Lasham Gliding Society
Lasham Gliding Society (LGS) was established in 1958 to unify operations of the gliding clubs that had been operating since 1951. It later signed a long lease on the airfield from the Ministry of Defence. The airfield's boundaries were reduced but it still occupies over 500 acres (200 ha).
212 gliders are based at Lasham which are used by 666 members, plus social members. The airfield is in constant use throughout the year and regularly hosts national and regional gliding championships. Oerlinghausen Airfield claims to be the world's largest gliding club with "around 25,000" glider launches annually whereas Lasham launched 25,746 gliders in the year to 31 October 2010. There are approximately 59,000 aircraft movements (departures and landings) annually (compared with Southampton Airport's 43,350).
In 1999, Lasham Gliding Society completed the purchase from the Ministry of Defence of the freehold to the airfield, making the final payment in 2001. It now owns all of the land within the fenced and gated area as well as the fields that form the undershoot area at each end of the main runway. The Society lets some land to an aircraft maintenance company, ATC Lasham Ltd. This company uses the main runway several times a week to bring in airliners for overhauls and is the largest employer in the area. Other land and buildings are let to local farmers and businesses.
LGS's 90+ instructors train new pilots at all stages from Ab initio through to competitive cross-country flying. The training fleet consists of the following types:
- ASK 13 (nine basic trainers)
- ASK 21 (two glass fibre trainers/Aerobatic Trainer)
- Duo Discus (advanced trainer)
- DG-1000 (advanced trainer)
- Discus (three single seaters)
- Grob G-102 (three single seaters)
- Scheibe SF-25 Falke motor glider
The club uses two Skylaunch winches, normally delivering launch heights of over 1500ft, and 2000ft+ in strong winds. The Club also operates five tugs:
- 1 PA-25 Pawnee
- 3 Robin DR400s
- 1 Piper PA-18 Super Cub
and can call on other privately owned tugs in busy periods.
There are 198 other gliders at the airfield operated by private owners and by affiliated gliding clubs: Imperial College Gliding Club, University of Surrey Gliding Club, Southampton University Gliding Club, The Crown Service Gliding Club and the IBM Gliding Club. Lasham Youth run a Saturday Evening gliding course during the summer months which is open to everyone, providing an environment where young members can fly with people of similar ages.
Derek Piggott was Chief Flying Instructor at Lasham during much of the period from 1953 to 1989. Ann Welch, Nicholas Goodhart, Frank Irving and Peter Twiss were also members for many years.
Read more about this topic: Lasham Airfield, Gliding
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