Demo Rides by appointment only - available for $139. Weight limit 242 lbs.
Demo Rides by appointment only - available for $139. Weight limit 242 lbs.
A tow-plane tows the glider up, using a 200-foot nylon rope. The glider pilot pays for each tow, $48 to 3000 feet above the ground. This price covers the cost of operating the tow-plane -- tow pilots are volunteers (i.e., they are not paid).
Usually about 20 minutes, for instructional flights. If soaring conditions are good, flights can last for several hours (a 5-hour flight is one of the requirements for the silver badge of the Soaring Society of America).
Wind is not the key ingredient -- what a glider pilot needs is rising air. If he finds rising air, then he does what he can to stay in it. On most days, air rises as a result of the sun heating the ground, and therefore the air at ground level. The heated air rises, until it is in air with the same density. So we need sunny days, with unstable air. Usually the heated air rises high enough for the moisture to condense and form a cloud, the 'heap' cloud (cumulus cloud) of good-weather summer days. Cumulus clouds like the ones shown below promise a lot of "lift" and long glider flights.
You fly with an instructor in a 2-seater, dual-control glider; you're in the front seat, the instructor is in the back seat, and you each have a set of controls. Flying a glider (or other aircraft) straight and level is pretty easy, it really flies itself. More difficult are turns, flying on tow behind the towplane, takeoffs and landings. The FAA requires you to have 30 flights before you can take the exam to get a pilot's license. Teenagers learn very quickly (you can get a glider license at age 14); adults learn somewhat slower.
There is no charge for the 'use' of an instructor or a club glider; you pay for the tow.