
www.manxgliding.org

Anglia Gliding Club

Suffolk
www.angliaglidingclub.org.uk

Angus Gliding Club

Glamis
www.angusgliding.co.uk

Banbury Gliding Club

Northants
www.banburygliding.co.uk

Bath Wilts & North Dorset Gliding Club

Wiltshire
www.bwnd.co.uk

Bicester Gliding Club

Warwickshire
www.glidesportuk.co.uk

Bidford Gliding & Flying Club

Warwickshire
www.bidfordglidingandflyingclub.co.uk

Black Mountains Gliding Club

Powys
www.blackmountainsgliding.co.uk

Booker Gliding Club

Bucks
www.bookergliding.co.uk

Borders Gliding Club

Northumberland
www.bordersgliding.co.uk

Bowland Forest Gliding Club

Preston
www.bfgc.co.uk

Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club

Gloucestershire
www.bggc.co.uk

Buckminster Gliding Club

Lincolnshire
www.buckminstergc.co.uk

Burn Gliding Club

Selby
www.burnglidingclub.co.uk

Cairngorm Gliding Club

Inverness-Shire
www.gliding.org

Cambridge Gliding Club

Bedfordshire
www.camgliding.uk

Channel Gliding Club

Kent
www.channelglidingclub.com

Cotswold Gliding Club

Gloustershire
www.cotswoldgliding.co.uk

Crown Services Gliding Club

Hampshire
www.csgc.org.uk

Darlton Gliding Club

Nottinghamshire
www.darltonglidingclub.co.uk

Dartmoor Gliding Society

Devon
www.dartmoorgliding.co.uk

Deeside Gliding Club

Aberdeenshire
www.deesideglidingclub.co.uk

Denbigh Gliding

Denbigh
www.denbighgliding.co.uk

Derbyshire & Lancashire Gliding Club

Derbyshire
www.dlgc.org.uk

Devon & Somerset Gliding Club

Devon
www.dsgc.co.uk

Dorset Gliding Club

Dorset
www.dorsetglidingclub.co.uk

Dumfries & District Gliding Club

Dumfries & Galloway
dumfriesgliding.110mb.com

East Sussex Gliding Club

East Sussex
www.sussexgliding.co.uk

Edensoaring

near Penrith Cumbria
www.edensoaring.co.uk

Essex Gliding Club

Suffolk
www.essexgliding.com

Essex & Suffolk Gliding Club

Essex
www.esgc.co.uk

The Gliding Centre

Herefordshire
www.shobdongliding.co.uk

Highland Gliding Club

Morayshire
www.highglide.co.uk

IBM Gliding Club

Hampshire
gliding.ibmhursleyclub.org.uk

Kent Gliding Club

Kent
www.kent-gliding-club.co.uk

Lakes Gliding Club

Cumbria
www.lakesgc.co.uk

Lasham Gliding Society

Hampshire
www.lasham.org.uk

Lincolnshire Gliding Club

Lincolnshire
www.lincsglidingclub.co.uk

London Gliding Club

Bedfordshire
www.londonglidingclub.co.uk

Mendip Gliding Club

Wells
www.mendipglidingclub.co.uk

Midland Gliding Club

Shropshire
www.longmynd.com

The Motor Glider Centre

Northants
www.motorgliderclub.co.uk

Needwood Forest Gliding Club

Staffordshire
www.gogliding.co.uk

Nene Valley Gliding Club

Cambs
www.nvgc.org.uk

Norfolk Gliding Club

Norfolk
www.norfolkglidingclub.com

North Devon Gliding Club

North Devon
www.eaglescott-airfield.com

North Wales Gliding Club

Gefnffordd Lane
www.nwgc.org.uk

Northumbria Gliding Club

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
www.northumbria-gliding-club.co.uk

Oxford Gliding Club

Oxon
www.oxford-gliding-club.co.uk

Oxfordshire Sportflying Ltd

Oxon
www.enstoneaerodrome.co.uk

Peterborough & Spalding Gliding Club

Lincolnshire
www.psgc.co.uk

Rattlesden Gliding Club

Suffolk
www.ratair.org.uk

Sackville Vintage Gliding Club

Bedfordshire
www.sackvilleflyingclub.co.uk

Scottish Gliding Centre

Scotlandwell by KINROSS
www.scottishglidingcentre.co.uk

Shalbourne Soaring Society

Wiltshire
www.shalbournegliding.co.uk

Shenington Gliding Club

Oxon
www.shenington-gliding.co.uk

Shropshire Soaring Group

Shropshire
www.welsh-wave.co.uk

Southdown Gliding Club

West Sussex
www.sgc1.org

South Wales Gliding Club

Gwent
www.uskgc.co.uk

Staffordshire Gliding Club

Staffordshire
www.staffordshiregliding.co.uk

Stratford On Avon Gliding Club

Warwickshire
www.stratfordgliding.co.uk

Surrey Hills Gliding Club (South London Gliding Centre)

Surrey
www.southlondongliding.co.uk

Trent Valley Gliding Club

Lincolnshire
www.tvgc.org.uk

Ulster Gliding Club

County Londonderry
www.ulsterglidingclub.org

Upward Bound Trust Gliding Club

Buckinghamshire
www.ubt.org.uk

Vale of Neath Gliding Club

Mid-Glamorgan
www.valeofneathglidingclub.co.uk

The Vale of White Horse Gliding Club

Wilts
www.swindongliding.co.uk

Vectis Gliding Club

Bembridge Airfield
Isle of White
www.vectisglidingclub.co.uk

Welland Gliding Club

Northants
www.wellandgc.co.uk

Windrushers Gliding Club

Oxon
www.windrushers.org.uk

Wolds Gliding Club

East Yorkshire
www.wolds-gliding.org

Wyvern Gliding Club

Wiltshire
www.wyvernglidingclub.co.uk

York Gliding Centre

Yorkshire
www.yorkglidingcentre.co.uk

Yorkshire Gliding Club

North Yorkshire
www.ygc.co.uk

Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons
Free Flying Lessons

Service Gliding Clubs:


Bannerdown Gliding Club

Wiltshire
www.bannerdown.co.uk

RAFGSA Chilterns Gliding Centre

Bucks
www.rafgsa.org/cgc/

Cranwell Gliding Club

Lincolnshire
www.cranwellgc.co.uk

Fenland Gliding Club

RAF Marham
www.fenlandgc.co.uk

Four Counties Gliding Club

RAF Wittering
www.fourcountiesgc.co.uk

Fulmar Gliding Club

RAF Kinloss
www.fulmarglidingclub.btinternet.co.uk

Heron Gliding Club

Somerset
www.heronglidingclub.moonfruit.com

Kestrel Gliding Club

Odiham
www.kestrel-gliding.org.uk

Portsmouth Naval Gliding Club

Hants
www.pngc.co.uk

Seahawk Gliding Club

Culdrose Airfield
www.seahawkgliding.co.uk

Wrekin Gliding Club

West Midlands
www.wrekinglidingclub.co.uk