The Suffolk Coastal Floaters Hang Gliding Club was established some 30yrs ago, at the very beginning of Hang Gliding, here in the UK
These pages will briefly introduce you to our club and hopefully give you some idea as to who we are, what we do, and where we came from. Also, you can contact us, by email, through these pages, and we have also included brief details of how you can get started in the sport of Hang Gliding. New members are always welcome and we look forward to introducing you to the East Anglian flying fraternity.
During the summer months we usually operate from our winch tow site at Mendlesham, just off the A140, north of Ipswich. Winching up to 1000 feet allows us to start climbing up to the clouds and fly across the East Anglian landscape. Coastal flying is also still very much the heart of the club and we have several superb and uncrowded sites in both Norfolk and Suffolk.
At the end of a hot dry summer's day (or cold wet and windy winter's day!) usually sees us all retiring to one of our many local hostelries for good food and maybe a beer.
The Club is one of the most active Winch Tow Clubs in the UK. We invite you to discover more about the Club by browsing through our website.
Apart from access to our site at Mendlesham, our main asset comprises a large dry hangar in which members are welcome to store their gliders. We have also installed a weather station, on-site, and members are able to ring-up for the latest met.
Internet facilities include this site, a separate, private site for members that includes forums and private messaging, and our online photo gallery.
What is Hang Gliding?
Hang gliding gets you closer to flying like a bird than any other form of aviation. Our gliders are stable aerofoil wings formed from aluminium battens and tensioning of the sail. The pilot is suspended underneath and has control of pitch (and hence speed) and roll through weight shifting using a triangular "A" frame. All modern gliders are inherently stable aircraft stressed to +6g and -2g which are certified to aeronautical standards.
The national body overseeing hang gliding (and also paragliding) in the UK is the British Hanggliding and Paragliding Assocation. They are delegated with this task by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Affiliated Club
To fly hang gliders takes a few days training and must rank as the cheapest (and most fun!) form of aviation.
