Full Day Gliding Lesson - Kent

Name: Full Day Gliding Lesson - Kent
Brand: experiences.co.uk
SKU: 13189
Price: 299.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

Product ID: 13189

Valid for 12 months

Kent

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£299.00

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Trial Gliding Lesson in Kent£135.00

Half Day Gliding Course - Kent£199.00

About the experience

Are you looking for an adventure? Something that will take your breath away and give you the best views of Kent and its coastline? Look no further than gliding! Discover the rich history of gliding in Kent by joining this dynamic club located on the crest of the North Downs between Charing and Challock. As the first gliding club in England, it has a long and proud history of hundreds of people soaring over the Garden of England. The club has continuously developed and upgraded its facilities and fleet to remain up to date and modern, making it an excellent place to learn the graceful art of gliding. With around 30 BGA approved gliding instructors and 20 tug pilots on the books, you can glide seven days a week in summer and every Wednesday and at weekends in winter too. And with the mild climate of Kent, you can glide all year round. Gliding offers the best views of Kent and the coastline. On a clear day, you can see the Thames Estuary, Whitstable, and Essex on one side of the cockpit, while on the other side, you can see Ashford, the Kent coastline, and even France, as you take a slow, graceful 360-degree turn to take it all in. We are offering introductory taster sessions, half-day courses, or one-day courses in gliding at this Kent club. If you choose the taster, you will enjoy one aerotow flight, being pulled into the air by a Piper Pawnee tug plane, leaving you to soar high above the cliffs like a giant seagull and your ride back to the grass runway. The half-day experience gives you two flights and lets you try both aerotow and winch launch methods. On the full-day session, you will become part of the Kent gliding family for a day. You can see the 'log cabin' that gets towed out to the launch area (and acts as mission control on flying days), meet the members, have a chat and generally immerse yourself in the world of gliding. Your intensive day gives you an aerotow and three winch launches, where you are hooked up to the cable, the winch takes up the slack and you're away rumbling and bouncing over the grass for what feels like just milliseconds before you suddenly lift away and everything goes quiet…save for the sound of the wind whistling.

Overview

Founded in 1930, it's one of the oldest UK clubs
Dynamic Gliding club with over 150 active members
Go Gliding from Ashford over the Kentish Downs
Excellent clubhouse with food, rooms and camping

What's Included

One Aerotow Flight

Safety briefing, explanation of the aircraft and its controls before being strapped into the cockpit
An aerotow launch to 2000ft
Enjoy the view as you are towed by a tug plane up to the release altitude and soaring for approximately 15 minutes
Your instructor will demonstrate the controls before letting you have a go at flying the glider yourself
Allow one hour on site for this experience

Half Day Flying Course

Try out both gliding launch methods
One aerotow launch and one winch launch

Full Day Flying Course

A day course is a cost effective way of gaining more airtime and allows you to enjoy a full days instruction, it includes more detailed briefings, one aerotow launch and up to three winch launches

The Gift Voucher

The Voucher can be shipped to you as a Gift Pack by post.
Or choose the free, instant e-voucher delivery option.
We offer same day dispatch, a choice of packaging and free exchanges.

Information

Spectators

Spectators are very welcome to come and watch the gliding fun
There is a large clubhouse selling refreshments, snacks and hot meals all day on Wednesdays and weekends, picnic benches and tables providing great views
If you are travelling long distances to try gliding in Kent or want to take advantage of the hospitality at the clubhouse, basic rooms are available to hire
You are also welcome to pitch a tent in the fields adjacent to the clubhouse
Shower and toilet facilities are provided
The club has wheelchair access and disabled toilet facilities

Suitable For

Minimum age 14 years
Maximum weight limit is 16 stone
Maximum height is 6'2" (1.88m)
You will have to sign a health declaration, however, if you are fit enough to drive a car, you will be able to fly in a glider
Suitable arrangements can be made to overcome most disabilities

Restrictions

Minimum Age: 16 years

Maximum Height: 187.96 cm

Maximum Weight: 101.61 kg

Anything Else

All 30 instructors at this glider club in Kent are BGA approved
Lunch is not provided, so participants should either bring a packed lunch or food can be purchased from the clubhouse on the day

Availability

Please note: All flights are subject to suitable weather conditions

One Aerotow

Available April to September on Fridays
Weekday flights have much better availability than those at weekends

Half Day Course

Available Monday to Friday April to September
Morning and afternoon sessions are available, 8:00-13:00 and 12:00-17:00

Full Day Course

Available Monday to Friday April to September
Sessions start at 8:00-17:00

Locations

Kent

Customer Reviews for the Full Day Gliding Lesson - Kent

Click here to see our customer reviews.

