The Gliwice Aero Club was founded in 1955 as a branch of the Aero Club of Silesia in Katowice, but after a year it became fully independent. Currently, There are sections: aircraft, glider, parachute and model making sections, whose members can boast national and international successes. The pilots from Gliwice use the airfield in Trynek, (a district of Gliwice), whose tradition dates back to 1916. On June 17, 1999, the helicopter carrying Pope John Paul II landed on the airfield.