Rattlesden Gliding Club
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Welcome to Rattlesden Gliding Club
Rattlesden Gliding Club (RGC) has been operating on the historic WWII Rattlesden Airfield for over 40 years. Located in the heart of Suffolk close to the towns of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, RGC is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) with a passion to share the experience of gliding and help people achieve their dreams of learning to fly.
RGC has over 120 club members, all of whom share a love for gliding with a strong community spirit. Whether you are interested in learning to fly locally, cross-country soaring, aerobatics, competitions or socialising with others, there is something for everyone at RGC.
Club Facilities
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Rattlesden Gliding Club now operates from what remains of WWII Rattlesden Airfield. We are lucky to use the historic air traffic control tower as our clubhouse, with facilities including toilets, office, training/briefing room, kitchen, bar & lounge area. A workshop hangar is located next door for use by club members.
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There is ample on-site car parking plus space for caravan and trailer parking (charges apply).
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A converted coach is used during flying days, acting primarily as a launch point with radio and flight logging facility but perhaps most importantly as a place to shelter from the elements! The coach is ideal for storing everything we need for a days flying plus giving us a place for pre-flight briefing and hot & cold drinks and snacks!
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Facilities for both aerotow & winch launching are available.
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At least once each year Rattlesden Gliding Club will arrange an expedition trip to another gliding club for its club members to experience flying at the different locations and try ridge and wave lift, weather permitting!
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Rattlesden Gliding Club has two main runways in use:
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RWY 06/24 (3280ft/1000m asphalt)
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RWY 17/35 (1170ft/540m grass)
When do we fly?
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Rattlesden Gliding Club is active every weekend and Wednesday throughout the year. During the soaring and summer season we operate 'bookable flying' on Tuesdays (all day) or Thursdays (evening only). Bookable flying is for club members with limited free time to book a slot with an instructor without the need to spend all day at the airfield.
Fridays are often used for trial lessons and/or group bookings, but club members can normally fly between booked flights.
If the weather is good and we have enough volunteers, you can find us flying on any day of the week!
Trial lessons and gliding experiences can be flown on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. Booking is essential.
Finding Us
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Rattlesden Gliding Club
Rattlesden Airfield
Near Felsham
Bury-St-Edmunds
Suffolk
IP30 0PT
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Phone: 01449 737789
Mobile: 07484 148015
Launch Point: 07926 812833