Keri

Excellent from start to finish! Well organised and everyone was fantastic. This experience really helped make my husband's 50th an even more memorable time, would highly recommend to anyone.

Christopher Laycock

Very friendly club, instructor was Peter and was excellent. Not long in the air about 15 mins. Could have spent all day in the air. Loved the tow line launch, felt like going up in a rocket.

spencer

Loved it! Weather not brilliant for flying, so only got about 20 minutes in the air. Would have been even more enjoyable if I had had longer.

kevin slattery

Great day, Peter the instructor was very friendly and laid back with a good sense of humour. Friendly club would recomend.

MIKE JONES

The experience day was brilliant from start to finish. All of the instructors were very experienced and very helpful with all matters. My first flight was being towed up by the aircraft and this flight lasted 45 mins as it was a very nice day. Bob, my instructor handed over controls for quite a while so I could get a feel for the glider. Obviously Bob was at hand when I started to make some mistakes. My second flight was from the ground winch which was a shorter flight due to lack of thermals. A very big thanks to all the staff at Kent Gliding school for making my day exceptional.

John Howlett

Had a fantastic day from start to finish Peter my instructor was excellent and I would definitely recommend this experience to family and friends. Fabulous day all round!!

David Lilford

I thoroughly enjoyed my glider lessons and Peter (the instructor) was superb.

Serena Adams

A truly wonderful day. The instructors were amazing very friendly, approachable, extremely knowledgeable and clearly very passionate. Every flight was amazing and absolutely a must for everyone. Thank you for an unforgettable day.

Serena Adams

A truly wonderful experience. The instructors were amazing very friendly, approachable, extremely knowledgeable and clearly very passionate. Every flight was amazing and absolutely a must for everyone. An unforgettable day.

Julian Marriott

Well run with friendly and helpful staff. Really enjoyed the day. A really great gift.

Mark

A super gift to receive, had a really pleasurable gliding experience. Peter the main glider pilot/instructor is a good guy and great at his job, his colleagues were also pleasant and competent; the countryside around Challock and the surrounding area of the Kent Gliding Club looks lovely from the air (even when upside down doing a loop!).

Jacqueline

Thoroughly enjoyed this gliding experience, fabulous views and expert tuition giving the chance for you to fly the very responsive glider yourself at the appropriate altitude. Everyone was welcoming and helpful and instructor Pete Carpenter impressed with his professionalism and knowledge.

boband

If you like flying , you will love this experience. Great basic gliding instruction with hands on flying tuition.

dell

Had the most Amazing time, it was everything i thought it would be and more. Everyone was friendly and very professional. If you are thinking of doing it you will not be disappointed

Colin

A most excellent day out. Walking through the country lanes and footpaths from Charing station on a beautiful sunny day to Kent Gliding Club and then an amazing flight with a friendly and informative instructor. A day to remember

Don Willetts

Although I have been in a glider (many years ago) this was even better than I expected. The pilot was really friendly, communicative and helpful and, once he discovered I was celebrating my 80th birthday, even included a loop-the-loop. I expected two flights but it seems they really work on giving the maximum flying time and I enjoyed five flights in the end. Many thanks

Jo Graham

Great day spent with lively people. Would definitely recommend the gliding either as half day or full day.

John Lawson

Gliding in Kent was a memorable experience. All the instructors at the gliding club were friendly and did all they could to make it a day to remember. I was airborne five times and allowed to take some of the controls at times. Everything was explained carefully and the safety standards were paramount.

Lyn Crowhurst

Fantastic experience. Very friendly staff and excellent facilities

David Edmunds

Had a great day gliding at the Kent gliding club, very friendly instructors, could easily take it up as another hobby! Very memorable day.many thanks to everybody involved. David Edmunds

Brian Searle

I really enjoyed my flight with Instructor Bob. We were airborne for one and a half hours and Bob let me fly for a lot of the time. As I had previous flying experience many years ago Bob didn't need to give me a basic briefing. We could not take a winch launch as the winch was out of commission due to a swarm of bees! With a one and a half hour thermaling flight I consider the course a good value for money.

