Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club
Nympsfield, NR. STONEHOUSE, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3TX, United Kingdom (UK)
The club has around 140 flying members, a fleet of club owned gliders, two Supacat winches and a tug aircraft available, with about another 60 privately owned gliders operating on site. We welcome all members whether you are new to gliding or an experienced pilot and aim to provide a friendly environment with the potential for 7 day a week flying throughout the year.
The BGGC has its own dedicated airfield on top of the Cotswold edge with a large grass strip oriented roughly East/West. We overlook the Severn Vale looking across to the Black Mountains in Wales to the West and the Malvern Hills to the North. This means we get excellent thermal, ridge and wave offering soaring potential through the year; our members have carried out flights in excess of 750Km and reached over 20,000 ft in wave. In the winter months we enjoy around 100 km of usable ridges (in the right wind directions) from Broadway in the North to Bath in the South.
Cross Country flying for fun & competition is a key part of the club. The BGGC is glad to have among its members world class pilots as well as many pilots who regularly compete in UK National Championships. We have an active club cross country scene with weekend task briefings (when the weather co-operates) which are aimed at the full spectrum of cross country pilots from novice, through intermediate to pundit. There are several privately owned and club 2 seaters suitable for cross-country flying a formal and informal instruction is regularly available.
Flying from Nympsfield
Cross Country flying for fun & competition is a key part of the club. The BGGC is glad to have among its members world class pilots as well as many pilots who regularly compete in UK National Championships. We have an active club cross country scene with weekend task briefings (when the weather co-operates) which are aimed at the full spectrum of cross country pilots from novice, through intermediate to pundit. There are several privately owned and club 2 seaters suitable for cross-country flying a formal and informal instruction is regularly available.
We are also an active teaching club, operating throughout the year (subject to weather and volunteer availability), and offering a range of courses, as well as regular training. We also aim to offer advanced and intermediate coaching through the year and in summer run regular weekend cross country and task briefings. Our instructional flying benefits from local soaring opportunities through the year; both in thermal and on our ridges, as well as occasional wave flights.
The BGGC logo derives from the distinctive shape of the Severn River as it nears the Bristol channel – in the days before GPS systems became nearly universal in gliders this was a valuable landmark to pilots returning from long cross-country flights.
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Services
Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club: Becoming a Glider Pilot
Flight instruction in gliding follows a syllabus laid down by the British Gliding Association. Instruction is free of charge (you pay for the launch and soaring fees) and you will fly with fully qualified BGA rated pilots in dual-control two seat gliders, all the way from your initial flight up to your first solo flight. From that stage your training is a mixture of supervised solo flying in club single seat gliders and dual flying to develop your skills and check your progress. Your training can be loosely broken down into the stages below, and can take you from initial flight to cross-country “pundit”.
Trial Flight
Your first ever flight will take the form of a ‘Trial Flight’ using an Aerotow launch (i.e. the glider is towed into the air by a powered aircraft). During this first 15-20 minute flight you will see how the glider flies and be shown the way the controls and instruments function. The Initial Flight Pilot will handle the all the flying, but can offer you the opportunity to “follow through” on the controls as they bank and turn the glider. This flight gives you an introduction to being airborne and see all aspects of a glider flight from launch through to circuit, approach and landing. Your pilot will de-brief you on the flight afterwards, answering any questions you have. This trial flight will be the first (hopefully of many) in your logbook and acts as start point for subsequent instructional flights where you will have the controls formally demonstrated and gradually start to take over parts of the flying yourself. Your Trial Flight voucher gives you 4 weeks membership of the club, and in this period you can come back and take instructional flights and/or experience winch as well as further aero-tow launches.
Courses
Whether you just want to try something different for your holiday, are already learning but would like a period of intensive training mid-week or want to polish your soaring skills under the eye of master the BGGC offer a range of courses for all abilities. We offer Inclusive Gliding courses, Dedicated training weeks and a limited number of Master Class coaching week
Training to Solo
After your trial flight you will learn about many aspects of flying gliders soaring. All BGA clubs follow a strict learning syllabus that will take you right from the earliest stages through to becoming a fully qualified glider pilot. We provide training free of charge with fully qualified BGA instructors and your first target will be to fly solo. Don’t worry – you will only do this when your instructors are certain that you have all the necessary skills to safely take-off, fly and land the glider. There are no hard and fast rules as to how many launches are needed before going solo, most people take between 50 and 100 flights (a mix of winch and aerotow launches). You will also learn some of theory of flight, airmanship skills such as navigation and weather interpretation and the laws and rules of the air.
