Gliding Experiences & Flights Nationwide

Yes! We specialise in glider experiences and have excellent relations with glider clubs and airfields around the UK. So whether you want to soar thermals over the Black Mountains, or want to look down on suburbia from your glider, you can. Here are just some of the places you can glide in the UK:

• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Devon
• Essex
• Yorkshire
• Wales
• Oxfordshire
• Wiltshire
• Kent

To fly solo in a glider in the UK you have to be at least 14. Trial lessons minimum ages are usually around 13 years of age due to minimum height (5ft) and weight (45kg), but please refer to each glider lesson page for full details.

As well as the minimums of 45kg and 5ft, there are maximums of around 100kg and 6ft2". These limits can differ according to the type of glider flown, so please check with each lesson listing.

It all depends what type of glider flight you book. We have winch launch and aerotow flights that start under £60, all the way through to pilot taster days with multiple flights in one day.

Here's the lowdown:
Aerotow - the glider is pulled up by a tug plane using a cable, then released.
Winch tow - the glider is taken up by a cable attached to a motorised winch on the airfield, then released.
Motorised - the glider uses its own engine to take off, then the engine is switched off.

Bumpy. Gliders are on grass runways being pulled by a cable and it gets pretty noisy and rattley too. Winch tow take offs are more aggressive than aerotows and motorised gliders, as the angle is more aggressive. But once you're up there, it's really peaceful and surprisingly quiet

For these trial lessons the release heights are as follows: Winch tows 1000ft, aerotows generally between 2000-2500ft and motorised gliders power to around 2500-3000ft.

Modern gliders can reach speeds of up to 150mph, but on taster flights you'll be cruising at something between 50 and 90mph.

Gliders can easily stay aloft for five hours and go higher than their initial launch height, thanks to thermals. For these beginner lessons you can expect: winch glider flights to last 5-10mins, aerotow glider flights 15-20mins and motorised glider flights are generally around 25-30mins.

Thermals are the holy grail for glider pilots! If the pilot finds a pocket of air that's rising faster than you are coming down, that's uplift and you'll ascend. Catching these bubbles of warm rising air (thermals) give you lift as you circle around gaining height - just like birds with their wings stretched out do. Note that quite often trial lessons avoid thermals as the slow spiralling can set off motion sickness.

Nothing! You'll be pleased to hear gliders don’t actually need wind to fly or stay up in the air. Think of them like a paper airplane: even in perfectly still air, they glide forward and downward in a smooth, fully controlled way. In fact, windless days are a beginner's gliding dream because the ride is incredibly peaceful and bump-free!

Training gliders are two-seater tandems. You get the prime seat in the front, with no wing struts or propellor to block your bird's eye view, whilst your pilot instructor sits behind. In some motorised gliders it's a side-by-side seat configuration.

Yes. The seating position is bit like reclining in a bath and you get a great, unobstructed view. And of course there's no engine noise. Many first-time glider flyers comment on how smooth and peaceful it is. It can get hot in there, even on a dull day, so suncream, sunglasses and hat (not baseball cap) are advised.

Comfortable layers with flat shoes. It can get quite hot under the glider cockpit canopy,. but then is cooler at altitude. A hat a suncream might be order of the day too in sunny weather!

Yes. All the training gliders used for lessons are dual controlled, so if you're up for it, you can have a go!

It depends! Some pilot instructors don't allow anything loose to be in the cockpit during the flight. If you are allowed it must be attached to you via something like a lanyard or wrist band.

Wearing a parachute on a glider flight is for safety and because glider seats are ergonomically designed to be sat in with a parachute on, acting as a back rest. The parachute pack is surprisingly comfortable and, of course, you get a full briefing on it all before your flight.

Safety comes first, so if the weather isn't suitable for flying a glider your experience will be postponed and rescheduled. Most glider operators have a dedicated weather line that you can all just before to confirm flying conditions.