Soar Truckee, Inc

Flying in a glider was on my bucket list so I decided to give it a try while on holiday in July at Soar Truckee. The facility is great, the staff was very nice, and I since then joined the NCSA and am on my way to becoming a glider pilot.
The staff let me tape a small camera to the wing tip which I thought was intrusive but they were all delighted. Sadly, the camera files went corrupt and I have no footage of the flight. Thanks to the staff at Soaring Truckee for a great introductory flight. Soaring is very addicting.

WooHoo! What a great time we had at Soar Truckee!
Myself and two colleagues decided to go out to the Truckee airport and take individual glider lessons. I have a private pilot glider license, but haven’t flown in them for years. One of my colleagues is a professional pilot, but not glider rated, and the other colleague is a flight attendant with zero piloting experience. We all had a blast!
First, leaving Truckee drive by the airport’s main entrance and look for the tiny sign about a mile down the road for Soar Truckee on the right. Follow the little road to a small campground and behind it you’ll find a small office building and a team of friendly, experienced pilots and a four glider trainers, Schweizers.
After being checked in by your warm hosts you’ll be taken out to the sailplanes, get a short pre-​flight briefing, get hooked up to a Pawnee tow plane, and then off you go! It’s been a long time since I piloted a glider, and my instructor, Don, showed great patience as he talked me through my takeoff. If you’re not a pilot he’ll do all the work with you. Either way, what a thrill.
After being towed to 3700′ above the airport we’re cut loose for a glorious view of beautiful Lake Tahoe and the panorama of mountains ranges in every direction. Even a beginning glider pilot like my colleagues can easily fly the sailplane, searching for thermals, rising currents of air that lift you higher and higher. Find great thermals, or lift, and you could stay up all day!!! We go up an additional 3500′ this day, and if we didn’t have a time limit we could have soared quietly, almost effortlessly, among the hawks, enjoying the peace and beauty of Northern California all day long.
We head back to the airport, though. So we worked hard to fight the lift in order to descend and enter the runway’s traffic pattern for a soft landing back at Truckee-​Tahoe airport. Wow. That was that fun.
Hang around with the staff afterwards, have a soda, and enjoy the hangar talk, watching the airplanes and sailplanes taking off and landing. This is kinda like the way it was 30+ years ago at many local airports. Whether for a special date, an adventurous afternoon, or a sailplane lesson as you work towards your rating, Soar Truckee is about as good as it gets.

5 Star Experience! Friendly staff with decades of flying and soaring experience. Young Guns as well who are learning and gaining their flight hours. I opted for a soaring lesson, rather than a ride. The flight instructor helped me feel welcome and talked me through the pre-​flight. Down the runway we went in toe. We climbed to 11,000 feet and he turned the controls over to me and said «pull that big red ball in front of you». The tow plane was quickly out of sight and I was flying (soaring) a two person glider (soar plane) for the first time. We flew over Tahoe Vista, Sqaw Valley, Mount Rose, and the Truckee Valley. It is so quiet and peaceful up there! Eventually it was time to land and I flew the 45 degree to mid field, turned downwind, and then turned base and final. I lined her up to the runway and my flight instructor Jon took over and landed. Jon is a fellow Dutch, and he has a saying that goes like this, «if you are not Dutch, you are not much». One of the instructors is a retired Air force General, at least that is what Jon told me. The General remarked, «two Dutchman in a sail plane, that is scary». Well it wasn’t scary at all, and I would soar again with Jon anytime.

First time soaring. Second time in air without an engine! Flying with 9,000 hour experienced glider pilot and instructor, Jan, on Friday, August 6 was a pure delight. Took my digital camera. Rode in the front seat of an older glider with Jan in the back looking over my shoulder at the «dashboard.» Not up long enough, but great for my first flight. Soared over northern end of Lake Tahoe and circled twice a new fire ranger station in the Sierras. Brilliant day. Severe clear (my term, not theirs). Got to push the big button that disconnected the glider from the powerful all green tow plane. Wore huge ear phones so I could hear Jan’s questions (good ones) and what the tower was saying. Lizard brain slithered away way ahead of take off. Can’t wait to soar again especially with the first rate people of Soar Truckee, Inc., and veteran pilot Jan whose mantra is, «If you are not Dutch, you are not worth much.» Hilarious and memorable tag for my first flight. See you there again soon!

Amazing! I really am not a fan of commercial flying, but when the suggestion of gliding in a plane with no engine came up, surprisingly I was game. The whole experience was exhilarating and to be honest I was white knuckling it and almost wanted to wet my pants on a few occasions, but to no fault of our experienced and friendly pilot. I am burdened with motion sickness, so no hurling all over my hottie and Don the pilot was a small victory!
The view was breathtaking at 10,000 feet! We did a few sharp turns and had great photo ops of the lake and surrounding areas.
The 30 – 40 minute ride isn’t cheap for 2 people — about $ 265, but well worth it! Once you get back on solid ground you’ll be glad you did it.

Air Gliding anyone? I went to Lake Tahoe last summer and my boyfriend and I decided to go Air Gliding instead of going out on a boat. It was less expensive and well worth the experience. About a 20 – 30 min drive from where we stayed and located out on a field. I wasn’t nervous til I found out there was no engine and 3 people (us and the pilot) were going to fit in the incredibly small plane. So, another plane (attached by a rope) escalated us into the air for about 5 mins soaring in circles and then the latch let go. For about 30 mins the pilot was flying the glider over Lake Tahoe. It was a great experience with unbelievable views of the lake.
I believe it was about $ 180 and the set time was initially for 15 mins. The pilot decided to give us an extra 15. We tipped him well and appreciated him putting up w/​my screaming in his ear while my boyfriend was chanting to make turns upside-​down. A memorable ride for couples or friends. Staff was friendly and I felt safe.