London Gliding Club

The London Gliding Club is a members' club whose airfield is located at the foot of the Dunstable Downs. Many privately owned gliders are based there. It has the facilities to train pilots in powerless flight, and in the skills necessary to fly cross country using nature's sources of energy. Aerobatics and instructor training are also available. The LGC is open 364 days a year and is one of the largest and oldest Gliding Clubs in the United Kingdom. The club provides gliding courses, one day courses and trial lessons for members of the public.HistoryThe gliding club was formed on 20 February 1930, at the same time as the formation of the British Gliding Association. LGC’s first flights were made on 16 March 1930 at Stoke Park Farm, near the Guildford works of R.F.Dagnall. They used a German "Zӧgling" primary glider on loan from the BGA and a modified Zӧgling donated by R.F.Dagnall that later become known as the "Dagling". The following weekend training began at the LGC’s first permanent site a few miles north of Aldbury near Tring.By the middle of May 1930 the club had secured the use of Ivinghoe Beacon as a launch site for its gliders, unfortunately the spectacle attracted so much public attention that the club was evicted for "spoiling its peaceful enjoyment by the public"