The London Gliding Club is a private members' club, and was set up primarily to train pilots in powerless flight, and the skills necessary to fly cross country using nature's sources of energy. Aerobatics and instructor training is also available. The club provides gliding courses, one day courses and trial lessons for members of the public. It was formed on February 20, 1930, at the same time as the formation of the British Gliding Association

British Gliding Association

The British Gliding Association is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 85 gliding clubs which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members , though a further 17,000 people have gliding air-experience flights each year.-History:A...

. When the club started using Ivinghoe Beacon

Ivinghoe Beacon

Ivinghoe Beacon is a prominent hill and landmark in the Chiltern Hills, standing 233 m above sea level. It is situated close to the villages of Ivinghoe, Aldbury in Buckinghamshire, the Ashridge Estate, and the village of Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, and is managed and owned by the...

 as a launch site for its gliders

Glider (sailplane)

A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...

, the spectacle attracted so much public attention that the club was evicted for "spoiling its peaceful enjoyment by the public". The club then moved to its current home at the foot of the Dunstable Downs

Dunstable Downs

Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire in England. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns...

, technically within the parish boundaries of Totternhoe

Totternhoe

Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England.-Overview:Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fort for many peoples including Romans and Normans...

. It is one of the largest gliding

Gliding

Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...

 clubs in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

A member loaned his high-performance two-seat Blanik

Blaník

Blaník is a mountain in the Czech Republic. Its height is 638 meters above sea level. The surrounding area is a small natural reservation.Ancient legends are associated with this mountain. The legend says that a huge army of Czech knights led by St. Wenceslas sleeps inside the mountain. The knights...

 sailplane to the Joseph E. Levine Presents

Joseph E. Levine

Joseph E. Levine was an American film producer.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as Hercules , The Carpetbaggers, Harlow, The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far and The Lion in Winter.Levine is famous...

 film company for the shooting of interior (cockpit) scenes representing Dakotas towing aloft Horsa

Airspeed Horsa

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...

 gliders for the movie A Bridge Too Far (film) in 1976. Ten Horsa replicas were constructed, but they were not airworthy.

Gliders

• 5 x Schleicher ASK 21
• 3 x Schleicher ASK 23
• Schleicher ASK 13
  Schleicher ASK 13
  |-References:**...
  
  
• Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus
  Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus
  |-See also:-References:*...
  
  
• Schleicher ASW 24
  Schleicher ASW 24
  |-See also:-References:**Thomas F, Fundamentals of Sailplane Design, College Park Press, 1999*Simons M, Segelflugzeuge 1965-2000, Eqip, 2004*-External links:*...
  
  
• Pilatus B4
  Pilatus PC-11
  |-References:* Hardy, M. Gliders & Sailplanes of the World. Ian Allan, 1982...
  
  
• Rotax Falke Motor Glider

For launching

• Super Cub
  Super Cub
  Super Cub may refer to:* Piper PA-18 Super Cub, a light aircraft.* Honda Super Cub, a light motorcycle.* Supercub the lion, a foster lion cub who was adopted from a zoo in Kenya East Africa and became friends with Christian the lion and other lions being cared for by George Adamson....
  
  
• 4 DR Robin
  Avions Robin
  Avions Robin was a French manufacturer of light aeroplanes. It was previously known as Avions Pierre Robin and Centre Est Aeronautique. The company was bought by Apex Aircraft in 1988.-History:...
  
  s

There is also a Munster Van Gelder Winch with six drums

Competitions

As well as playing host to the 2005 and 2009 Junior Nationals, every year LGC hosts its own competition called the Dunstable Regionals.

In 2007, the club ran a week-long "task week," a competition designed to help new glider pilots develop their cross country skills.

External links

• London Gliding Club
• British Gliding Association