Gliding in Bedfordshire

Dunstable gliding club is a fantastically placed club to take a glider flight, within very easy reach of London and the Home Counties. Sitting pretty on the Dunstable Downs, once you're airborne and soaring through the skies, you'll be able to see for miles and miles, rather like your own personal Google Earth experience!

This grass airfield is just west of Dunstable town centre. Gliding originally took place at Ivinghoe Beacon in the 1930s, but drawing inquisitive crowds every gliding day, the club was evicted for 'spoiling it's peaceful enjoyment by the public' and moved to its current location. As you might guess, gliding activity stalled a little bit during WW2 but since then, membership has really taken off and the fleet now consists of 12 pure gliders, one motor glider and various tug planes.

Dunstable's gliding for beginners is mostly done in the modern ASK21s - tandem planers with superb visibility from the cockpit and well-renowned for being reliable and easy to fly. The collection of non-motorised aircraft also includes a sporty single seater glider, as well as ASK23s, a 13 and a 24. Powered flights comes in the form of the Pilatus PC-11 and, of course, the tow planes.

As you climb aboard the glider for your flight, your pilot instructor will put you at ease before the tug plane starts to pull you into the air. Once airborne and released, (at around 2000ft) you'll be amazed at the view down below - you'll see roads you never knew existed and watch the scenery change before your eyes as you glide over the Dunstable Downs.

It has to be said, this is a very well equipped and friendly glider club, where all members share a common interest - their passion for gliding. Indeed, it's very much a co-operative sport, with several pairs of hands needed to launch and land a glider, so you'll see how all the comes together to make for a convivial, fun and very active Dunstable gliding group that are only too pleased to welcome new members (and worth noting that you get three months' membership to the club with these experiences).

Once back down on terra firma after your breathtaking glider flight experience over Dunstable, you'll have a debrief with the pilot and time to take those all-important photos.

Don't forget, we also cater for nationwide gliding experience gift vouchers at venues outside of the Dunstable/London area.