Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association
Encyclopedia
The Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association is a British organisation which provides recreational flying to RAF
personnel.
The RAFGSA Centre is at RAF Halton
, employing a full-time staff to provide central organisational, training and workshop facilities.
The Joint Services Gliding Centre (JSGC), located at the RAFGSA Chilterns Centre, RAF Halton, is part of the Joint Service Adventurous Training (JSAT) Air Sports organisation and provides training courses for military personnel.
and a Prefect
, were bought in March 1950 and stationed at RAF Detling
. By 1952 27 gliders were being operated at seven clubs around the UK.
In October 1963 the RAFGSA Centre was established at RAF Bicester, absorbing the Windrushers Gliding Club
which had been formed there in January 1956.
In June 2004 the Centre moved to RAF Halton.
Six Chipmunk
and two Pawnee
tugs were also in use.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
personnel.
Purpose
The Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association (RAFGSA) is a voluntary organisation which exists to provide recreational flying to all RAF servicemen and women, in particular those normally employed in ground duties.The RAFGSA Centre is at RAF Halton
RAF Halton
RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...
, employing a full-time staff to provide central organisational, training and workshop facilities.
The Joint Services Gliding Centre (JSGC), located at the RAFGSA Chilterns Centre, RAF Halton, is part of the Joint Service Adventurous Training (JSAT) Air Sports organisation and provides training courses for military personnel.
History
In 1945, the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) in Germany began using captured German gliders to provide recreational flying for RAF personnel. This resulted in a demand for similar facilities in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association was founded in 1949. The first aircraft, a Slingsby T.21Slingsby T.21
|-References:* Ellison, N.H. British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970. A & C Black, 1971* Simons, M. Slingsby Sailplanes. Airlife Publishing, 1996 - ISBN 1-85310-732-8...
and a Prefect
Slingsby Prefect
The Slingsby T.30 Prefect is a postwar modernisation of the single-seat 1932 Grunau Baby glider. About 46 were built for civil and military training purposes.-Development:...
, were bought in March 1950 and stationed at RAF Detling
RAF Detling
RAF Detling was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service in World War I and the Royal Air Force in World War II. Situated 600 feet above sea level, it is located near Detling, a village about three miles north-east of Maidstone, in Kent....
. By 1952 27 gliders were being operated at seven clubs around the UK.
In October 1963 the RAFGSA Centre was established at RAF Bicester, absorbing the Windrushers Gliding Club
Windrushers Gliding Club
Windrushers Gliding Club is a gliding club flying from Bicester Airfield, where it moved to from Little Rissington in 1956, later merging with the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association....
which had been formed there in January 1956.
In June 2004 the Centre moved to RAF Halton.
Clubs
Apart from the RAFGSA Centre at RAF Halton, there are eight regional clubs run on a voluntary basis and based at or near RAF stations. Each offers initial training for novices as well as cross-country flying for more advanced pilots.- RAFGSA Chilterns Gliding Centre, RAF HaltonRAF HaltonRAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...
- Bannerdown Gliding Club, KeevilRAF KeevilRAF Keevil is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles east of Trowbridge, Wiltshire.The airfield was built on a site previously ear-marked for the purpose in the mid 1930s...
- Cranwell Gliding Club, RAF CranwellRAF CranwellRAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
- Crusaders Gliding Club, Kingsfield, CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
- Fenland Gliding Club, RAF MarhamRAF MarhamRoyal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
- Four Counties Gliding Club, RAF WitteringRAF WitteringRAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....
- Fulmar Gliding Club, Easterton
- Kestrel Gliding Club, RAF OdihamRAF OdihamRAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook HC2, HC2A and HC3...
- Wrekin Gliding Club, RAF CosfordRAF CosfordRAF Cosford is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.-History:...
- Bannerdown Gliding Club, Keevil
Aircraft
Approximately 60 gliders were in use in 2010, including the following types:- Grob G102 Astir
- Grob G 109B
- Rolladen-Schneider LS8-18Rolladen-Schneider LS8The Rolladen-Schneider LS8 is a Standard and 18 metre class single-seat glider developed by Rolladen-Schneider and in series production since 1995. Currently it is manufactured by DG Flugzeugbau.-Development:...
- Scheibe SF25 Falke
- Schempp-Hirth Discus
- Schempp-Hirth Discus-2cTSchempp-Hirth Discus-2|-See also:-External links:*...
- Schempp-Hirth Duo DiscusSchempp-Hirth Duo Discus|-See also:-References:*...
- Schempp-Hirth Janus CTSchempp-Hirth Janus|-See also:...
- Schempp-Hirth Ventus-2cTSchempp-Hirth Ventus-2|-References:*...
- Schleicher K 8B
- Schleicher ASK 13Schleicher ASK 13|-References:**...
- Schleicher ASK 18Schleicher ASK 18|-References:Gliders and Sailplanes of the World by Michael Hardy Ian Allan Ltd 1982 ISBN 0711011524-External links:*...
- Schleicher ASK 21
- Slingsby T61 Falke
Six Chipmunk
De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years...
and two Pawnee
Piper PA-25 Pawnee
The PA-25 Pawnee was an agricultural aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft between 1959 and 1982. It remains a widely used aircraft in agricultural spraying and is also used as a tow plane, or tug, for launching gliders or for towing banners. On April 15, 1998, The New Piper Aircraft, Inc....
tugs were also in use.