Gliding Heritage Centre

The Gliding Heritage Centre stands on Lasham Airfield in Hampshire. It is a collection of vintage gliders housed in two hangars, the Chris Wills Memorial Hangar and Hangar Two. The centre began after Christopher Wills left a bequest to build a hangar for his Steinadler and other gliders. A group of enthusiasts turned this into a public collection with the first hangar opening in 2013. Further fundraising allowed a second hangar to open in 2018. A workshop was later added to restore and maintain the fleet. The centre is worth the journey for its growing collection of historic gliders. Some aircraft remain airworthy while others are conserved in the workshop. The workshop also teaches rare skills for restoring wooden gliders. Private owners occasionally lend gliders to the collection for display. Public tours run every Sunday at two o’clock from the Lasham Gliding Society club-house. The centre is run by a registered charity dedicated to preserving gliding history. Visitors find two hangars filled with vintage gliders and a working workshop. The Chris Wills Memorial Hangar holds the main collection while Hangar Two displays additional aircraft. The workshop area shows ongoing restoration work on wooden gliders. A viewing area is planned to let the public watch the process. The centre sits within Lasham Airfield, a site with a long gliding tradition.