You will need to get to meet some basic medical standards before flying solo. Gliding medical standards are based on those used by the DVLA for driving – so in most cases if you can drive a car you are fit to fly solo.
First Solo
There comes a point when your instructor knows you’re ready to fly by your self. This, your first solo flight, on your own in one of our two-seat gliders, will be one of the most memorable experiences of your life. We send many pilots on their first solo flight every year, with ages ranging from 14 years (the minimum age you can legally fly solo) to well over state retirement age.
Going solo marks the start of the second phase of learning to become a soaring pilot
Beyond Solo
After you’ve successfully flown solo you will progress to flying single seat gliders. You can continue your training to become a fully qualified glider pilot by completing the syllabus to achieve your SPL (Sailplane Pilots lLcense). Our specialist training will equip you with the skills to make informed decisions about your planned flying, navigate cross country and deal with unusual situations, such as landing off-site in a farmer’s field.
Once you are a fully licensed pilot, qualified to fly anywhere in Europe, the sky really is the limit and, depending on your personal aspirations, you can decide to take advantage of further specialised coaching to develop, for example, into cross-country flying, competition flying, or even glider aerobatics. You can even become an instructor who will train the next generation of pilots.
The club has around 140 flying members, a fleet of club owned gliders, two Supacat winches and a tug aircraft available, with about another 60 privately owned gliders operating on site. We welcome all members whether you are new to gliding or an experienced pilot and aim to provide a friendly environment with the potential for 7 day a week flying throughout the year.
The BGGC has its own dedicated airfield on top of the Cotswold edge with a large grass strip oriented roughly East/West. We overlook the Severn Vale looking across to the Black Mountains in Wales to the West and the Malvern Hills to the North. This means we get excellent thermal, ridge and wave offering soaring potential through the year; our members have carried out flights in excess of 750Km and reached over 20,000 ft in wave. In the winter months we enjoy around 100 km of usable ridges (in the right wind directions) from Broadway in the North to Bath in the South.
Cross Country flying for fun & competition is a key part of the club. The BGGC is glad to have among its members world class pilots as well as many pilots who regularly compete in UK National Championships. We have an active club cross country scene with weekend task briefings (when the weather co-operates) which are aimed at the full spectrum of cross country pilots from novice, through intermediate to pundit. There are several privately owned and club 2 seaters suitable for cross-country flying a formal and informal instruction is regularly available.
Flying from Nympsfield
Cross Country flying for fun & competition is a key part of the club. The BGGC is glad to have among its members world class pilots as well as many pilots who regularly compete in UK National Championships. We have an active club cross country scene with weekend task briefings (when the weather co-operates) which are aimed at the full spectrum of cross country pilots from novice, through intermediate to pundit. There are several privately owned and club 2 seaters suitable for cross-country flying a formal and informal instruction is regularly available.
We are also an active teaching club, operating throughout the year (subject to weather and volunteer availability), and offering a range of courses, as well as regular training. We also aim to offer advanced and intermediate coaching through the year and in summer run regular weekend cross country and task briefings. Our instructional flying benefits from local soaring opportunities through the year; both in thermal and on our ridges, as well as occasional wave flights.
The BGGC logo derives from the distinctive shape of the Severn River as it nears the Bristol channel – in the days before GPS systems became nearly universal in gliders this was a valuable landmark to pilots returning from long cross-country flights.
Gallery
Terms & Conditions
- Standard and High trial flights are offered on any day we are flying through the year, Mile High flights are normally carried out Mon-Fri, but may be offered at weekends in the winter months. All flights should be booked via the office and will be subject to suitable conditions on the day, and can be re-booked if the weather is unsuitable.
- Please note that for a trial flight (or training flights) the participant must be between 1.40m to 1.93m (4'7'' to 6'4'') and weigh less than 102 kg (16 stone). For safety reasons you must be able to get into and out of the glider with minimal assistance (this is roughly equivalent to getting in or out of a bathtub). If in doubt please call us.
- Trial Flight vouchers are valid for 12 months