Birzai Aero Club was established in 1968 1 km. from Biržai city. The club has sections for gliders, aeromodellers, precision flying, aviation constructors, veterans, junior glider pilots.
The club organizes gliding and aeromodelling championships in the Republic of Lithuania. Club members participate in the World and European Championships.
Birzai Aero Club has various types of aircraft: W-35A, JAK-12M, C-150, as well as gliders: Pirat, PW-5, Kobra-15, Jantar – standart, “LAK- 12 ″, “Lietuva”.
The club is authorized to train and upgrade amateur pilots and glider pilots. We invite everyone who wants to become an aeromodeller, glider pilot and pilot.
In favourable weather conditions we offer to admire beautiful views of Birzai city and surroundings from the airplane or glider.
History
The first serious talks about establishing an aviation sports club in Biržai began in 1963. One of the biggest enthusiasts was Vytautas Pačinskas, who learned to fly at the Pociūnai airfield with famous glider pilot and flight instructor V. Dovydaitis and moved to Biržai with his family. Vilius Juodgudis, who at that time worked as a passenger bus driver at the Biržai road transport company. Some Biržai residents still remember how, while driving with passengers to Bauska, Vilius Juodgudis would stop at the Bauska airfield and watch the gliders fly. He would usually explain to the passengers that the “paziukas” (bus) had broken down, but that he would fix it right away.
In December 1965, theoretical gliding classes began at the Biržai Motor Transport Company, with the consent of the then head A. Vazalis. On the first days of the classes, 50-70 people would gather, but by the spring of 1966, there were only about 20 of them left. Future glider pilots would travel to Bauska to learn to fly. All Biržai residents who learned to fly then remember with particular warmth the head of the Bauska club, B. Dzendoletto, who did not separate newcomers from other glider pilots – he would list everyone in a common line for flights. It was agreed with B. Dzendoletto that the Biržai club would be the Bauska branch, all that was needed was to obtain consent from the SDAALR (Voluntary Society for the Support of the Army, Aviation, and Navy) committee of the Republic of Lithuania.
In the summer of 1966, it was decided to organize a large aviation sports festival in Biržai, showing how many enthusiasts of this sport there are here. Again, B. Dzendoletto agreed to help in a brotherly way, having organized and invited athletes to Biržai with all the best sports aviation equipment available in Latvia at that time. The festival was a great success, the cashiers ran out of tickets – so many spectators gathered.
On June 11, 1967, J. Rožėnas, A. Žemaitis, V. Juodgudis, N. Variakojytė, R. Tekutytė, V. Bertašius, A. Krisiukėnas, V. Kalinauskas performed parachute jumps for the first time in Biržai. On August 27 of the same year, the second aviation sports festival was held in Biržai. This time, members of the Kaunas Aviation Sports Club participated in the festival, because the head of the Bauska club, a true friend of the Biržai residents, B. Dzendoletto, had died in a plane crash in Žeimelis two weeks before the festival. The festival was impressive. Many people not only wanted to see an airplane or glider up close, but also to look at the city from above. But it was not possible to fit everyone who wanted to fly into several “JAK-12s”.
Finally, on September 18, 1968, the Biržai Aviation Sports Club was founded, and Vilius Juodgudis was confirmed as the first chief of the club. New concrete work began. Kaunas ASK donated the first training glider “KAI – 12”, rented a “Herkules – 3”, which lifted gliders into the air. Over the years, the club purchased “JAK -12” aircraft, and later also “Vilgai”, with the help of which gliders were lifted into the air. Czech “Blanikas” were used for glider training and practice, and athletes flew “Pirates”, “Cobras” and “Jantar Standards”. Unfortunately, on August 16, 1980, Vilius Juodgudis died in a glider crash near the village of Gulbinai in the Biržai district.
After the death of V. Juodgudis, the club was led by Vidmantas Jukna for many years. For several years, the club was headed by Romas Lesevičius. The sports club was renamed the Aero Club, and for many years it was led by the club instructor, glider and pilot, winner of many competitions Gediminas Venskus. Currently, the club has been granted the right to train and retrain pilots, not only gliders but also aeromodellers are successfully training there, and there is a children’s gliding school department.
The Biržai Aeroclub has trained many famous athletes and pilots throughout its history. The names of Gintaras Drevinskas and Jurgita Galvelytė are well known in Lithuania and abroad.