A school for soaring

Talk about a place of soaring expectations.

		More information Soaring Center, 1-607-796-2988 or www.harrishillsoaring.org; Soaring Museum, 1-607-734-3128 or www.soaringmuseum.org.

Regular readers may recall an article I wrote about a year ago, reporting my experience on a glider ride along the Allegheny Mountains from the Ridge Soaring Gliderport near State College. Ever since that uplifting ride, I've been yearning to get back into the air. Two weeks ago, I had the chance to do just that, on a visit to the Harris Hill Soaring Center between Elmira and Corning, N.Y., and what might well be called the "College of Soaring Knowledge."

Dating its origins to 1937, the center is the oldest and most active gliding facility in the nation, with some 150 members. Located on a high brow on the range of hills that defines the Chemung River valley, the site provides a perfect launch point for sail planes. Schweizer Aircraft, based in the valley below, produced half of all U.S. sail planes.

During World War II, the Air Force built a hanger and a landing apron as a school to train pilots to steer giant lumbering gliders behind enemy lines. In the 1950s, it became a club, offering a base for glider pilots and a training program for beginners. Numerous national and international soaring events have been staged there over the years.

Since the 1970s, the club has offered demonstration rides, both to promote soaring and provide revenue for new equipment and programs. Today, with 10 gliders and three tow planes, it's organized as a nonprofit with its sole purpose the appreciation, learning and pursuit of safe, motorless flight. Each April to November, club members initiate some 2,000 visitors to the splendors of the skies.

As he helped me climb into the sleek Schweizer SGS 2-33 sail plane, Steve Demartino, club president, proudly referred to Harris Hill as the largest soaring program on the planet.

Once we'd been towed aloft and he released the cable, Mr. Demartino explained that in addition to training adults to soar, the club offers a junior program for those 14 to 18. In exchange for working at the field, helping gliders launch and land and learning about safe soaring for four hours a month, junior members are offered training flights with experienced instructors for $3. Although one can learn to solo in as few as 20 flights, novices can go on to earn FAA-certified private pilot licenses.

Guiding us several thousand feet above the valley floor, Mr. Demartino spotted another glider circling higher in a thermal and steered us into the updraft. As I watched the numbers on the altimeter increase to almost 1,500 feet, he casually explained, "It's possible to solo at 14 and get your private license at 16. We have several members who flew before they were able to drive." He also noted that junior members commonly go on to have careers in aviation. "Being up in the sky by yourself with no motor certainly teaches responsibility and self-reliance."

Roughly a half-hour after we had taken off, Mr. Demartino dipped the glider's nose and brought us in for a smooth landing on the grassy verge alongside the apron. I was ready to continue my soaring education.

Fortunately, I was in the right place. The separately operated National Soaring Museum is located at the other end of the Harris Hill take-off strip. Chartered in 1969, it is the only comprehensive museum in the United States focused on soaring and motorless flight, and it houses the archives and collections of the Soaring Society of America. Its 30,000 square feet of exhibition space house the world's largest collection of gliders, along with dozens of displays that chronicle every aspect of the subject.

In two hours, I'd learned a lot about soaring. Harris Hill is a preeminent place to get your head in the clouds.