2022-23 Overview
We are delighted to share with you the exciting happenings at the club over the past year. We are pleased to announce that 7 new solo pilots have joined our ranks, all of whom had no prior gliding experience before coming to Cambridge. One of them had his first solo in the snow! In addition to our new solo pilots, 2 new members have obtained their SPL. Our members’ achievement can be here.
We competed in, and won the 2022 Varsity match against Oxford! From the 1st to the 9th of July we will be hosting both Varsity and the Interunis competition! We are looking forward to welcoming gliding enthusiasts from over 10 other universities in the UK.
Our freshers’ fair in October was a resounding success, with CU being put on full display. We were able to attract a lot of interest from students, more than 100 of them came to our introductory Freshers’ squash!
Trial flights are notoriously popular, with tickets selling out in a matter of minutes. Every year, more than 300 students express the wish to have trial flights. For the first time we offered trial flights every week during term time, and managed to organise a total of 55. We also offered motor glider trial flights, of which we had 38. This has been a great way to attract new members and keep the club thriving. At the same time, these flights enabled us to raise significant funds for our long-term goal of owning a two seater glider.
We are currently raising donations for the purchase of a two-seater glider. This would make flying cheaper for our members, allow us to organise more expeditions, as well as giving us more chances to fly in Varsity and inter-university competitions (also, Oxford already owns a two-seater!). You can donate through the university portal, which automatically adds 25% government gift aid.
Overall, it has been a fantastic year for the Cambridge University Gliding Club, and we are grateful to have such a dedicated and passionate group of members.
Alumni are always welcome to fly with us, just message us on facebook or instagram, or email us at [email protected]. Last year, we launched our official alumni club, the 1935 Club. Open to all alumni, the 1935 Club aims to reconnect the CUGC alumni with each other and with the current members. Prospective future events include an annual dinner and get-together at the airfield to reminisce about the good old days. Please join the club using the form on the website https://www.cugc.org.uk/the_1935_club/.
Thank you for your continued support, and we’d love to see you at the club soon.
Flavio Salvati & Koji Shukawa CUGC Co-President 2022-2023
