MEMBERS of Cotswold Gliding Club have paid tribute to a pilot who committed suicide by crashing into a hangar.

Michael England circled the club's base at Aston Down Airfield in his glider before taking a steep dive and crashing through the roof of a hangar on June 14.

At Gloucester Coroner's Court on Friday, an inquest heard that 57-year-old Mr England had left a suicide note which police found in his Cheltenham home.

Cotswold Gliding Club chairman David Roberts told the SNJ: “He was a friendly guy and was always willing to mix in with his fellow club members and lend a hand whenever there were jobs to be done around the club.

“He enjoyed his gliding and had been talking about the next stages of being able to fly cross-country, away from the home airfield.

“There was absolutely nothing in his demeanour in the time leading up to his death that gave rise to any concerns about him.

“Those who got to know him in recent months spoke well of him and have been devastated by the events of Sunday, June 14 and the news last Friday.”

Another member of the club said: “He seemed to be highly competent, self-confident, driven to adventure.

“We also talked about another common interest, photography, which he told me was his living.

“As a time-lapse cameraman he had worked with the likes of Aardman and the BBC series Life of Plants."

Another member added: “He had a particularly fascinating job creating a substantial number of short video clips which were all being held by a specialist library.

“If, for instance, a film was being made where they wanted a 10 second shot of the sun setting over the M4 then the chances are that it was one of Mike’s films.

“I will miss his company at the airfield and in particular his rather wacky sense of humour."

Mr England was originally from New Zealand but had British citizenship and had joined the gliding club in November 2014 having previously been a member in the late 1990s.

The inquest into his death has been adjourned until November.