President Mike Turner greets Jay Nethercot with co-presenter James Weston, also club member John Graham (Far L) and raffle winner Norman Irwin (L)

Coleraine Probus takes to the sky!

The President, Mike Turner, welcomed members to the meeting. He then introduced this morning’s speakers Jay Nethercot and James Weston the topic of their talk being the “The Ulster Gliding Club”.

James Weston dealt with the history of the gliding club from its founding in 1930 by a small group of three enthusiasts in Belfast to the present day Gliding Club based at Bellarena. Being located between the Donegal mountains and the cliffs of Binevenagh provides excellent soaring opportunities all year round enabling glider pilots to fly cross country over much of Ireland often reaching a height of 20,000 feet. Distances of over 200 miles have been covered from Bellarena in one day. You must be 14 to fly solo but there is no upper age limit. The talk concluded with a short film of a 14 year old boy completing his first solo flight at Bellarena. This certainly is a silent and graceful way of flying without an engine.

Jay Nethercot produced examples of the equipment carried in a glider ranging from a 2-way radio to a bottle of water.

Surprise Raffle: Jay Nethercot gave a raffle ticket to each Probus member, the prize being a free flight in a glider - possibly in the spring of 2018. The winning ticket, drawn by James Weston, was held by senior member Norman Irwin. (We'll certainly want to be along on that very special occasion, and with 'Ken's Kamera' working overtime! - WebEd)

For a look at the Club, the gliders and some historic photos, 'Click right here'.