Travel: Hang on to your stomach and glide

Rupert Isaacson tries his hand at flying without the motor and finds that it's a thrilling experience to travel silently and swiftly among the clouds

Towed up by a plane and set adrift in the endless expanses of the sky - gliding is like flying a light aircraft without the noise and bother of an engine.

The London Gliding Club was set up in the 1930s. Although the club is not in London at all, but in the south Midlands, it is easy to reach from anywhere in southern and central England, and offers daily, weekend or longer courses for those wanting to learn this most freeing of sports. Your first flights will be in a dual-control glider with an instructor. Only after about 50 or so flights can you move on to solo flying, but the dual gliders are no second-best. It's fun to have someone to share the adrenaline rush with. And the beauty of it is that if you persist and reach the solo-flying level you do not need a licence. Moreover, you can be as young as 16 to fly solo. The British Gliding Association (BGA) requires you to pass a series of certificates (bronze, silver and gold) in order to make long cross-country flights. But after these you can soar to heights that require oxygen equipment, and you can either buy your own glider or (much more affordable) buy a share in one. Until people try gliding they often wonder what the advantage of the sport is over flying a plane. Apart from the minimal expense involved, gliding is enjoyable because it lacks a motor - meaning that once you are up in the air the experience is silent, incredibly peaceful, yet at the same time you go very deliberately from A to B, just as if you were in a motorised aircraft. There is not the same confusing array of instruments and dials to worry about and there is more opportunity to take in the countryside as it spreads out below you (or above you if you try stunts).

Gliders are surprisingly small. Getting into the cockpit feels a bit like climbing into a canoe, but with a wingspan of 15-22 metres and a top speed of 150 miles an hour, there is no feeling of being under-powered. In fact, because you are so much a part of the air currents, gliding offers more than enough excitement for most of us. That feeling of leaving your stomach behind is part of the experience. Ask your instructor to loop the loop with you, but do it on an empty stomach.

The London Gliding Club's courses start with basic day or weekend "tasters" and then move up to the five- to seven-day Club Pilot Certificate. If you make it through this you can go onto the bronze, silver and gold certificates and obtain a cross-country qualification. If you go this far, the club will help you buy a glider, or a share in one and you can start to make flights of up to 750km (seven hours) - this is the club's cross-country record.

FACT FILE

Address

London Gliding Club, Tring Road, Dunstable

Bedfordshire, LU6 2JP (tel: 01582 663419)

Season

Open all year, courses April to September.

Accommodation

Double, single, and bunk rooms at centre.

Children

Must be over 16.

Disabled visitors

Disabled clients can often be accommodated, contact centre for details.

Insurance

Guests should get own insurance coverage.

Affiliations

British Gliding Association.

Tariffs

Residential courses include tuition, flights, accommodation and breakfast/dinner. There is a choice of intensive courses (two pupils per instructor) or standard (four pupils). Weekend intensive course: pounds 180; standard course pounds 130; 4-day intensive course: pounds 250; 4-day standard course: pounds 205; 5-day intensive course: pounds 305; 5-day standard course: pounds 245. Private instruction: pounds 100 per day.