Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes. The sport is clean and environmentally friendly using only thermal energy provided by the sun either directly from the heating of the ground or indirectly by the winds that pass over hills and mountains to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport which has its origins in the 1920s.
Great distances can be flown, flights of over 300km are regularly achieved in the UK with heights in excess of 30,000ft possible, all without and engine but by the skilful use of the energy that nature provides.
When we are able to restart public flying operations (see below) come and experience silent flight. You won't forget it.
19th Jan 2024 Update
2023 was still a challenging year for us. Even now the long Covid shutdown and on going "knock-on" techical issues are still a major problem for us but they are slowly being rectified. We've a new, now qualified resident Technical Officer and Aircraft Inspector who soon will be a Qualified ARC (Cert of Airworthiness) Signatory. This will mean that we will not be reliant on arranging BGA Inspectors to travel across from the UK to sign off the Airworthiness Certs for our aircraft, this has been a huge issue for us. However we still have some ongoing resource issues that require attention which means that, and with much regret, public flying has to remain suspended for the foreseeable future, but.......that does not mean we are not open to new members, that's partly the problem. Whether or not you have previous experience we would love to hear from you. Also... if there are any latent Gliding Instructors out there in the Isle of Man we would love to hear from you too!
We're nearly back - but it's a struggle!