History of the Gliding Club
Nene Valley Gliding Club was constituted in 1968, using a field base at Winwick, near Molesworth , and
was duly registered as a member of the British Gliding Association (BGA)
In
1982, following friendly negotiations with the authorities at RAF Alconbury, and
at the request of the RAF, the Gliding Club moved to RAF Upwood, to avoid operating
in the vicinity of the Alconbury MATZ panhandle. Major W J Seitz (USAF) the Club
CFI at the time, devised an agreement with RAF Wyton Air Traffic Control regarding
operations co-ordination. This agreement was renegotiated 31st July 1987.
In
1995 the Club was given notice by the Defense Land Agent to find a new home as
RAF Upwood was now "mothballed" and was being put up for sale. After
many fruitless enquiries for a new base, a friendly farmer, Marshal Papworth offered the Club a ten year lease on land adjacent to RAF Upwood. Planning permission
was applied for, the new airfield was cultivated and seeded. We obtained a 7 section
portable building to be used as a Clubhouse and a 27 x 12 metre metal girder framed
building for the Hangar. Planning Permission was granted and work began on the
Clubhouse and Hangar, the latter was erected by professional steel erecters the
rest of the work being done by Club members.
We moved to the new site in
May 1997 and have been flying there since.
Tragically Marshal Papworth died in March 2000. The site has now been renamed Marshal's Paddock in remembrance
of his efforts in helping the Club. |
