Tickets & Events
Go gliding in Yorkshire with Burn Gliding Club for the winged experience of a lifetime over the hills and moors! This North Yorkshire centre is situated on an ex-WWII bomber command airfield near Burn outside Selby and offers unparalleled aerial views of the scenic surroundings and a birds-eye perspective of God’s own county.
What’s more its rural location means that summertime sunshine creates plenty of localised rising currents of air (or thermals) thanks to what the Burn gliding team refers to as the ‘Pennine wave’ giving your glider that extra boost to keep you airborne for even longer. In winter the plumes from the three nearby power stations of Drax Eggborough and Ferrybridge recreate this thermal lift effect even when there’s snow on the ground everywhere else making this a unique setting for gliding.
All glider experience days at this Yorkshire airfield begin with a brief welcome then it’s out to the runways to find out which of the club’s many twin-seater gliders you’ll be flying. With an extensive range of aircraft available including ASK13 ASK21 Janus and Astor twin seat aircraft making up Burn’s expansive glider fleet you’ll be spoiled for choice.
You’ll be shown the various aspects of the sailplane before both you and one of the club’s top-notch instructors climb into the cockpit for your flight. Airtime lasts between 15-30 minutes depending on how many thermals are active to keep you soaring higher and higher. And of course gliding time depends on your release height too with 2000ft 3000ft and the impressive mile-high (that’s 5280ft!) flight options available.
Flying is always an awe-inspiring experience especially when you’re in a sleek graceful aircraft that’s utterly devoid of man-made noise (there’s still the wind whistling around you!). The entire event is a very different set of sensations – a bit like feeling as weightless as a bird on the wing. We could try and describe the feeling but we think you’ll love the chance to discover gliding over Yorkshire’s fields hills and dales of the White Rose county for yourself.
Find out more and book your place today!
Tickets & Events
This small and friendly club offers gliding out of Warwickshire’s Bidford Airfield right in the heart of the Vale of Evesham. With easy access from Birmingham Worcester Gloucester Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon it’s an excellent choice of airfield for those wanting to soar in the skies coming from anywhere in the Midlands.
On a clear day your views from the glider can span from the Severn Estuary to the Cotswold Hills. But however far you can see when you go up you will be awestruck by the beauty and silence. What’s more going gliding in Warwickshire is a little different from most…
That’s because these flight vouchers are not for a certain duration but a specific launch height. You’ll be pulled by a tug plane and you can choose to be launched from either 2000ft 3000ft or even a mile (that’s 5280ft!) above the ground. Once you’ve reached your chosen altitude you’ll be released by the plane and you’ll enjoy the delight of silent glider flight.
Of course what’s rather fascinating when you’re released is that you can find ‘lift’ in certain air conditions. That’s to say you end up gaining height above and beyond the level you were released at so even though you have no motorised power onboard you can go up.
This all means that a 2000ft flight can last around 15 minutes a 3000ft one in the region of 25 minutes and a mile high glide around 35 minutes but it can often be even longer depending on gliding conditions. That’s why we like the fact that this club in Warwickshire goes for altitude rather than time.
As with most training gliders the ones here in Warwickshire are tandem which means the student gets to sit in the front cockpit and the pilot instructor behind. Clearly this means you get the best seat in the house with an unobstructed view of the River Avon Bidford and Evesham below.
You are sure to enjoy the atmosphere of this active owner-operated club for gliding at Warwickshire’s Bidford Airfield. Whilst gaining a deeper understanding of glider flights ground handling and glider launch procedures you get to have a go at the controls too.
Find out more and book your place today!
Tickets & Events
For those brave enough to try the motorless thrill of gliding UK clubs offer some of the best airborne opportunities around. You might find yourself gliding over rugged coastlines or soaring over the vast flatness of the fens so we think these nationwide vouchers are a fantastic aerial way to discover new parts of the country through the magical sport of gliding.
These vouchers give you maximum flexibility. There’s no need to decide where to take your first taste of gliding – with UK-wide aero clubs accepting IntotheBlue vouchers you can order your voucher today and let the lucky recipient choose where they go for their gliding experience. With locations around the UK to choose from there’s sure to be a flying centre to suit everyone.
Most sessions last approximately an hour in total including a safety briefing and explanation of the basics of gliding. You’ll enjoy either one or two flights giving you an overall flying time of around 15 minutes. During this time you’ll have the opportunity to take some stunning snapshots of the Great British scenery below as well as the option to take over the glider’s controls for a short period of time.
Our hand-selected range of UK gliding clubs offer either winch and/or aerotow launches depending on the site. Winch launches are via a ground-based cable which pulls the glider forwards at a fast enough pace to create the lift needed to get the sailplane off the ground whereas on aerotow launches the glider is towed into the air by a aeroplane. These tows allow you to reach a higher altitude and offer a smoother more sedate ascent but a winch launch has its own thrill as you are dragged into the air with some speed.
