Operating from the Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club at Nympsfield we are in the process of setting up a Charitable organisation with the objective of the long term preservation & operation of historic gliders and equipment used by the Air Training Corps and RAF Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. It is our intent, in the longer term, to use them to educate the air minded general public in the history of Air Cadet gliding in the UK and provide a “living museum” by making the collection available to members and friends of the Association/Trust to operate.
Our aims are:
- To preserve historic Air Cadet gliders and equipment together with knowledge and skills that would otherwise be lost
- To, over time, build a collection and facility that allows us to inform the general public, and in particular young people
- To maintain the gliders in a flying condition so that (appropriately qualified) members and friends can fly the gliders and see them in operation
Background
Initially known as 621 VGS Historic Flight (HF) we formed in 2003 and consisted of current and past members of 621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, together with other like-minded individuals, who united to preserve and operate former Air Training Corps gliders from the ‘wooden era’. The aim of the group was to provide a “flying museum” so that ex glider pilots and cadets from the past could relive the experience of flying these delightful machines with a secondary aim of allowing pilots of the modern era to get a hands on experience of what went before them.
Operating separately from the Air Cadet publicly funded gliding school the self-funded group was initially very fortunate at Hullavington Airfield to share the cadet facilities at no cost, which meant every penny could be ploughed back into the restoration of each glider. The 13 years spent at Hullavington in the cavernous ex RAF hangar promoted the perfect environment for maintaining and more importantly promoting the longevity of the gliders as they could remain rigged and covered protecting the precious fabric covering.
A very sad day came when Hullavington was sold by the MOD and the current cadet gliders moved to RAF Little Rissington. Unfortunately, the RAF decided they could no longer support the operation of privately owned gliders and the Historic Flight was required to leave. The main members of the group had to do some serious soul searching…..
Nobody could ignore that since inception the Historic Flight had grown to five airworthy gliders (soon to become six!) along with a large spares package plus all the launching support including a Landrover and a 1950’s Wilde Winch (which started life as a WW2 Barrage balloon winch) – believed to be the only one left in existence.
A new start
With all the above in mind a renewed vigour took over to find a new home within a BGA gliding club. After a false start the Historic Flight found a new home with Bristol and Gloucester Gliding Club at Nympsfield. They have made us extremely welcome offering all kinds of support but we do now have to pay our way!
With thanks to our loyal members and a handful of new recruits, we have managed to support ongoing operations at BGGC since Summer 2020.
Integration
All the aircraft are maintained and operated to British Gliding Association (BGA) standards. Members pay an annual subscription the proceeds of which are used solely to fund the upkeep. All servicing is done by volunteers and more in depth maintenance is carried out by inspectors who often themselves have links to these aircraft or the Air Training Corps and have every wish to ensure their survival into the future.