It’s a premier destination for gliding enthusiasts around the world, but the team at York Soaring remains humble.
Their mandate is simple: if you don’t love to fly when you get there, they will make sure you do when you leave.
When he founded the gliding program over 50 years ago, Walter Chmela hoped to make soaring accessible for everyone, particularly young people.
This vision has led to a number of unique programs that call York home. One of note is Freedom’s Wings, a charity that provides the opportunity for those with a disability or terminal illness to soar in a glider.
York Soaring Association is fortunate enough to be home to two gliders equipped with hand controls and the only paraplegic gliding instructor in Canada.
The facility’s Youth Flight Canada (YFC) program provides bursaries to youth who cannot afford to fly on their own. YFC covers 50 per cent of membership fees and all but $5 of each flight.
This week, York Soaring had some special guests as the Women’s Soaring Pilot’s Association (WSPA) chose the Wellington North facility near Arthur for its annual soaring seminar July 21 to 25.
Chief flying instructor Eva Dillon says gliders continually flock to York Soaring from around the world in part because of Southern Ontario’s ideal flying conditions – specifically the picturesque lakes and farmland, long daylight hours, and abundance of cumulous clouds formed over nearby bodies of water, which are essential for creating the thermals that keep gliders airborne.
“Some of (the women) are used to flying in the desert, so it’s a real change of scenery being here in Ontario,” said Dillon. “They’re really excited to see green fields and different farmlands.”
Ontario’s biggest claim to fame though, is the number of airports per capita and the abundance of possible landing fields, making it the perfect setting for cross-country gliding. Because of this, flights of over 500km are possible.
“Wellington North is excellent because if you go to the southeast, you’re in Toronto’s airspace and there’s restrictions, but north of us, the sky’s the limit,” she says.
“We have people who do cross-country flights all the way up to Lake Simcoe, around to London and back in a day.”
Dillon, along with fellow seminar hosts Tracey and John Brake, packed the week full of fun for their visitors. Many of the women were anticipating the aerobatics program: learning to recover from loops, hammerheads and inverted flight.
Although it’s a lot of fun, Dillon says it’s a valuable skill to have.
“If for some reason, because of turbulence you ever found yourself in one of those situations – if you ever found yourself upside down, being able to say, hey, ‘I’ve been in this situation before’ and calmly recover from it, that will probably save your life,” she says.
The WSPA is not the first international group to seek out York’s soaring curriculum. Dillon says every year they have a group of air cadets from Hong Kong come over to get their glider pilot licenses. They also get fliers coming from Europe, where gliding is a popular hobby. And then there are the regulars.
“We get a lot of people who are airline pilots who travel to Canada a certain amount and come out here,” she says.
“A lot of our members are full-time pilots … Some are former fighter pilots. Some are aspiring commercial pilots – you have that whole mix. Then you have doctors, lawyers and teachers– just a whole slew of people.”
Dillon noted, “This is only the third time the WSPA have had this convention outside of the United States. So far all of the women are very impressed with our facilities, with our aircraft and they’re really excited about the curriculum we have.”
For those who might be interested in gliding but have no experience, York offers an “intro ride,” which includes an aero-tow up to 3,000 feet and approximately 30 minutes of free-flight soaring with the opportunity to fly the glider with guidance from an instructor. Adventure seekers can experience some mild aerobics or simply take in the sights of Wellington County and beyond.
Currently, York Soaring has approximately 150 members, 20 glider pilot instructors and five aerobatic instructors.
For more information about York Soaring call 519-848-3621 or visit www.yorksoaring.com.
