The club is open every weekend throughout the year and on Wednesdays and Bank Holidays between April and October.  During the summer months we hold a number of club flying weeks - an opportunity for an intensive period of flying!

With a well balanced fleet of gliders, state of the art launching equipment and a team of dedicated instructors, all fully committed to helping you to get the most from your gliding, we are able to provide all aspects of pilot training and development.  Whether you're a beginner just about to take your first lessons, an early solo pilot building your hours or an experienced glider pilot looking to fly cross country you'll find Needwood Forest Gliding Club is a great place to fly.

The club has 2 dual controlled, two seat training gliders, a dual controlled high performance advanced training glider, a single seat glass fibre glass glider and a single seat wooden glider, it's a fleet which provides a well balanced choice capable of supporting all aspects of pilot training.  In addition to the Club gliders, there are also a number of privately owned gliders on site ranging from a vintage wooden gliders to modern high performance glassfibre gliders.

Cross Hayes Field comprises of 70 acres of beautiful grassland.  It is orientated WNW/ESE and is approximately 1.2 kilometres in length.  A 6 acre area to the south east corner of the site houses the club buildings and car and trailer parking areas.

At NFGC the emphasis is on making sure that anyone who wishes to fly (members and visitors alike) has an enjoyable and satisfying day.  Whilst we have a number of pre-bookable slots for visitors each flying day, club flying operates on a first come first served basis.  In between flights members get involved in variety of activities, dependent on their skill level - from launching and retrieving gliders to driving the winch or running the launch point.

Alongside our flying activities, the club has a very active social side - from post flying barbeques, to quiz nights and skittles evenings, as well as trips to aviation linked venues such as the Assault Glider Trust, Duxford Air Museum and Air Traffic Control at East Mids Airport.  We also hold a number of talks and lectures during the winter months.

Needwood Forest Gliding Club has provided a centre for gliding activities for in excess of 40 years.  It is a non commercial, not for profit organisation which, like many clubs, is run entirely by its members on a voluntary basis.  An elected committee has overall responsibility for policy, finance and management decisions whilst day to day responsibility for specific areas of the Club's activities is delegated to individual members.

NFGC is affiliated to the British Gliding Association (BGA), the sport’s governing body in the UK and operates in accordance with the BGA's Operational Regulations and Recommended Practices.  Our Chief Flying Instructor oversees all flying operations from Cross Hayes, assisted by a dedicated team of instructors all of whom are trained and approved by the British Gliding Association.