Glider flying

Notice: season 2021 completely sold out

If you can wait for the next season, you can see availability for 2022 in our (year schedule). If you want to fly this season, we recommend to look at a Basic flying lesson. These are more expensive but you'll fly longer than with a glider flight.

Introduction

Gliding is perhaps the purest form of flying. With a cable, the aircraft is pulled up to 400 meters in just a few seconds: a sensation in itself! The aircraft is perfectly streamlined so that it can float far.

Location

Gliding can be done in Terlet, north of Arnhem and in the Salland region, east of Zwolle. At both airports there is a nice restaurant. From the terrace you have a beautiful view of the airfield. There is always plenty of activity and you can enjoy all floats that fly continuously. This way you look forward even more to your own flight.

The gliding in Terlet offers a fantastic view of the Veluwe, Arnhem, the Rhine and IJssel and in good weather even Apeldoorn is visible!

From Salland you fly on the east side of the IJssel, above the Overijssels landscape with a beautiful view of the Vechtdal. The Lemelerberg is nearby and towards the south you can see the Holterberg when the weather is clear.

At the bottom of this page you will find a map with the locations.

Gliders can also climb

What you may not have known is that a glider can also climb! That works like this: the sun warms up the earth. The earth in its turn warms the air directly above the ground. That warm air rises. Compare it with air bubbles in a glass of cola. Gliders are looking for these rising air bubbles. Sandy soil, for example, emits a lot of warm air. By flying above it, the aircraft can climb with the rising air. We call that thermic. The sport of gliding is therefore to find thermals and fly long and far. Some even continue throughout Europe with competitions. Because the glider does not have a motor, you feel as free as a bird. No engine noise; the ultimate silence! Gliding is also a real team sport. You will be welcomed on the day at the glider club, run by volunteers. You will be amazed at how many people are needed to be able to fly. In addition to your pilot, you will need a lot of people to get your aircraft in the air and return safely.

It's time!

Upon arrival you will be picked up and taken to the runway. From the starting point you can see the gliders coming and going. That way you're already in the mood!

Start

You get a short explanation about the gliding. Then you get a parachute. This is not because of safety but because the passenger seat is made for a passenger with a parachute. With a winch cable you are pulled up to a height of about 400 meters. This is going at a great speed. You are pressed in the back of your chair. The glider sensation has started!

Gliding

Once at the right height, the pilot disconnects the cable and the aircraft floats further. The aircraft will slide down by about 1 meter per second. Sometimes your pilot will find a nice thermo bubble and you can climb higher and hover longer. Unfortunately, we do not control that ourselves. So it may be that you are back on the ground after 10 minutes.

Tip

Would you rather learn to fly a glider plane? Then take a look at the daycourse gliding. Then you have a full day program with morning briefing, 3 starts and instruction. Here you learn the basics of flying a glider plane. Because you fly with an instructor, you sit in the front of the plane during this course. Finally, it is also slightly more budget friendly than 3 separate takeoffs.

Options

• Order multiple takeoffs if you want to fly multiple times or with several people. The flights do not have to be made by the same person, but do need to take place on the same day
• We can send a gift package with our theory booklets "Hoe vliegt een Vliegtuig" (How a plane flies) and "Theorie helikopter vliegen" (How a helicopter flies) by normal mail. So you have something tangible to give and the fun can start right away! This way the fun can start right away! Note: the booklets are only available in Dutch.

Select the options when customizing your experience.