Course Dates & Availability
To book our courses you can find courses and dates below on the calendar and get in touch with us by filling out a contact form and we will get back to you.
5 Day Intensive Gliding Course.
The fastest way to progress your aviation adventure!
If you are considering gliding then a course is by far the best way to start your journey. We offer a variety of tailor-made, intensive courses to show you what you can achieve within gliding.
Your fully qualified British Gliding Association instructor will tailor each day’s flying to your specific individual experience and aims. Whether you are a complete novice, an experienced power pilot trying gliding for the first time or already part of the way through learning to fly gliders, you will progress through the BGA syllabus towards your first solo flight. The focus will be on fun, safe, hands-on flying, backed up with clear explanations through briefings and debriefings, providing a sound knowledge base.
Get Involved!
Expect the week to be very hands on with as much flying as time and weather permits included all within the one fee. With course numbers limited to 3 or 4 students you can expect to fly at least 15 sorties or Airtime equivalent during the week to rapidly progress your learning an hone your skills and if the weather permits a number of extended soaring flights.
Pupils
Please check out the “Who Can Fly” section below to ensure you’re within the physical limits, our fleet of two seat gliders can accommodate!
Schedule
All our courses begin on days when there is no scheduled Club flying and this peaceful environment eases you in to the course with out any additional pressure and allows you to fully focus on the task at hand, club flying will commence on the Wednesday, the same glider and instructor will be allocated to the course but will give you a chance to meet the other members and hear plenty of gliding storys.
Our typical course week consists of the following:
Monday
09:00 Introductions / Admin
09:30 – Airfield safety brief
10:00 Gliders Out and Handling Briefing
11:00 Launching / Log keeping Briefing.
12:00 First launch
16:00 – Last flight / Pack Up
Tuesday – Friday
08:30 Daily Briefing
10:00 First flight / Briefings
16:00 Last flight / Pack Up
We aim to finish each day with a short debrief and reflection. The timing of this is flexible, we finish when we finish!
Fees
We have an all inclusive approach with the emphasis on as much air time as we can manage. No hidden extras and no shortening flights because there’s a meter ticking!
Our £950 fee covers:
Temporary membership to Norfolk Gliding Club for the week
Free Instruction
15 flights or Flight time equivalent *
Course Materials
BGA Training record
Free 8 weeks Full NGC Membership upon Course completion
Free Glider Hire
Free Camping and Pitch Fees
1 x Soaring Hat
3 x £10 Cloud 9 Kitchen Vouchers
1 x Flight Experience Video
Staff
Each course is staffed by a dedicated team, who’ll provide everything from ground school, launching and flight instruction. Our Instructors are all BGA rated with many years instructional experience. Expect to learn from some of the best and progress at your own pace.
Aircraft
We’re lucky to have 3 two seat training gliders, one of which is disabled pilot friendly with a hand-rudder kit installed!
Throughout the week the course team have pick of the fleet to deliver the training ensuring any serviceability issues don’t impact on your flying time.
Accommodation
Whilst the club doesn’t offer any on-site accommodation, our camping/caravan site, along with our recently refurbished shower/wash rooms and toilet block, are free to use for course members.
Four berth Camper-vans are available at competitive rates and can be delivered to the airfield. For further Information and booking:
Tel. - 01366 382323
Email - Camper-Van Hire
Please explore the links below, to see the extensive local hotel and B&B offerings.
Café
Enjoy a delightful breakfast or lunch at Cloud 9 Kitchen, located within the NGC clubhouse . the breakfast menu features classic favourites and the lunchtime menu will always offer daily specials alongside the regular food menu, all have takeaway options if it’s a long day out on the airfield.
Café open Wednesday – Sunday.
Book with confidence
Make a reservation today with free cancellation/rescheduling up to 6 weeks beforehand. If we are unfortunate with the weather we offer re-bookable days, or credits towards flying on Club days. Either way we guarantee you’ll get your flying in!
Fees
After you have paid the £150 deposit, the remaining balance is due 6 weeks or more before the course start date. We accept cheques/BACS/Credit-Debit Card.
Additional Flying outside of the course will be charged to the Members account at Club members rates.
Terms and Conditions
NGC reserves the right to cancel courses. This may happen when there are insufficient numbers or circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
Full refunds will be made in a timely fashion if alternative arrangements are not acceptable.
Please check Who can fly at the bottom of the page to ensure you don’t fall foul of size and weight limitations (big and small!)
Please check out our Who can fly section at the bottom of the page to ensure you’re within the physical limits our fleet of two seat gliders can accommodate!
Who can fly
Provided you’re reasonable fit and healthy you can normally fly. No upper age limit however we suggest no younger than 12. Please read below to make sure you meet the necessary size/weight/health requirements!
Age
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Under 18’s require parental consent
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Even though you must be 14 years old to fly solo there is no reason why you cannot start training with an instructor before this age. However, it is not recommended that someone start before the age of 13 as they may become fustrated by not being able to progress to the solo stage until they reach the age of 14
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Provided you’re fit & healthy there’s no upper age restriction
Size
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You’ll generally need to be between 5′ and 6’2″ as a Gliders cockpit is designed for ‘Mr Average’ & as such the taller and shorter pilot can struggle to ‘fit’ – talk to us if you’re ‘marginal’!
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Gliders have minimum and maximum payloads.
You’ll need to be between 46kg and 101kg (7st 3lb - 16st) fully clothed with footwear.
Health
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If you’re fit enough to drive a car you can fly a glider – you may need to take a medical with your GP if you’ve complications health wise
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A general level of mobility and fitness is required to fully participate and help with the pushing and pulling needed to get someone airborne!
You can walk a few miles in a day at the airfield!
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Norfolk Gliding Club owns a K21 glider which has been modified to allow control by hand-control alone.