Bicester Gliding Centre
Home of Windrushers Gliding Club
Take a Trial Lesson in a Glider!
Come along for a thrilling trial glider flight at the Bicester Gliding Centre in Oxfordshire! Only 12 miles north of Oxford.
We offer three levels of trial lesson voucher, all available via our online shop, with flights in either a glider or motor glider, and each comes with three months introductory membership of the club:-
The Basic Glider Flight - £75 - an aerotow to 2000ft, up to 20 mins in the air. Buy Online Now!
The Standard Glider Flight - £95 - an aerotow to 3000ft, up to 30 mins in the air. Buy Online Now!
The Premium Glider Flight - £125 - is either an aerotow to 4000 ft or two aerotows to 2000ft, and up to 40 mins in the air. Buy Online Now!
Or you may elect to have your trial lesson in a motor glider to ensure that you have the maximum time in the air if the weather is not soarable - it's your choice.
The Basic Motor Glider Flight - £75 - a 30 minute flight in our motor glider. Buy Online Now!
The Standard Motor Glider Flight - £95 - a 45 minute flight Buy Online Now!
The Premium Motor Glider Flight - £125 - a full 1 hour of flying in the motor glider Buy Online Now!
Want to know more? Email us
or call 01869 252493 (answered at almost any time of day!)
Or buy online via our secure shop.
The Bicester Gliding Centre trial lesson voucher is a great way to see if gliding is for you. You don't have to use it immediately - you have 12 months from the day of purchase in which to choose the best day to suit you! That's plenty of time to ensure good weather for your flight.
Or try our Learn to Glide package deal - which includes temporary membership for three months, after which you can join. Trial lessons can be upgraded to the Learn to Glide package deal by simply paying the cost difference. This then entitles you to use the club facilities and to take further glider flights at standard club rates.
We also run gliding courses, including a special half-day introductory winch course for £135. These are from one to five days in length and make an ideal holiday break. One-to-one training with an instructor. For total beginners up to early solo pilots, all our courses are tailored to suit your needs. Learn to fly in Oxfordshire and you can view Oxford from the air!
Important: There may be weight and height restrictions. Please check before booking a trial lesson if you are over 16st / 100kg or over 6' 2" tall. You can take along a camera, but it MUST use a neck-strap to firmly attach it to your person. We cannot fly persons under 14 yrs of age.
The Trial Lesson
Following a safety briefing and some ground instruction, you will take to the sky in one of our dual-control two-seater training gliders or in the motor glider, with a British Gliding Association (BGA) qualified instructor. You will be shown the basic methods of controlling the glider, then take control and fly the glider yourself. Yes, you actually get to fly the glider around the sky, with the instructor monitoring what happens via his set of controls. It is not difficult at all. Eventually the instructor takes over and lands the glider.
Our instructors will always endeavor to find thermals to keep the glider airborne for a reasonable time. We want you to have as good a time as possible, to share our enthusiasm for this fantastic sport. After the flight you will be presented with a certificate to prove you did it!
Motor Glider Trial Flights
The self-launching dual-control motor glider takes off like a normal powered aircraft but it flies like a glider and we can guarentee the amount of time spent in the air (subject, as usual, to the weather being suitable for flying).
The times refer to actual time in the air, we do not charge for the pre-flight briefings nor do we include the engine run-up time as part of the flight. With the motor glider, we can guarantee the time spent airborne. Depending on the length of the flight, we can include viewing Silverstone Racetrack (Just look at the view!) and Stowe School, or Oxford and its Colleges as part of the lesson.
Don't just dream about a flight - do it! You know you want to.