What Can I Expect

Go gliding at Rufforth Airfield with this friendly York gliding club! Your chance to enjoy an aerotow or motorised glider flight just a few minutes from York city centre, within the Vale of York.

The club has an extensive fleet of gliders and tug planes. If you fancy being self-powered into the skies above York, the motorised glider experience is for you. You can also choose an aerotow and get towed into the air.

Rufforth, an ex-WW2 RAF base, is a great place to get airborne in a glider. The club manages and operates two tarmac runways and grass areas too, all on the western side of the airfield site.

It’s a pretty strategic location for gliders. Just 20 miles east of the Pennines, many glider pilots seek out the Pennine wave, the famous thermals, that are something of a holy grail for lovers of silent flight!

And staying up using just the lift from the air, as this York glider centre team will tell you, is what soaring is all about. It's a unique and pretty amazing feeling the first time you experience the sensation.

Whether you go for the aerotow or the powered glider, once you've reached around 2000ft, you’ll be released from your tow, or (in the case of the motor glider) the engine will be cut and you’re free to soar.

Great value, available all year round and suitable for adults and teens over 14 years old, gliding at Rufforth in York is a must-do. And a one-month York gliding club membership is included too.

When Is It Available

• Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year
• Flights are subject to availability and weather conditions
• In the event of unsuitable conditions your flight will be re-arranged

Suitable For

• Minimum age 14
• Under 18s must be accompanied on the airfield by an adult
• Maximum height 6ft 2ins
• Maximum weight 16 stone (224lb)

Spectators

• Spectators are welcome