Soaring Society of America

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RECENT NEWS

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Soaring into History: The Tellmann Brothers’ Record-Breaking Flights

Soaring Society of America2025-05-16T18:56:08-06:00May 16th, 2025|

Regional Report: Region 5

Soaring Society of America2025-05-16T16:14:13-06:00May 16th, 2025|

Reverse Sierra Waves

Soaring Society of America2025-05-05T14:06:30-06:00May 5th, 2025|

Club Updates From Regions 1-3

Meira Leonard2025-04-25T12:07:22-06:00April 25th, 2025|

Are You Really Ready for Your First Flight of the Year?

Soaring Society of America2025-04-18T01:35:22-06:00April 18th, 2025|

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Jun 17

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They’re back! Watch for gliders in the sky over the Methow for the next week when the winds calm down. Two dozen sailplanes are flying out of Methow Valley State airport - they flock here each June from far reaches. #soarthemethow #earthisbluepodcast #earthisblue #soaring #ssa #soaringsocietyofamerica

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Jun 2

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Can you spot the Nixus? Perlan Project Chief Pilot Jim Payne is flying the Nixus sailplane in the 2021 Open Class U.S. National Contest in Minden, Nev.

Jim is currently in second place, with the contest continuing through June 9. Just like the Perlan 2 space glider, Nixus is a one-of-a-kind #sailplane. It is the first ever fly-by-wire sailplane with a 28 meter (92 feet) wingspan. The next largest #gliders in this contest have 21 meter wingspans.

Check out the daily results from thesoaringsociety via link in bio.

The wings on Nixus are so thin that mechanical linkage would not fit. Designer and Builder Paulo Iscold is in Minden to support the team efforts. Owner Sergio Andrade is supporting efforts from his home in Brazil. Jim has been the test pilot of the Nixus since first flight. He set five national open class records last year.

#soaring #AirbusPerlanMission II #contest #instapilot #avgeek #Minden #soaringsocietyofamerica

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Nov 20

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🌟 CFI-G recap! 🌟
I'm so glad I decided to add on Glider Instructor to my ratings!
It was so much fun and I enjoyed getting to teach flying again, since I haven't had the chance after FTP sold.
I went into this very short training experience very proficient in flying & way overprepared on my ground material/lesson plans (which is the only way I'd feel ok about the whole process tbh)
I did 1 required spin endorsement flight and then 2 flights practicing flying & teaching from the rear seat (working on correcting simulated student errors).
That went well, so then I did the 3 required flights with the recommending instructor and got a checkride sign-off.
The checkride was the following morning- it was easy and fun and I felt very comfortable & very prepared.
The following day, I got to fly a single seat glider for the first time! It felt really amazing to be up there by myself in something I'd never flown before. The weather was gorgeous too.
I hope somehow I can get the opportunity to do some glider instruction in the near future, I really enjoyed the experience!
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#soaringsocietyofamerica #aviationlife #pilot #cfilife #cfi #aviatrix #girlsflytoo #avgeek #girlpilots #WomenInAviation #wai #womenrockwings

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Sep 17

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E9 Launched at noon under a decent sky. Made Fayetteville just before 2pm. Soldiered on to Dickson and turned the corner at 3:40.

Two big climbs back to cloud base at 6000ft got me on final glide to Puckett right at 5pm.

Biggest flight I've ever done. 300km. Distance requirement met for SSA gold badge and maybe diamond goal. #asw20 #soaringsocietyofamerica

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Sep 5

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Grace wants to be a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) for gliders. Earlier this year she applied for the Laze Memorial Soaring Foundation Scholarship and was awarded $4,000 to continue her training! Saturday Grace met Kelly Lazerson from the foundation to receive her scholarship at Skylark North Glider school. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, Al Bowers, former Chief Scientist of NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, was at the airport for an event and made time to congratulate and encourage her! What a blessed day! #GraceKalei💜 #mymiracle #2pounds12ounces #28weeks #PPROMat21weeks #69daysintheNICU #NICUbaby #NICUgraduate #PreemiePower💜 #OurGodCanMoveMountains #NowShesFlyingGlidersandSendingExperimentstotheInternationalSpaceStation #SoaringSocietyofAmerica #StudentGliderPilot #Soaring #GliderPlanes

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Mar 9

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Prepping one of our students for checkride! Come learn to fly gliders with us!
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#eaglesport #gliders #gliding #soaring #sailplane #soaringsocietyofamerica #schweizer #233 #piper #pawnee #towplane #tuglife #ididntchoosethetuglifethetuglifechoseme #tugmeharder #tugmeoff #pilotlife #vintageaircraft #sportpilot

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Aug 18

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Last weekend was a time for silly hats and glider flights! I had such a good time earning (and then definitely using) my ground winch launch endorsement in West Virginia!
I learned a lot, accomplished a lot, and achieved a thesoaringsociety B Badge!
I'm still new to the world of sailplanes but I'm so obsessed and had so much fun! The winch launch sling shots the glider up to around 1,700 in well under a minute. At first, I felt like my brain got left behind on the ground everything happens so fast. But I got the hang of it and did over 30 launches over my weekend in Petersburg WV!
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#flighttraining #aviationlife #pilot #gliderpilot #soaringsocietyofamerica #ssa #aviation #fly #aviatrix #girlsflytoo #avgeek #girlpilots #WomenInAviation wai womenrockwings

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Mar 24

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Let’s go to some gliders this weekend…. #soaring #soaringsocietyofamerica #soaringeagle #pilotsofinstagram #pilotslife #pilotlifestyle #piperpawnee #piperpawnee235 #flywithaopa #towpilot #gliderzone #glider #gliderpilot #glidertowing #glidertow #glidertowplane #texassoaringassociation #texassoaring

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Aug 18

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I shenaned once, I will shenanigan. ksakkson
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#flighttraining #flying #aviationlife #pilot #gliderpilot #soaringsocietyofamerica #ssa #aviation #fly #aviatrix #girlsflytoo #avgeek #WomenInAviation #wai

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Feb 27

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Got some Soaring Society of America swag from my brilliant instructor Lou this weekend. My A, B, and C badges/pins. Very cool. A is for solo flight. B is solo flight of at least 30 minutes after release from 2,000 ft tow. C is pre cross country phase. I still have a lot to learn.

#garnerairport #ask21glider #gliderpilot #solopilot #soaring #tidewatersoaringsociety #soaringsocietyofamerica

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Feb 24

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Ventus 3 taking off at Garner Airport, Virginia

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Apr 13

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Schweizer 1-35 landing at Garner Airport, Virginia