History of RSGC
The history of RAF Shawbury Gliding Club (RSGC) goes back over 50 years, starting as Wrekin Gliding Club (WGC) at RAF Cosford.
Exactly when gliding commenced at RAF Cosford is not known, although Cosford was used during World War II for the assembly of both Horsa and Hotspur gliders by No.9 Maintenance Unit. The photo above, taken in 1944, shows multiple Horsa gliders on approach into Cosford from the east. In the foreground of the photo is a hanger and clubhouse that was subsequently used by WGC
The first club to fly gliders at RAF Cosford was the RAF Bridgnorth Gliding Club, which began operations at RAF Cosford in March 1952. By the following year RAF Bridgnorth Gliding Club had become known as the RAFGSA Western Area (Cosford) Gliding Club. A number of articles in the popular gliding magazine Sailplane & Gliding (S&G) describe cross-country flights from clubs such as the Midland Gliding Club (on the Long Mynd) to RAF Cosford in the 1950s and early 1960s, but it’s unclear whether a gliding club remained at RAF Cosford over that time
Wrekin Gliding Club
WGC was established in February 1966. The adjacent article, published in S&G, describes WGC starting operations with a T.31, Tutor and a V8 Wild winch. A later article mentions that the club had a prolific first year: from WGC’s establishment in February 1966 to November 1966 the club racked up 5,478 launches and 485.52 hours of flying
WGC grew quickly. By the end of 1967 they reported having a Skylark 3 and an Olympia. By the end of the 1960s, less than four years after being established, the club’s fleet had grown to include an Olympia 2A, a T.21, two “Grunaus”, a Bocian, a Ka-8, a Skylark and a Ka-6E. They were not short of aircraft! The club’s bus, serving hot food, hot drinks and snacks, was a hive of activity
The club started out in a hangar with adjoining clubhouse (shown in the photo at the top of this page) on the north side of the airfield, closest to the camp of RAF Cosford. Later the club moved to the south side of the runway, occupying the “Lamella” Hangar 12 and, as a clubhouse, the two adjoining houses by David Austin Roses
WGC shared the use of RAF Cosford with 633 Gliding School, which was formed on 1 September 1955 and later renamed as 633 Volunteer Gliding School. Early relations between WGC and 633 Gliding School were reported as being close and friendly. WGC also maintained good relationships with other clubs in the local area, such as Staffordshire Gliding Club and Midland Gliding Club
For a time the club also had to share the airfield with a farmer, who used the south of the airfield for arable crops
The club has organised a great number of expeditions over its time. In the early days a particularly popular destination was the hugely active Midland Gliding Club, on the Long Mynd. The adjacent photo shows WGC’s K7 during a bungee launch from the Mynd in the late 1960s
During its time at RAF Cosford the club hosted a number of well-attended Interservices Regional Gliding Competitions (ISRGC), including one in 1974. The final ISRGC competition held at RAF Cosford was in 2014
In 2016 a celebration weekend was held to mark the club’s 50th anniversary. Former members of the club, some of whom had not flown for many years, were invited along to be reintroduced to flying at RAF Cosford. After everyone had flown, there was a chance to reminisce of memories from many moons ago over a beer and a barbeque
Thousands of trainees passed through the Cosford gates to fly with WGC and gain a useful insight from the perspective of aircrew. A selection of photos from WGC over the years can be scrolled through below
A change to how the Tutors (Grob G115) operated made the concurrent flying of RAF powered aircraft and gliders no longer viable at RAF Cosford. Gliding operations were significantly restricted. This impacted upon the number of flying days, the volume of students able to regularly attend and the opportunities for instructors to maintain their ratings, among other aspects
K13 “R38” arriving at RAF Shawbury following aerotow from RAF Cosford
Move to RAF Shawbury
In December 2020 WGC moved to RAF Shawbury and renamed as RAF Shawbury Gliding Club. The move was three years in planning, and complicated by a number of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic. The last full flying day at RAF Cosford was Saturday 12 December 2020. On Sunday 20 December 2020 three of the club’s gliders (K21, K13 and Astir) were aerotowed across to RAF Shawbury
The move provides benefits in terms of the availability of the airfield for weekend flying and, with RAF Shawbury being home to No. 1 Flying Training School, the vast pool of trainees keen to learn to fly. RSGC occupies Hangar 4 at RAF Shawbury, a “Type C” hangar that is much brighter, warmer, well-equipped, and in a better state of repair than the “Lamella” Hangar 12 that WGC occupied at RAF Cosford
Although our club has seen many changes over the years, it has always made many happy memories for members of the service community. The support, atmosphere and camaraderie at the launch point remains second to none to this day