A Brief History of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club, UK

The club was formed as the Bristol Gliding Club in 1938 by two
enthusiastic ex-members of Cambridge University Gliding Club, and
members flew from Leighterton airfield, Gloucestershire, with two
gliders and a tow car until the war put a stop to private flying in
1939.   At that stage it had 30 members.

After World War II a new set of enthusiasts revived the club,
starting from scratch, as little remained of the old club beyond about
£70.  They were fortunate to get the use of the disused RAF aerodrome
at Lulsgate, near Bristol, and with a combination of enthusiasm and
prudent finance were able to build up a respectable fleet of gliders
and a thriving membership in a very few years.   In this they were
assisted both by the Kemsley Flying Trust, which gave low-interest
short-term loans, and by a scheme for block membership for employees
of Bristol Aeroplane Company.

For a few years the club ran an outpost for hill soaring at Roundway
Hill, near Devizes, Wiltshire.

In 1954 it was announced that Bristol Airport was to move to
Lulsgate, and the club had to look for a new site.  Again they were
fortunate in finding their present site at Nympsfield for sale.  In
this instance they were only able to finance the purchase of the
field, the erection of a hangar and the conversion of the barn to a
clubhouse through a loan from the Kemsley (newspaper group) Fund.
The move was completed at Whitsun 1956 so next year the club will be
celebrating 50 years’ use of the site.

Conditions were rather primitive, with no mains electricity or water,
but over the years the facilities were built up, and the loan was
paid off by 1965.  Development has continued steadily since then.  A
new hangar was built for 13 gliders on the south of the field in
1967. The field was extended in 1982, and a new hangar was built in
1983 on the north side for on-site maintenance and repairs and a new
clubhouse was built in 1989.

Recognition of the new siting of the club led to a name change to
Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club in 1969.

The club now has around 200 flying members, a fleet of eight gliders,
and two tug aircraft, with about 70 private gliders.

 From the start, the club has run holiday courses for non-members and
many competitions have been run by the club, including the British
Nationals and a Euroglide.

The club is glad to have among its members e-world champion Andy
Davis and two youngsters, Jon Meyer and Mark Parker, who were in the
British team in the Junior Worlds in England in August 2005.

The B&G website is at www.bggc.co.uk

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