Following our successful inaugural Charity Day last year we were delighted to find that our 2026 Charity Day saw lots of interest from potential visitors – by the start of the day itself we had 39 bookings for an aerotow or winch launch, with visitors keen to have a flight in a glider whilst supporting this year’s nominated charities, Hospiscare and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance.
With a lot of planning completed before the day the only thing which could not be known was the weather on the day – the forecast suggested grey skies and a low cloudbase at the start of the day with some optimism of better weather as the day unfolded.
And that was the story of the 2026 Charity Day – the airfield was set up ready to launch the K21, DG505 and Twin Acro two seater gliders, the visitors started to arrive and we then had to wait and wait – then mid morning the decision was made to start winch launching but to delay aerotows for a short while when the weather was expected to improve further.
Once the day was underway steady progress was made with our visitor bookings and through great teamwork by Club members on the ground, with the weather allowing us to make the most of the day, the final flights were completed by early evening.
Lots of happy smiling faces from our visitors evident and our Club members pleased to hear and see visitor reactions to their glider flight, as well as hearing that the Club would be donating £250 to each of the nominated charities – Hospiscare and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance.
Thank You to all our Club members who helped and supported the 2026 Charity Day and particularly to our visitors. – Mike Sloggett
