This article was first published in The Weekly Advertiser on 28/08/2013.

A Wimmera sporting organisation that has consistently attracted international recognition will celebrate its 50th anniversary in Horsham on Saturday night.

Wimmera Soaring Club, now Horsham Flying Club, will present a celebration dinner at White Hart Hotel from 7.30pm.

Max Hedt will join fellow soaring club foundation member Steve McFarlane, in sharing historical anecdotes with guests during the night.

Wimmera Soaring Club merged with  Wimmera Sports Aircraft Association about to form Horsham Flying Club about 10 years.

The soaring club started from humble beginnings in 1963 and its first glider, an English-built T-31, is now on display at a gliding museum at Point Cook.

Horsham Week

The club established an international reputation in the sport of cross-country gliding, which involves pilots chasing rising hot air of thermals over vast distances, with its annual Horsham Week competition, in its 46th year.

The event attracted a fleet of 72 gliders during its halcyon days in the 1970s, piloted by state, national and international champions.

Despite a wane in interest in the sport, Horsham Week still manages attract 30 aircraft and pilots.

Horsham Week has run annually without fail since its inception and has been such a key part of the national gliding calendar that the Gliding Federation of Australia established an annual Horsham coaching week as a lead-up each February.