Rosie Callow

I really enjoyed my gliding experience and my pilot Les made me feel very safe. I would recommend this to anyone who fancied doing something a little different an ideal present for a loved one. All of the staff were very friendly and made a lovely morning great, thank you all.

Karen Vause

Wot an experience! The staff and of course Walter my pilot were all fantastic and made the whole experience possible for me! I thought my mobility and health issues might be a problem.....not at all! My family and friends watching me, were made welcome as well!

Karen Vause

It was an amazing adventure, the gliding experience was something I wanted to do for quite sometime! Because of my limited mobility and the health problems l have, I didn't think it possible...however everything was perfect and that was made possible, through the help of the staff and Walter who was my pilot! A big big thank you from Karen Vause friends who contributed and my family for all their surpport!

Allan Russell

Very friendly club set-up. Courteous members made us feel welcome. Had to wait my turn for airtow in a basic control hut. Basic but kept me out of the cold.

Nicola

No pre-booking info sent. Staff and totor very helpful and supportive but a challenging day due to weather conditions

Matt

Received the experience as a Christmas gift & was very impressed! The Gliding club made us feel extremely welcome & were happy to address any questions or concerns we had. This experience is worth every penny & we will be returning again soon now we are fully fledged members! Highly recommended!

Hugh Johnston

Absolutely fabulous. All the lads and lassies there are so professional, friendly and helpful and made my 90th. birthday present so memorable,and surpassed all my expectations. My large family turned up to watch and they too were full of praise for the organisation. One of my daughters in law is now keen to have a go herself !!!

Jason Mabbutt

Sadly the weather let us down on my flight day and have rebooked for the end of September. However i can say the Gliding team at the Kent centre are brilliant and can't wait to get airborne.

christine

My mum and I bought this for my dads 83rd birthday. He absolutely loved it. Everyone was very helpful/friendly and even us watching had a good time as we could buy tea and ice creams etc. There was even a couple of childrens sit-in play cars which my 21mth Grandson enjoyed. Thank you - would definately recommend/buy for another family member

Ms E Robinson

The whole experience from start to finish was excellent. staff superb.

Peter and Audrey Weekes

Great flight, even though the viz was somewhat hazy in the distance. Everyone from the Receptionist, our Pilot Brian to the lady in the Cafe were so friendly and helpful and made us feel really welcome. The flights were given to my wife and me by all our family as a Golden Wedding present, how good was that ! As both of us are keen photographers we also have some photos to show them. We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope to go up again soon as we now have temporary Club membership for three months. If you fancy something different, then give Gliding a go in this lovely location. You will leave with some great memories as we did.

Tony Loft

Exellent flight, very freindly atmosphere something that i will be doing in the future, would definatly rocommend.

Geoff Plumer

This was something I have wanted to do for a long time and the whole day was fantastic. We had good weather (attended 16th Sept) which helps, but my instructor Peter and all the other staff were so friendly. Each time we went up Peter developed the experience for me, I had one aero tow and a number of winch tows which take you to 1200 feet we added another 2400 feet to that on one occasion. The location of the club is easy to find and the views once airborne are amazing. Just wish I had done it years ago, but having said that the day gives you 3 months membership(flying at club rates) of the club so I will be attending for some more flights. Have a go you wont be disappointed, just remember this is weather dependent, chose a sunny day.

Sally Ring

When I booked it I asked if it would be better to go earlier in the day to get the thermals. They said any time was fine and I booked it at 5.00pm When I was flying they said the thermals are always better at the warmest part of the day and it was a bit late!

Customer Review from Feefo,

Service rating - excellent: Fast and prompt. No problems at all.Product rating - excellent: Wonderful day out in Kent. Would go again.

John urban

The say was fantastic , I could probably do it all again

Rajko Novakovic

I cannot begin to describe the shear joy and exhilaration I felt during my gliding experience. The instructors during my day at the center were brilliant and made it all the more pleasurable.

Trevor Harrison

27 August 2024

I had a great day. My wife, dog and I were made welcome at the gliding club and we all had a good time. The one-day initial gliding course is an excellent way to experience gliding and have some fun. The instructors, although volunteers, could not have been more professional and I felt comfortable and challenged in equal and enjoyable measure.

Sarah Walton

14 October 2024

What an amazing day. Great instructors and experience. Definitely worth doing the full day experience to make the most of it!

Great fun

02 January 2025

People were very friendly and the pilot was reassuring and informative.

Keith

02 January 2025

Great experience staff were great and friendly