Gliding Heritage Centre
{{Short description|British glider museum}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Gliding Heritage Centre
| logo =
| image = File:Manuel Crested Wren at Gliding Heritage Centre (34085281530).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Manuel Crested Wren on display
| map_type = Hampshire
| coordinates = {{coord|51.1854|-1.0231|display=inline,title}}
| former_name =
| established =
| dissolved =
| location = Lasham Airfield, Hampshire
| type = Aviation museum
| founder =
| director =
| president =
| curator =
| website = {{URL|http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk}}
}}
The Gliding Heritage Centre (GHC) is a collection of vintage gliders based at Lasham Airfield, Hampshire, UK.{{cite web|url=http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/index.htm|access-date=8 September 2020|title=GHC Home page|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029050936/http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/index.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/gliding-heritage-centre//index.htm|access-date=8 September 2020|title=List of aviation museums}}{{cite web|url=https://members.gliding.co.uk/vintage-gliding/|access-date=8 September 2020|title=British Gliding Association|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227120915/https://members.gliding.co.uk/vintage-gliding/|url-status=live}}
Origins
Christopher Wills, the son of Philip Wills, founded the Vintage Glider Club in 1973. He died on 4 May 2011 but left a bequest of £100,000 to build a hangar to house vintage gliders plus his Steinadler. A group of enthusiasts decided to create a Gliding Heritage Centre which could be visited by members of the public in a building called The Chris Wills Memorial Hangar. It is a registered charity No 1148972.{{cite web|url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search|access-date=8 September 2020|title=Charity Commission|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918103049/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search|url-status=live}}
After raising more money and with much volunteer work, the first hangar was opened on 4 August 2013 during the 41st International Vintage Glider Club rally that was held at Lasham that year. Further fund raising allowed the building of a second hangar to house the ever increasing collection of gliders. Hangar 2 was officially opened on 25 August 2018.
A dedicated workshop was added following a further bequest from Trish Williams. This allows some of the aircraft in the collection to remain airworthy, as well as helping to restore and conserve the rest of the fleet. The workshop is also used for teaching the skills required to restore and repair wooden gliders, as these skills are becoming increasingly scarce. It is planned to add a viewing area in the workshop to allow the public to see work that is being done.
Collection
Public tours of the museum are scheduled at 2:00 every Sunday with the starting point in the club-house of Lasham Gliding Society,.
Other gliders in private ownership are also made available to the collection from time to time.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/index.htm}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVKbfLntTgClpk7nG-4aHFg YouTube video]
- [https://www.aviationjournal.co.uk/aviation-museums/united-kingdom/gliding-heritage-centre-lasham Aviation Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301072609/https://www.aviationjournal.co.uk/aviation-museums/united-kingdom/gliding-heritage-centre-lasham |date=1 March 2021 }}
{{British Aviation Museums}}