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The VGC, Vintage glider Club, turns fifty this year, 2023.
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The Vintage Glider Club (VGC) was founded in 1973 by vintage glider enthusiasts
under the vision of Chris Wills (27 August 1931 - 4 May 2011). The club's
objective was and still is to maintain and preserve the rich gliding history
of yesteryears and to ensure that the machines which charted the path
of gliding history will still be here for the next generation to experience
and enjoy.
At the time the VGC was founded there was little interest in vintage gliders,
so much so that not even museums paid much attention to their plight.
Thus the key concept of the VGC was born; that the preservation of our
gliding history would best succeed in the hands of the enthusiast, thus
ensuring that these unique machines remain where they belong: in the air.
Consequently the VGC was formed in 1973 at a rally for vintage gliders
at the Coventry Gliding Club at Husbands Boswhorth near Rugby in England.
A total of 23 vintage gliders attended from the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
This encouraging start has since seen the VGC develop significantly over
the year and is testimony to the passion and the determination of the
everyday enthusiast all over the world.
Vintage Glider Club today
Since that informal get-together in 1973 the VGC has grown into an international
club with more than 900 members worldwide. Among them are enthusiasts
not just from all parts of Europe, but also from the United States, Australia,
New Zealand, Korea, Japan and Russia.
The main point of contact between club members is through the various
rallies that take place in Europe every year. The highlight is our International
Vintage Glider Rally, a large gathering of members with over 100 gliders.
The venue for this exciting Rally changes from year to year and is hosted
by a different European gliding club.
It is thanks to the vision and passion of the VGC that a large number
of original gliders, which otherwise would have been forgotten, were saved
and continue to soar in the skies to this day.
Over the years the VGC has grown into a unique international community
of pilots and enthusiasts, whose vintage gliders are a wonderful sight
both on the ground and in the air. Today in 2023 the VGC celebrates its
fiftieth anniversary since its birth in 1973. This event can be summarized
by the collection of posters, designed by the each individual glider clubs
that have organized and hosted their International Gliding Rally over
the 50 years. At one glance you see the list all the Vintage rally which
took place in Europe in half a century.
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