A GLIDING club is celebrating its 75th birthday – with a 93- year-old president who still takes to the skies.

The Yorkshire Gliding Club, on the top of Sutton Bank, was set up by a group of enthusiasts on April 21, 1934, and it marked its anniversary this week.

Current president Moyra Johnson was one of the first to fly from the site when she took to the air in 1935. She was on hand at a special event to mark the anniversary and even took to the skies in a glider last weekend.

She said: “It’s a good life and it’s really exciting to be up there in a glider I was 20 years old when I got my glider’s licence. I did it just for fun and I never entered any competitions. I can still fly in two-seaters now and I still get a thrill out of it.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, formerly the Yorkshire Tourist Board, was on hand to praise the club. He said: “I’m thrilled to be here at this event to mark the 75th anniversary of the club.

“We are delighted to be part of this and we’d like to wish the club every success for the coming 75 years and hope they are as successful as the last 75 years.”

Flying took place at the hill in the very early years of aviation at the turn of the 19th century but it really began to flourish when the club began. In 1934 the Yorkshire Gliding Club was set up as one of four key UK centres with aid from people like Phil Wills, Norman Sharpe and Fred Slingsby.

At the time, the sport was in its heyday and records, such as staying aloft for 13 hours and reaching 7,000ft, were broken. Then the Second World War intervened and gliding was banned. The sport began to gather pace again in the 1960s and it was boosted by the creation of new gliders made from fibreglass in the 1970s.

Since then, the Yorkshire Gliding Club has gone from strength to strength and, although still run largely by volunteers, it is looking forward to soaring on for another 75 years.

Graham Evison, chairman of the club, said: “It’s a major achievement and what we are trying to do now is to get as many people interested in gliding as we can.”

The club is planning a series of events including a scheme to get 75 youngsters up in gliders this year. There is an open week around July 4 and a week of showing off vintage gliders from August 30 to September 6.