Manuel Crested Wren on display
| |
  Location within Hampshire | |
| Location | Lasham Airfield, Hampshire |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°11′07″N 1°01′23″W / 51.1854°N 1.0231°W / 51.1854; -1.0231 |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Website | www |
The Gliding Heritage Centre (GHC) is a collection of vintage gliders based at Lasham Airfield, Hampshire, UK.[1][2][3]
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.[4]
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.[1]
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.[1]
Public tours of the museum are scheduled at 2:00 every Sunday with the starting point in the club-house of Lasham Gliding Society,.[1]
| Type | Manufacturer | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Scud-I | Abbott-Baynes (Replica) | 1931 |
| Scud-II | Abbott-Baynes | 1935 |
| Scud III | Abbott-Baynes | 1936 |
| Clarke Chanute[5] | TWK Clarke &Co | 1910 |
| EoN Baby | Elliotts of Newbury | 1949 |
| EoN Eton | Elliotts of Newbury | 1951 |
| Olympia 2b | Elliotts of Newbury | 1958 |
| Olympia 460 | Elliotts of Newbury | 1960 |
| Olympia 463 | Elliotts of Newbury | 1965 |
| Grunau Baby | Hersteller Flugzeugbau | 1952 |
| Lo 100 | Wolf Hirth | 1953 |
| JSH Scorpion[6][7] | J. Halford | 1977 |
| Weihe | Jacobs Schweyer | 1943 |
| Kaiser Ka3 | Kaiser | 1958 |
| Drone | Kronfeld Ltd | 1936 |
| TG-3a | Schweizer | 1942 |
| Spalinger S-21h | J. Lemp | 1943 |
| Willow Wren | Manuel | 1932 |
| Hawk | Manuel | 1969 |
| Crested Wren | Manuel | 1986 |
| Steinadler MG19A | Oberlerchner | 1955 |
| Colditz Cock | Replica | 2000 |
| MU13-D | Scheibe | 1957 |
| Zugvogel 3b | Scheibe | 1963 |
| Zugvogel 3b | Scheibe | 1964 |
| Bergfalk 55 - II | Scheibe | 1963 |
| KA 6E | Schleicher | 1968 |
| Scott Viking 1 | Scott Light Aviation | 1938 |
| Gull-III | Slingsby | 1939 |
| Grasshopper | Slingsby | 1953 |
| Grasshopper | Slingsby | 1962 |
| T8 Tutor | Slingsby | 1946 |
| Prefect T30A | Slingsby | 1948 |
| Prefect T30B | Slingsby | 1958 |
| Skylark 2 | Slingsby | 1955 |
| Skylark 3b | Slingsby | 1959 |
| Skylark 3f | Slingsby | 1961 |
| Dart 15 | Slingsby | 1964 |
| Swallow | Slingsby | 1967 |
| Foka 4 | SZD Poland | 1963 |
| YS 53 | Yorkshire Sailplanes | 1974 |
| Zlín Z-24[8] | Zlin | 1946 |
Other gliders in private ownership are also made available to the collection from time to time.
