About Booker Gliding Club
Whether you are a seasoned pundit or just fancy a trial lesson, we can offer you exactly what you want. Our mission is to provide a wide variety of inspiring, fun gliding opportunities for our members to achieve their objectives, in a safe and supportive club.
Cross-country flying and competitions are a primary focus of our activities, we also arrange expeditions to other clubs to experience different types of flying – ridge and wave lift. Our expeditions are open to all club members, including pre-solo, and they are a great way of getting to know fellow club members. We offer aerobatic training, and many members choose to improve their skills by training to be instructors. There is also a small group of members dedicated to restoring and flying vintage gliders.
Part of being a club is that people become involved in helping out. If you come on a course we’ll encourage you to help. This may involve retrieving gliders with our buggies, keeping the flying log and helping to launch gliders. This will all be supervised and you’ll receive training on what to do. It’s not obligatory, but it’s a good way to maintain a sociable, co-operative culture. It makes the day more fun for you and assists with the smooth running of the Club.
Location and facilities We operate from Wycombe Air Park, in the Chiltern Hills, easy to reach from London, Oxford and Reading. As well as the gliding club there are two helicopter companies, a flying school and various private aircraft. There is a tarmac runway and a grass runway for powered aircraft. Gliders operate on their own grass area, which is parallel to the active ‘power’ runway.
The Club has its own clubhouse with a briefing room and office. There is a tea bar for members and guests. We have a fleet of gliders and tow planes maintained by professional engineers. Most of our club fleet stays rigged and ready to go in our hangar.
The surrounding area is good for exploring. There are many excellent pubs and restaurants, shops, entertainments and countryside areas.
Participation for all Gliding is a sport, and our club is registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). We fully support participation in gliding by all in the community. If you want to participate in gliding activities with us, but are worried about the cost, please contact the Club Secretary to discuss the options in confidence.