Information for your First Visit

When you’ve booked your first visit, read through this page to find out about:

  • What you need to bring and wear

  • How to get to us

  • What to expect from your first visit

  • How we operate

  • The benefits of membership

What to wear

  • Clothes appropriate for the weather - when it's windy it can get very cold on the airfield

  • Trousers or shorts should be worn rather than skirts or dresses, which are unsuitable for wearing in a cockpit

  • Sturdy, waterproof footwear such as walking boots

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What to bring with you

  • Photo ID - a military pass if you have one, otherwise a driving licence or passport

  • Food and drink - we don't have refreshments on the airfield so bring enough to last you for the day

  • Your voucher to fly with us, if you have one

  • Your credit or debit card to pay for your flying, if you don't have a voucher or want to fly more

  • Sunscreen, sunglasses and sun hat for bright or sunny days

  • Something to tie your hair back with, if you have long hair

Before Travelling to RAF Shawbury

Certain weather conditions can restrict our activities, so please contact the club on 07384 724985 before leaving home to confirm that we are flying and that a glider and instructor will be available for you. We usually monitor this number from about 0900 onwards on flying days

Directions and Parking

We operate on the airfield at RAF Shawbury, about 7 miles north east of Shrewsbury and just off the A53. You can navigate to "RAF Shawbury" or "SY4 4DZ" on your sat nav but please do not attempt to enter the main entrance of RAF Shawbury unless you have a visitor and car pass. Instead, please follow the instructions below:

  • As shown on the adjacent map, when approaching from the A53 and Shawbury village, continue past the main entrance of RAF Shawbury for 400 meters and turn right down Dawsons Rough

  • Turn right again after 80 meters, onto a one way road

  • Continue past the gymnasium and, near the end, turn right into the chain link fenced car park (P symbol). If the car park is locked, find a suitable location to park on the road

  • When you have parked, call us on 07384 724985 to let us know that you have arrived

  • Remember to take anything you need for your visit (see list above) with you from your car

  • Cross the main road on foot and enter the RAF Shawbury guardroom (house symbol) to collect your passes. The guardroom is to the right of the main entrance. If you have a vehicle, please ask for a vehicle pass as well as your personal visitor pass

  • When you have your passes, call us again on 07384 724985 so that we know you are ready to collect

  • Return to your car, drive to the main entrance to RAF Shawbury and wait in the left-hand lane outside of the barrier until we come to escort you to the gliding club

What to expect from your trial lesson

You will be introduced to your BGA-rated instructor and shown around the glider that you will be flying in. We launch our gliders by aerotow, where the glider is towed into the air behind a light aircraft. This is a very gentle way to take off, perfect for your first experience

There isn’t a toilet at the launch point but, if you need to use the toilet, let one of our members know and they will arrange for you to be driven to the hangar

If you need anything or have any questions on the day, please feel free to ask one of our members

How we operate

We usually gather at the hangar at 0900 on a flying day. It takes us about an hour to perform daily inspections on our gliders and get everything ready for the day ahead. Flying usually finishes at about 1700 and it takes 30 minutes to an hour to make sure that everything is safely back in the hangar

Gliding is a real team effort, requiring everyone's support to keep the show running. Things can get quite tricky if we don't have enough people there to help out. So we strongly encourage our members to arrive at the beginning of the day or stay until the end, or both if your other commitments permit!

Once everything has been packed away the fridge is opened and everyone has the chance to reflect on the day over a drink in the crew room, or on the grass just outside, enjoying another pretty Shropshire sunset

Joining as a member

Everyone that comes to fly with RGSC will need to sign up as a member. We have two membership options: day membership and annual membership

We’re always looking to accept new members but, being a military club, we have certain restrictions placed upon the annual members we can accept. Those in the service community (for example service personnel, veterans and MOD contractors, and their dependents) are always entitled to annual membership. However, we can only accept persons outside of the service community as annual members under certain circumstances

Benefits of Annual Membership

Annual membership provides a number of benefits, including:

  • full access to the club’s resources

  • full access to the members’ area of our website, including member resources links and documents

  • full access to the RSGC Ops group on Messenger, to keep you up to date with club activities and to receive weather cross-sections for each flying day