Once the winch or tug plane detaches you’ll begin to feel the eerily exciting sensation of gliding across the UK skies in an utterly silent motor-free machine relying solely on air currents and ‘lifts’ such as thermals to keep you aloft. The views are guaranteed to be spectacular especially on clear days.
For anyone looking to try a new aerial adventure gliding in the UK is sure to lift spirits as high as the sky and this nationwide opportunity is the perfect gift for those with a yearning to touch the clouds. For those preferring to sample powered flight IntotheBlue has a variety of flying lesson experiences guaranteed to delight too.
Find out more and book your place today!
Tickets & Events
Dunstable gliding club is a fantastically placed club to take a glider flight within very easy reach of London and the Home Counties. Sitting pretty on the Dunstable Downs once you’re airborne and soaring through the skies you’ll be able to see for miles and miles rather like your own personal Google Earth experience!
This grass airfield is just west of Dunstable town centre. Gliding originally took place at Ivinghoe Beacon in the 1930s but drawing inquisitive crowds every gliding day the club was evicted for ‘spoiling it’s peaceful enjoyment by the public’ and moved to its current location. As you might guess gliding activity stalled a little bit during WW2 but since then membership has really taken off and the fleet now consists of 12 pure gliders one motor glider and various tug planes.
Dunstable’s gliding for beginners is mostly done in the modern ASK21s – tandem planers with superb visibility from the cockpit and well-renowned for being reliable and easy to fly. The collection of non-motorised aircraft also includes a sporty single seater glider as well as ASK23s a 13 and a 24. Powered flights comes in the form of the Pilatus PC-11 and of course the tow planes.
As you climb aboard the glider for your flight your pilot instructor will put you at ease before the tug plane starts to pull you into the air. Once airborne and released (at around 2000ft) you’ll be amazed at the view down below – you’ll see roads you never knew existed and watch the scenery change before your eyes as you glide over the Dunstable Downs.
It has to be said this is a very well equipped and friendly glider club where all members share a common interest – their passion for gliding. Indeed it’s very much a co-operative sport with several pairs of hands needed to launch and land a glider so you’ll see how all the comes together to make for a convivial fun and very active Dunstable gliding group that are only too pleased to welcome new members (and worth noting that you get three months’ membership to the club with these experiences).
Once back down on terra firma after your breathtaking glider flight experience over Dunstable you’ll have a debrief with the pilot and time to take those all-important photos.
Don’t forget we also cater for nationwide gliding experience gift vouchers at venues outside of the Dunstable/London area.
Find out more and book your place today!
Tickets & Events
Gliding in Kent has a very long and proud history with hundreds getting airborne to soar over of the Garden of England through the years. Located on the crest of the North Downs between Charing and Challock this lively and energetic club in Kent is a great place to learn the graceful art of gliding.
This Kentish club is is in fact believed to have been the first gliding club to be formed in England on the 4th January 1930. Of course there was no time for leisurely pursuits such as gliding during the second world war but the enthusiasts got together again and reformed in 1956 with a renewed zest and vigour. The club has migrated all over the county but gliding in Kent finally settled at its current location in 1961 continuously developing and upgrading the facilities and fleet to remain up to date and modern.
A very dynamic club it has an excellent club house and briefing room for budding glider pilots and for the 150 active members has seven twin seat gliders and around 30 BGA approved gliding instructors. There are 20 tug pilots on the books to keep the club gliding seven days a week in summer and every Wednesday and at weekends in winter too. With the mild climate of Kent it’s perfectly possible to glide all year round.
Many have said that gliding offers the best views of Kent and the coastline. In fact on a clear day you can look out of one side of the cockpit and see the Thames Estuary Whitstable and into Essex whilst from the other side of your glider it’s the views of Ashford the Kent coastline and perhaps even France that’ll have you utterly enthralled as you take a slow graceful 360 degree turn to take it all in.
We are offering introductory taster sessions half days or one day courses in gliding at this Kent club. If you opt for the taster you will enjoy one aerotow flight being pulled into the air by a Piper Pawnee tug plane leaving you to soar high above the cliffs like a giant seagull and your ride back to the grass runway. The half day experience gives you two flights and lets you try both aerotow and winch launch methods.
On the full day session you will become part of the Kent gliding family for a day. See the ‘log cabin’ that gets towed out to the launch area (and acts as mission control on flying days) meet the members have a chat and generally immerse yourself in the world of gliding. Your intensive day gives you an aerotow and three winch launches where you are hooked up to the cable the winch takes up the slack and you’re away rumbling and bouncing over the grass for what feels like just milliseconds before you suddenly lift away and everything goes quiet…save for the sound of the wind whistling.
Find out more and book your place today!
