Preserving the History of Gliding in Great Britain

The primary aim of the Gliding Heritage Centre is to preserve our British gliding heritage and make it accessible to the public. It is an educational resource where visitors can learn about the history of gliding and the more general aspects of gliding as a sport.

Gliding Heritage Centre is a registered charity (Charity No.1148972).

Situated on Lasham Airfield; home of the world famous Lasham Gliding Society, the largest gliding club in the world, the Gliding Heritage Centre is open for visits all year round, though we run regular tours on Sunday afternoons. Weather permitting, we try to fly some of our gliders on the first Sunday of each month, please see our visits page for more details.

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Vintage Gliding Videos Released!

The Gliding Heritage Centre is proud to announce that a whole series of rare vintage gliding videos are now available for everyone to enjoy.

Ever wondered what it was like to experience gliding in the 1930s through to the 1950s? Now you can find out with the GHC vintage video archive. Watch the early pioneers soaring over Tower Hill in Australia in 1931 through to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attending the 1957 UK National Gliding Championships, on our videos page. Enjoy the show!

Colditz Cock Restoration Complete!

After a nine month restoration project; the Colditz Cock replica made it out of the workshop for its post restoration rig.

Internal bracing and new covering means that the aircraft will be better able to withstand display in the roof of the GHC hangar.

Our restoration team: Thomas Holliday, David Siddall and Tony Fendall have made a brilliant job, this is the first time they have all worked together and they have produced a great result between them.

Thanks must also go to Tony Hoskins who made the glider available to the GHC. This glider was one of two gliders that he constructed for a Channel 4 TV documentary to discover whether or not it would have actually been possible for prisoners to launch a glider off the roof of Colditz Castle to escape their German captors.

Now, having done such a great job; the team have already taken delivery of their next project, the conservation of the EoN Eton that the GHC acquired from the RAF Museum last year!

Beautiful Wind Vane for GHC Hangar 2

A rather beautiful wind vane for GHC Hangar 2, modeled on Goerge Caley's 1849 glider has been presented to us by Graham Saw (centre).

Graham has created a stunning piece of work, it even has a replica of Derek Piggot flying it, as per the Anglia TV documentary.

It is a shame it will be going on the hangar roof where people won't be able to fully appreciate it!

Thank you Graham, this must have involved so much work for you to build.

If you would like more information about the Gliding Heritage Centre, or are considering a donation towards this very worthy cause, please follow the link to the Donations page.

If you would like to make a deeper commitment, then please consider joining as a Member. As a member you will have the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the activities of the organisation, to serve its aims and objectives and indeed to help shape the future of the Gliding Heritage Centre.