Nottingham University Gliding Club

The University of Nottingham Gliding Club (UoN Gliding) is the gliding club of the University of Nottingham. The aim of the club is to provide affordable flying in order to introduce as many members as possible to unpowered flight. Affiliated with the Cranwell Gliding Club (CGC), the club is open to any full or associate member of the University of Nottingham Students' Union.

Club Fleet
Type designation G103 Twin II Acro
Tail Letters NU2
CAA Registration[1] G-NUGC
Max. Crew 2
Wing Span / Best L/D 17.5 m / 36.1
Type designation Astir CS 77
Tail Letters NU
CAA Registration[2] G-CFTR
Max. Crew 1
Wing Span / Best L/D 15 m / 36

Current status

The club is one of some 28[3] University Gliding clubs within the UK, and with over 130 members for the 2016-2017 academic year is also one of the largest. Flying takes place all year-round on weekends and bank holidays at RAF Cranwell, though several expeditions to other gliding sites are organised throughout the year.

History

The club was formed in the 1970s, and was officially affiliated to the Buckminster Gliding Club at Saltby Airfield. The founding member was Mr Brian Spreckley, then an undergraduate at the University, and subsequently the 1987 World Gliding Champion.[4][5] In 1987 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club. Then, in 2005 he was also the recipient of the FAI Paul Tissandier Diploma for services to gliding.[6]

In 1990 the club moved from Saltby to begin a new affiliation with the Four Counties Gliding Club, flying from RAF Syerston until 2004, and subsequently at RAF Barkston Heath. The affiliation with Four Counties ended when that club moved to RAF Wittering.

Since May 2005 UoN Gliding have been affiliated to and fly with Cranwell Gliding Club at RAF Cranwell.

Club Fleet

The current club fleet consists of:

  • Grob G103a Twin II Acro (NU2). Purchased in December 2006 from the RAFGSA, the ‘Twin II’ Acro is a high-performance two-seater sailplane made by Grob Aerospace. The aircraft is of T-tail configuration, with glass fibre construction, and is fitted with a non-retractable undercarriage and upper-surface airbrakes. It is designed for training, high performance, and aerobatic flying.
  • Grob G102 Astir CS 77 (NU). Purchased in 2011, the Astir CS 77 is a high-performance single-seater sailplane made by Grob Aerospace. The aircraft is of T-tail configuration, with glass fibre construction, and is fitted with a retractable undercarriage and upper surface airbrakes. It is designed for cross-country flying.


In addition to the UoN Gliding fleet, club members also have access to Cranwell Gliding Club's extensive fleet. This includes:

The club's members are not charged soaring fees (i. e. not charged a 'per minute' fee) when flying their gliders. Cranwell gliders are charged at either 75p or £1.00 per 5 minutes flight time (first 10 minutes free). As per standard gliding custom, neither UoN Gliding nor Cranwell Gliding Club charge for instruction.

Fleet History

Current & previous aircraft owned by the club:

Type Reg Date Bought Date Sold Additional Comments
Grunau Baby V BGA1903 1973 1976
T.21 n/k n/k n/k Nicknamed Rhubarb and Custard.
Ka 2 Rhönschwalbe BGA2439 1979 1984 Damaged after a failed winch launch at Saltby Feb 1984. Flying again in May after extensive repairs. However, in June it was written off in an incident at Camp Hill.
Blanik[7] G-ASVS 1984 1994 Now flies under the trigraph EVR.[8]
ASK 13 HPE 1994 2008 Sold to Dumfries & District Gliding Club.
K 8B EPT n/k 1997 1/2 share. Now flying at Lasham Gliding Society.
Ka-6cr FNP 1997 2001 Bought from a member of Buckminster GC. Sold to Trent Valley Gliding Club.
Astir CS NU 2002 2006 Written off at Keevil Airfield, June 2006 (Pilot unharmed). Wreckage was brought by private owner who repaired it and now flies it at Peterborough & Spalding Gliding Club
Acro NU2 2007 Present Glider refinished in 2018
Skylark II CCS 2007 2012 Donated to the club as a replacement for NU, later gifted to Lincolnshire gliding club.
Astir CS-77 NU 2011 Present

Competitions

The club, and its members, have a long record in competing in Inter-University, Regional, and National competitions.

Club

As a club, a number of competitions are participated in each year. These include events such as the Inter University Gliding Competition[9] and the Inter Club League.

Individual

Many of the club's members have competed with success at the Junior National Gliding Championships, the premier Gliding Competition for those under 26 years of age in the UK. Some members have also gone on to compete in both National Championships and at International level. The club's founder, Mr Brian Spreckley, has gone on to become a Gliding World Champion (see club history above), and ex-committee-member Mr David Bromley was the 2017 UK national champion in the standard class[10], placed 5th in the 2015 European standard class championship, and 13th in the 2018 standard class World championship.

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References
  1. CAA GINFO Database
  3. Current University Gliding Clubs within the UK
  4. 15-metre Class Winner: Brian Spreckley, United Kingdom; Glider: Rolladen-Schneider LS6
  5. SSA World Soaring Champion Page Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. FAI Awards received by Brian Spreckley
  7. CAA GINFO Database
  8. British Gliding Association Register
  9. "Inter University Gliding Competition website". Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  10. Standard Class & 15m Class Nationals 2017 Overall Results
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