Soaring Society of America

Soaring Society of AmericaSoaring Society of America2026-05-18T15:14:03-06:00

Soaring Society of America

Seeing the World from a New Perspective

JOIN SSA TODAY

RENEW MEMBERSHIP

Loading...

Rules Committee Elections & Poll

Nominations Oct 2-19th
Contest Rules Pilot Survey

October 2nd-19th
Chapter Funding Available

Safety Equipment Assistance Program
2026 Reno SSA Convention Registration
NOW OPEN!

RECENT NEWS

View All >

2026 Contest Rules Pilot Survey

Soaring Society of America2026-09-16T17:50:45-06:00September 16th, 2026|

2026 Rules Committee Elections and Poll

Soaring Society of America2026-09-16T17:44:31-06:00September 16th, 2026|

SSA Chapter Safety Equipment Assistance Program

Soaring Society of America2026-08-18T15:21:34-06:00August 18th, 2026|

2026 Jr. WGC US Team Report – Day 10

John Banarhall2026-08-13T17:06:28-06:00August 13th, 2026|

2026 Jr. WGC US Team Report – Day 9

John Banarhall2026-08-13T16:58:35-06:00August 12th, 2026|

LEARN TO SOAR

WHERE TO FLY

ONLINE LEARNING

WEBINARS

GIVING

RACING

LIVE TRACKING

REGISTRATION

RESULTS

US TEAMS

CALENDAR

CONTEST ADMIN

DID YOU KNOW?

You can solo a glider at 14 & get your glider license at 16!

JUNIOR SOARING

UPCOMING EVENTS

TRAINING VIDEOS

FORUMS

EVENTS

View All Events

CLASSIFIEDS

View All Classifieds

FORUMS

TOPICS

FORUMS

REPLIES

ONLINE

View All Forums

2023 SSA Calendar

View Cart

$5.00

90 Year Long Sleeve Polo

View Cart

$20.00

Out of stock

90 Year Soaring Mug

View Cart

SSA Puffer Jacket

View Cart

$65.00

Soaring Society Of America Member Pin ssa member lapel pin

SSA Member Lapel Pin

View Cart

$5.00

15″ Laptop Backpack

View Cart

$40.00

Cloudstreet Blu-Ray DVD

View Cart

$32.00

SSA Camo Hat

View Cart

$25.00

Shop All Merchandise

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 15

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18185756317414304

Safety Tip Tuesday: See and Avoid - Stay Alert

Every VFR soaring flight depends on one thing you cannot delegate: your eyes.

This poster from the Soaring Safety Foundation (SSF) covers the See and Avoid concept. A good lookout and a proper scanning technique are what keep traffic conflicts from becoming something worse.

Worth remembering: most mid-air collisions occur in VFR conditions within 5 miles of the airport.

#Soaring #SoaringSafety #SeeAndAvoid #GlidingSafety

#AviationSafety #FlightTraining #SeeAndAvoid #PilotTips #Airmanship #Gliders

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 14

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18149934208465735

Here’s what’s happening this week:

For further details and a look at all upcoming events: https://www.ssa.org/events/

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 10

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18010828706955653

Throwback Thursday: The Glaser-Dirks DG300

One more in our series to feature some Glaser-Dirks gliders, here is the DG300. From the Nov 1983 issue of Soaring magazine. If you zoom in on the top left, it has the pricing of DG gliders as of that date.

#TBT #Soaring #GliderPilot #VintageAviation #SoaringMagazine

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 8

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 17940838092087700

Here’s what’s happening this week:

For further details and a look at all upcoming events: https://www.ssa.org/events/

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 3

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 17979401204900912

Throwback Thursday: The Glaser-Dirks DG500M

Continuing in our series to feature some Glaser-Dirks gliders, here is the DG500M. From the May 1995 issue of Soaring magazine.

#TBT #Soaring #GliderPilot #VintageAviation #SoaringMagazine

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Sep 1

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 17981332482077466

Safety Tip Tuesday: Too Late for a Plan

This poster deals with PT3 (Premature Termination of the Tow) accidents. It is important to think ahead and come up with a plan if things start to go wrong on tow, "winging it" isn't an option.

PT3 accidents happen when we run out of ideas before we run out of altitude. Always have your "land straight ahead" or "180-turn" plan locked in before the launch.

Poster courtesy of the Soaring Safety Foundation.

#SafetyTipTuesday #SoaringSafety #SSA #SoaringSocietyOfAmerica #SoaringSafetyFoundation

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 31

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18004917947992706

Here’s what’s happening this week:

For further details and a look at all upcoming events: https://www.ssa.org/events/

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 25

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18100417766195211

Safety Tip Tuesday: Navigating Wind Gradients

Always carry extra airspeed during your landing approach in windy or gusty conditions to safely navigate wind gradients and sudden losses of lift.

A wind gradient occurs when wind velocity decreases as you get closer to the ground due to friction with the earth’s surface. For a pilot on a landing approach, this means that as the glider descends, the headwind quickly drops off.

Illustration of the Wind Gradient effect from page 49 of the Joy of Soaring. Written by Carl Conway and Illustrations by Gil Parcell.

#AviationSafety #FlightTraining #WindGradient #PilotProficiency

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 20

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18101674114969025

Throwback Thursday: The Glaser-Dirks DG600

Continuing from last week to feature some Glaser-Dirks gliders, here is the DG600. From the October 1987 issue of Soaring magazine.

#TBT #Soaring #GliderPilot #VintageAviation #SoaringMagazine

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 18

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 17986813296029235

Safety Tip Tuesday

The USTALL check-list This poster deals with approach and landing actions. The USTALL pre-landing check-list can be used to get you into an approach and landing frame of mind.

It will help you get the glider configured for the approach and help you sort though some of the tasks needed to reach your goal a safe landing at your intended spot!

Poster courtesy of the Soaring Safety Foundation.

#SafetyTipTuesday #SoaringSafety #SSA #SoaringSocietyOfAmerica #SoaringSafetyFoundation

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 17

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 18047055947803286

Here’s what’s happening this week:

For further details and a look at all upcoming events: https://www.ssa.org/events/

thesoaringsociety

View Instagram post by thesoaringsociety

Aug 13

Open post by thesoaringsociety with ID 17941091880290481

Throwback Thursday: The Glaser-Dirks DG800

From the June 1994 issue of Soaring magazine.

#TBT #Soaring #GliderPilot #VintageAviation #SoaringMagazine