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We can only offer trial flights to members of Cambridge University or students of Anglia Ruskin University. If they are not, they can arrange a trial flight through the Cambridge Gliding Centre.
If they wish to watch from the ground that if fine, except during trial flight days we are very busy and have limited transport capacity. If you’re both members of the university, you will both have to be booked in to fly.
Please make sure to bring
You cannot have a trial flight if:
If you are healthy enough to drive, you are healthy enough to fly.
If you have a disability that prevents you from using all four of limbs, and both hands you maystruggle to fly solo. We would be happy to take you for a trial flight and train you to the limit ofyour abilities. It is possible to enjoy most of gliding without going solo. The BGA (British Gliding Association) providesspecific information on disabled gliding including clubs with specific equipment for disabledmembers.
Instruction is free, but you pay for the launch and for the airtime in the glider.
A typical training flight will fit in the 10 minutes free airtime.
See the costs page for a detailed breakdown.
Yes, there are a range of ways you can get money to do gliding, for both pre-solo and post-solo pilots, mostly from the British Gliding Association (BGA). Most require you to show a commitment to gliding before applying to the scholarship.
If you are concerned that you will not be able to glide due to financial reasons, please get in touch and we will see what we can do. We always want to help those who want to fly.
You cannot have a trial flight if:
If you are healthy enough to drive, you are healthy enough to fly.
If you have a disability that prevents you from using all four of limbs, and both hands you maystruggle to fly solo. We would be happy to take you for a trial flight and train you to the limit ofyour abilities. It is possible to enjoy most of gliding without going solo. The BGA providesspecific information on disabled gliding including clubs with specific equipment for disabledmembers.
During the summer the airfield is open 7 days a week. During the winter the airfield is open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. During the summer we run evening flying on Tuesday and Thursdays which starts at 5pm and finishes at sunset.
In the winter, we organise dedicated university days once per fortnight, with transport organised for you. These days are advertised on the mailing list.
We also run several week long expeditions during the holidays.
Gliders can fly in a wide range of weather conditions. There is a big difference between a ‘flyableday’ (when we can train) and a ‘soarable day’ (which is when the real fun is had!).
Flyable days are when flying is possible and only training and short solo flights occur. Ingeneral, the only things which stop gliding are heavy rain, fog and strong winds - most days areflyable.
Soarable days allow for long and/or cross-country flights. Ever looked up at the sky on a warmsummer’s day and seen big, fluffy clouds with cauliflower-like tops? Each one of those is formed bya powerful thermal which gliders can use to stay aloft for hours.
There are two launch methods we use:
The length of the flight depends on weather, type of glider, launch method, and pilot skill. On gooddays it is not uncommon for glider pilots to fly 100-300km and stay in the air for many hours. Inthe UK 1,000 km flights are sometimes performed, while the world record is now over 3,000 km.
While you are learning, most of your flight will be 5-15 minutes long as you will focus on learningthe take-off and landing before progressing to cross-country flying.
Instruction is free, but you pay for the launch and for the airtime in the glider.
A typical training flight will fit in the 10 minutes free airtime.