Nottingham University Gliding Club


The University of Nottingham Gliding Club is the gliding club of the University of Nottingham. The aim of the club is to provide affordable flying in order to introduce as many members as possible to unpowered flight. Affiliated with the Cranwell Gliding Club, the club is open to any full or associate member of the University of Nottingham Students' Union.

Current status

The club is one of some 28 University Gliding clubs within the UK, and with over 130 members for the 2016-2017 academic year is also one of the largest. Flying takes place all year-round on weekends and bank holidays at RAF Cranwell, though several expeditions to other gliding sites are organised throughout the year.

History

The club was formed in the 1970s, and was officially affiliated to the Buckminster Gliding Club at Saltby Airfield. The founding member was Mr Brian Spreckley, then an undergraduate at the University, and subsequently the 1987 World Gliding Champion. In 1987 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the . Then, in 2005 he was also the recipient of the FAI Paul Tissandier Diploma for services to gliding.
In 1990 the club moved from Saltby to begin a new affiliation with the Four Counties Gliding Club, flying from RAF Syerston until 2004, and subsequently at RAF Barkston Heath. The affiliation with Four Counties ended when that club moved to RAF Wittering.
Since May 2005 UoN Gliding have been affiliated to and fly with Cranwell Gliding Club at RAF Cranwell.

Club Fleet

The current club fleet consists of:


In addition to the UoN Gliding fleet, club members also have access to Cranwell Gliding Club's extensive fleet. This includes:
The club's members are not charged soaring fees when flying their gliders. Cranwell gliders are charged at either 75p or £1.00 per 5 minutes flight time. As per standard gliding custom, neither UoN Gliding nor Cranwell Gliding Club charge for instruction.

Fleet History

Current & previous aircraft owned by the club:
TypeRegDate BoughtDate SoldAdditional Comments
Grunau Baby VBGA190319731976
T.21n/kn/kn/kNicknamed Rhubarb and Custard.
Ka 2 RhönschwalbeBGA243919791984Damaged after a failed winch launch at Saltby Feb 1984. Flying again in May after extensive repairs. However, in June it was written off in an incident at Camp Hill.
BlanikG-ASVS19841994Now flies under the trigraph EVR.
ASK 13HPE19942008Sold to Dumfries & District Gliding Club.
K 8BEPTn/k19971/2 share. Now flying at Lasham Gliding Society.
Ka-6crFNP19972001Bought from a member of Buckminster GC. Sold to Trent Valley Gliding Club.
Astir CSNU20022006Written off at Keevil Airfield, June 2006. Wreckage was brought by private owner who repaired it and now flies it at Peterborough & Spalding Gliding Club
AcroNU22007PresentGlider refinished in 2018
Skylark IICCS20072012Donated to the club as a replacement for NU, later gifted to Lincolnshire gliding club.
Astir CS-77NU2011Present-

Competitions

The club, and its members, have a long record in competing in Inter-University, Regional, and National competitions.

Club

As a club, a number of competitions are participated in each year. These include events such as the Inter University Gliding Competition and the Inter Club League.

Individual

Many of the club's members have competed with success at the Junior National Gliding Championships, the premier Gliding Competition for those under 26 years of age in the UK. Some members have also gone on to compete in both National Championships and at International level. The club's founder, Mr Brian Spreckley, has gone on to become a Gliding World Champion, and ex-committee-member Mr David Bromley was the 2017 UK national champion in the standard class, placed 5th in the 2015 European standard class championship, and 13th in the 2018 standard class World championship.