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The Cotswold Gliding Club was formed in 1964 and initially the club was based at Long Newton airfield near Tetbury. In 1967 the club moved to its current home, Aston Down, which at that time was a military airfield. In 1981 the airfield became surplus to requirements and was sold by the MOD. With the help of Sports Council grants and other loans the club managed to purchase a large part of the airfield. We have since aquired further land and now own most of the airfield within the perimeter track.

The Airfield
Aston Down is, by gliding standards, a large airfield The 1500m main runway – about a mile – offers scope for high launches, sometimes up to 3000 feet when the wind direction is straight down the runway. This makes it easy to contact the abundant thermals that rise from the well drained Cotswold limestone to give superb soaring conditions.

The main runway runs from bottom left to top right and our shorter 1000m east-west runway runs left to right. The disused runway in the distance has been partly removed to allow more room for gliders landing on the grass. The large hangars you can see were used by the MOD until 2001 but they have now been sold and are currently let as warehousing and industrial units.

Aston Down was first used as an airfield in the first world war, when the Australian Flying Corps were based here. During the second world war the hard runways and hangars were built and the airfield was used as a ferry and training base. Have a look at these pictures from 1918 and 1946.

More recently the airfield was used as a satellite airfield for the Central Flying School at Little Rissington, with trainee pilots practicing their circuits in Jet Provosts. Visits by the Red Arrows were also frequent when they were based at nearby Kemble airfield.

The Club Fleet
The club’s fleet of aircraft is maintained to a high standard and includes two ASK21 dual seat trainers (G-CLRT, G-EENK), a Ka13 dual seat trainer (G-CHXJ), a DG500 advanced trainer (G-CKNK), an ASK23 for early solo pilots (G-CGCF), a rare ASK-18 (G-CJPZ).

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Bronze Gliding Experience From Cotswold Gliding Club On AvPay
Want to experience what it is like to fly like a bird? Take a trip in our two-seat glider with…
Silver Gliding Experience From Cotswold Gliding Club On AvPay
Want to experience what it is like to fly like a bird? Take a trip in our two-seat glider with…
Gold Gliding Experience From Cotswold Gliding Club On AvPay
Want to experience what it is like to fly like a bird? Take a trip in our two-seat glider with…
Advanced Gliding Courses From Cotswold Gliding Club On AvPay
If you have done a beginners course, the advanced course takes you through to that next stage of going solo…
Beginners Gliding Courses From Cotswold Gliding Club On AvPay
The Beginners course takes you from the basics of controlling the glider to where you are doing most of the…
An Introductory gliding course is your first step in learning to fly. The course is designed to provide you an…
Schleicher ASK18 Glider For Hire at Aston Down Airfield
The club's fleet of aircraft is maintained to a high standard & includes two ASK 21 dual seat trainers (G-CLRT, …
Schleicher ASK 21 Glider For Hire at South Wales Gliding Club
The club's fleet of aircraft is maintained to a high standard & includes two ASK 21 dual seat trainers (G-CLRT, …
Schleicher ASK 21 Glider For Hire at Aston Down Airfield
The club's fleet of aircraft is maintained to a high standard & includes two ASK 21 dual seat trainers (G-CLRT, …
Glaser Dirks DG500 Glider For Hire at Aston Down Airfield
The club's fleet of aircraft is maintained to a high standard & includes two ASK 21 dual seat trainers (G-CLRT, …

Services

Introductory Flights
Our introductory gliding lesson is a brilliant experience and is ideal for almost anyone. It makes a great gift – something a little out of the ordinary. Age is no barrier; we have flown visitors from their early teens to 101 years old.

Your gliding experience will start with a briefing by one of our fully qualified gliding instructors who will explain all of the safety aspects of your flight and also introduce you to the aircraft and make sure you comfortable. The glider will then be towed behind a light aeroplane to a height of 2000 feet above the airfield from where you really can get a bird’s eye view of the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

During the flight you will be invited to take the glider controls or you can simply sit back and enjoy the ride while the instructor flies. If you like you can record the flight on your camera.

The flight will generally last about 15 minutes but can be longer if the weather conditions permit.

We can also offer flights to 3000 feet above the airfield lasting approximately 20 minutes and a mile high experience to 5300 feet above sea level, lasting about 30 min.

We also run popular summer evening gliding for groups. Read more here.

How to arrange an introductory flight
The Cotswolds from a gliderWhen you buy an introductory flight from us you will receive a voucher that you can give to the recipient. We send this out by first class post, usually within one working day. The person taking the glider flight can then contact our office to book their lesson at a time convenient to themselves. The voucher is valid for twelve months from purchase and is non-refundable or transferable to another club. It entitles you to one flight on either a Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting. Full instructions for booking will be supplied with your voucher.

An introductory flight starts at £95.

Please note that there are size and weight restrictions – see below or call our office for full details.

Age. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent of guardian and meet the minimum weight below.
Weight. Due to aircraft limitations we cannot fly with anyone over 110kg (242lbs), fully clothed and wearing a parachute (7kg). The minimum weight is 51kg (112lbs). Very tall people, more than 1.9m (6ft 3ins), may have difficulty fitting into the cockpit. Our FAQ explains more.
Health. Visitors must not have any medical condition that might lead to a difficult or dangerous situation in flight. Please check with our office if you believe you may have a condition that will be problematic.


Since buying the airfield dedicated work by club members has resulted in improved and expanded facilities.

The original control tower houses a large, comfortable club room (see picture) with licensed bar, and a well equipped catering kitchen – with food and beverages available for members and visitors to prepare for themselves.

A modern extension to the control tower houses purpose built residential accommodation, plus excellent toilets and showers. The accommodation may be booked in advance through our office.

We are well equipped for flight planning with access to soaring weather forecasts, NOTAMS and flight planning and analysis software. We have free wireless (and wired if required) broadband internet access.

Next to the control tower are caravan and camping facilities, with pleasant views across the airfield.

Glider launching is mainly done using our two powerful Skylaunch winches. Aerotow launching is occasionally used, particularly when the wind direction means that the Cotswold ridge is providing lift or the Welsh mountains are generating wave lift.

We have a large hangar that accommodates the club fleet and many gliders owned by club members. We also have two large purpose-built workshops for maintenance of our aircraft, vehicles and winches.

Gallery

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