If you don’t fancy flying a plane or you want to fly on a budget, gliding is an excellent option. There are plenty of gliding clubs across the UK where you can learn all the necessary skills.
The best place to start is to look for a British Gliding Association (BGA) club. They will hav
e strict guidelines and regulations to follow and will be the safest ones to join. You will pay club membership fees, but the training is then usually free. If you’re not sure whether to commit to training, you can usually opt to take a trial flight.
The instructor will teach you how to take-off, fly and land the glider. Once you’re competent in these skills, you will then be able to fly solo. If you wish, you can then become a fully-qualified glider pilot by taking extra endorsements. This is the equivalent of a private pilot’s licence, allowing you to fly anywhere in Europe.
You can then opt to take things further by learning to fly cross country or to compete in gliding competitions. For the more adventurous types there is glider aerobatics!