The club was formed in 1953 at Baginton Airfield and was called the ‘Coventry Gliding Club’, and this is still our 'Company' name as registered with Companies House.

The club grew steadily at Baginton and acquired a number of gliders. Initially, all launches were by winch but a fleet of Tiger Moths accrued, allowing Aerotows to take place. Gliders at this time were of wooden manufacture, such as T21, Grunau Baby and Olympias.

Baginton Airfield also continued to grow and it became clear that gliding would soon become restricted from the site, so in 1964 a number of members started to look for a new site. At this time the Air Ministry was disposing of a number of ex WW2 airfields, including Husbands Bosworth Airfield . After a meeting of the club members it was decided to attend the auction and attempt to buy sufficient land to enable the club to operate from it.

The money for the auction was raised by purchase of 'Life' memberships and the sale of the Tiger Moths to a club member, who then leased them back to the club. Also, available grants were utilised and loans to the club were provided by some of the members. At the auction the land was purchased for the princely sum of  £5400, and a deal with an adjoining landowner was struck, enabling the club to obtain the additional land required.

The security of land ownership enabled the club to build its first hangar and workshop on the site. This was followed by construction of a clubhouse. Members also brought caravans to the site so that they could spend more time at the facility.

The membership continued to flourish and the glider fleet continued to grow. The first 'Chipmunk' tow plane was bought from an RAF auction, and that was followed by the purchase of 3 more with engine conversions to Lycoming units. This is the basis of our current aerotow capability. To accommodate the growing fleet further hangars have been built (giving now 4 in total), which now house all the club fleet in secure and sound conditions.

Prudent management has enabled the club to continue updating the fleet and this provides for all aspects of the sport using modern fibreglass gliders.

The original clubhouse, which was made from 'pre-fabricated' design, was now showing its age and again the membership provided funds to commence a major rebuilding project (extended over 3 phases) and gave the club a facility that is ranked second to none in the country.

All of this history now leaves The Gliding Centre as one of the foremost clubs in the country and, due to the international competitions held on site, is recognised as a wonderful place to experience the delights of gliding in Britain.