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New article: Cotswold Gliding Club

The Cotswold Gliding Club (CGC) is based at Aston Down airfield, between Cirencester and Stroud in Gloucestershire, South West England. The Club maintains a fleet of aircraft for training purposes, and is a centre for cross-country gliding and competitions.

The Club

CGC was formed in 1964. It was initially based at Long Newton airfield near Tetbury, but in 1967 moved to its current home, Aston Down—at that time still a military airfield. In 1981, with the help of Sports Council grants and other loans, the Club purchased a large part of the airfield from the Ministry of Defence. Having since acquired further land, CGC now owns most of the airfield within the perimeter track.

CGC has some 200 members, including 30 students from the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol. In 2007 the CGC widened its membership to include Blokarters (blokart is a form of land sailing using portable land yachts).

The Airfield

Aston Down is, by gliding standards, a large airfield The 1500m main runway (about one mile) offers scope for high launches, sometimes up to 900m (3000 feet) when the wind direction is straight down the runway. This makes it easy to contact the abundant thermals that rise from the well drained Cotswold limestone to give superb soaring conditions. Aerotow launching is also used, particularly when westerly or north-westerly winds generate lift off the Cotswold ridge (or "Edge") or wave lift downwind of the Welsh mountains.

The picture shows Aston Down taken from the south. The main (northeast-southwest) runway runs from bottom left to top right, while the shorter 1000m (3,300 ft) east-west runway runs left to right.^[1] The disused runway in the distance has been partly removed to allow more room for gliders landing on the grass. Blokarting is restricted to the runway not currently in use (which varies according to wind direction).

The Club fleet

The club's fleet of aircraft includes three Ka13 dual-seat trainers, a DG 500T advanced cross-country trainer and a Ka7 used by UWE students. Two Ka8s are available for early solo pilots, while more experienced pilots can fly either a Pilatus B4 or an Astir. All Club gliders have similar instrumentation and are equipped with audio variometers. Privately owned motor gliders based at Aston Down are available for club members for field landing and cross-country endorsement checks.

CGC is currently undertaking a phased replacement of all the current Ka13 gliders with modern PW-6U training gliders, the first two of which are due to be delivered in the first quarter of 2008.

Gliding activity

Members receive training from the Club's 20 BGA-qualified instructors. This training takes pilots to solo and well beyond—to advanced cross-country flying. Members of the public can book trial lessons and more intensive one-day courses. During the soaring season (April to September) many members fly private gliders, usually owned jointly by two or more partners: this flying takes the form of either local soaring or more ambitious cross-country flying.

Competitions

The excellent runway and facilities available at Aston Down make the CGC a frequent choice for hosting regional and national gliding competitions. Recent examples include the following:

2004 Standard Class Nationals (shown on the left)
2006 15 Metre Nationals^[2]
2007 Inter University Task Week^[3]

In November 2007 the British Blokart Championships were held at Aston Down.^[4]

Facilities

The original control tower houses a club room, kitchen and residential accommodation; caravan and camping facilities are available on site. A large hangar accommodates the club fleet, most of the private gliders owned by club members being stored in trailers when not being flown. There is a large workshop for maintenance of aircraft, vehicles and winches.

WP article on Aston Down (CGC material migrated)

Map sources for Ndsg/Aston Down at grid reference SO9101

Aston Down is a former Royal Air Force airfield near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, South West England. It was used by the RAF from the First World War until 1967, since when it has been the home of the Cotswold Gliding Club. In 2002 the land and hangars surrounding the airfield were sold by the Ministry of Defence to private developers for use as industrial units.

History

Aston Down was first used as an airfield in the First World War, serving as a base for the Australian Flying Corps.^[5] Originally known as Minchinhampton Aerodrome, the airfield was renamed Aston Down in 1938 at the request of the residents of Minchinhampton village, which lies about one mile (1.5 km) to the west of the airfield, who feared not enemy attack, but a fall in the value of their houses.^[6] During the Second World War the hard runways and hangars were built. Until early 1941 Aston Down was host to the RAF's No. 55 OTU (Officer Training Unit), after which it was used as a ferry base. More recently the airfield was used as a satellite airfield for the Central Flying School at RAF Little Rissington, with trainee pilots practising their circuits in BAC Jet Provosts. Visits by the Red Arrows were also frequent until their departure from the nearby Kemble Airfield in 1983.^[7]

Gliding

In 1967 the Cotswold Gliding Club (CGC) moved to Aston Down, which in 1981 became surplus to requirements and was sold to the Club by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Having since acquired further land, the CGC now owns most of the airfield within the perimeter track.

Industry and the environment

The land surrounding the airfield, including a number of large hangars (visible in the photograph above), continued to be used by the MOD until 2002, when it was sold to the development firm Leda Properties to be let as warehousing and industrial units.^[8] In 2005, following a Freedom of Information request, the local newspaper revealed that Aston Down is contaminated with arsenic, hydrocarbons and radium.^[9] Since the site is located above a vulnerable aquifer, local residents have formed a pressure group to persuade local government and central government agencies to implement more stringent safety regulations.

Notes

^ In the photograph the main runway appears shorter than the (E-W) cross runway: this foreshortening is due to the angle at which the photograph was taken.
^ See 15 Metre Nationals 2006.
^ See Inter University Task Week 2007.
^ Rob Jewell. "Blokart Nationals at the Cotswold Gliding Centre, Stroud". Yachts and Yachting Online Ltd. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
^ Photographs of the AFC at Aston Down in 1917.
^ Diana Wall, A Brief History of Minchinhampton, Minchinhampton Local History Group
^ Historical details from the CGC website.
^ MOD contracts & sales
^ Toxic threat to water supply Stroud News and Journal. 17 August 2005

External links

[1] In the photograph the main runway appears shorter than the (E-W) cross runway: this foreshortening is due to the angle at which the photograph was taken.

[2] See 15 Metre Nationals 2006.

[3] See Inter University Task Week 2007.

[4] Rob Jewell. "Blokart Nationals at the Cotswold Gliding Centre, Stroud". Yachts and Yachting Online Ltd. Retrieved 2007-11-13.

[5] Photographs of the AFC at Aston Down in 1917.

[6] Diana Wall, A Brief History of Minchinhampton, Minchinhampton Local History Group

[7] Historical details from the CGC website.

[8] MOD contracts & sales

[9] Toxic threat to water supply Stroud News and Journal. 17 August 2005

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