On August 1 1964 a small group of keen glider pilots got together and formed the Cotswold Gliding Club at the now disused Long Newnton airfield near Tetbury.
On August 3 2024, the Club organised a celebration buffet supper attended not only by current members including the Club’s President Larry Bleaken, who was one of the founding members, but also by several former members from the 1960s and 1970s. All current and past members assembled for a group photograph in front of some of the parked gliders that have been flown from the club over the past 60 years.
In conversation with Larry, Chris Cooper, the club’s Press Officer learnt that when the Club was formed it only had 20 members and owned two gliders.
In 1967 the club negotiated a licence from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to operate from its current base at Aston Down Airfield between Stroud and Cirencester. The MOD resurfaced the runways before it handed the airfield over to the Cotswold GC after its sale.
Cotswold GC is now one of the largest and well-known gliding clubs in the UK with some 160 “full flying” members – and more - owning 7 gliders with some 65 plus privately-owned gliders on site.
The Club has also gained an excellent reputation for its ability, after nearly 30 years’ experience, to organise successful major events such as the International Vintage Glider Club 50th Anniversary Rally in 2023 and the National Gliding Championship in 2024.
Many gliding clubs have to lease or licence their airfield, but in the early 1980s Cotswold GC took the bold decision to purchase the first lot of land at Aston Down. Subsequently, over the years, the Club purchased more land as it became available, now owning some 156 acres mostly within the perimeter track. With this security of tenure, it therefore looks forward to continuing to fly from Aston Down when it celebrates its 75th Anniversary in August 2039 and its Centenary in 2064.
The Club is open to all who aspire to try gliding and maybe want to become glider pilots. Youngsters can start at around age 13 and there is no upper age limit.
For more information about Cotswold Gliding Club can be found at: cotswoldgliding.co.uk
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