Bermuda High Soaring School

Come Soar at the Southeast’s Most Unique and Outstanding Soaring Site

General Information

Bermuda High Soaring is both flight training facility for all soaring enthusiasts and a private club for local members that is totally dedicated to promoting the sport of soaring. Mr. Stan Hoke started Bermuda High Soaring in 1963 in Chester, SC. Bermuda High went through several groups of owners until September 1986 when Jayne and Frank Reid purchased the corporation. At the time of purchase Bermuda High owned only two SGS 2-33s and one SGS 1-26. Obviously one of the first priorities was to increase the fleet of sailplanes and to purchase tow planes. By 1990 Bermuda High owned three Piper Pawnee tow planes and 9 sailplanes. However, as Bermuda High Soaring was growing so was the Charlotte community and consequentially, the Charlotte Douglas Airport. As the airport expanded so did the need for more protected airspace. In 1988 the Charlotte Douglas Airport became what is now known as Class B airspace. This new Class B airspace greatly limited the options for long, safe cross-country flying. It was at this point in time that the Reids began a search for a new home field. In 1991, after a three-year search, land was purchased in Lancaster County, SC approximately twenty miles southeast of the city of Lancaster in the small community of Flat Creek. This location is far away from any congested airspace. The initial construction of a 4,000-foot grass runway, a new clubhouse and a hangar was completed in the spring of 1992. The first official flights at the new site took place on May 16, 1992, on “Neighbor Day.” Our new neighbors in Flat Creek were given free rides along with a cookout as a small expression of thanks for the warm welcome they gave Bermuda High.

Based on previous experience, we discovered that not all forms of aviation activity could coexist on the same field. Each sport has it’s own particular aspects and limitations. While we acknowledge “to each his own” with regard to fun, be it ultra-lights, parachuting, or power planes, we reserve the right to keep this particular grass strip all to the sport of Soaring, thus increasing safety and preserving the sport. Thank you for your understanding. This site is privately owned and totally controlled by sailplane pilots, thereby ensuring an environment at Bermuda High that is one hundred percent dedicated to SOARING FUN.

How To Soar At Bermuda High Soaring

Bermuda High Soaring is unique in that it is both a commercial operation and a club. The commercial operation consists of introductory rides, instructional flights, and training courses. Otherwise, Bermuda High Soaring operates as a club.

Bermuda High Soaring schedules rides and instructional flights Thursday through Sunday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. While open year round, the schedule during the winter months of January and February varies depending on weather. Various soaring meets and special events are held throughout the year with details of the events posted in the office, listed in the Soaring Magazine “Calendar of Events,” and on the Web site, www.glider.org.

Bermuda High Soaring Commercial Operations

Rides – Reservations are required

A ride is the perfect way to experience the exhilaration of soaring! An FAA Commercial pilot will sit behind you in the sailplane as you become airborne and search for the elusive updraft that is known simply as lift. If you would like to take the controls to get a feel of what it is like to actually fly the sailplane, try an instructional flight with our FAA rated Glider Flight Instructors. If you have always wanted to fly, come and make YOUR DREAM COME TRUE!

Training Courses – Reservations are required for all training courses

I. The Beginner Training Course

Bermuda High Soaring provides the opportunity to learn to soar under the guidance of fully qualified FAA flight instructors. The Beginner Training Course is taught on an individual basis for the person who has little or no aviation training. Training may begin at a young age: a student may begin sailplane instruction at age 13, solo at age 14 and obtain a Private pilot certificate at age 16. The average student pilot will solo after 30 to 35 dual training flights. This can be done in 8 sessions, each approximately 2 hours long. Reading assignments and study material must be completed before each session. To satisfactorily complete this course, the student should plan on a minimum of one session per week and a commitment of several months.

It is important to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of becoming a “good” and safe sailplane pilot the number of flights required to solo is of little consequence. Rather, the long-term dedication and commitment to the sport will determine how you progress through the learning experience, which never really ends throughout your flying career. Solo is nothing more than the first step on the road to becoming a competent sailplane pilot.

After the first solo flight, the student is still under the instructor’s wing, so to speak. The instructor will fly a flight or two with the student before the next solo. The instructor is there to help the student progress to the point where flying solo for several flights is the norm for the day. During this period, (several weeks) the student will get accustomed to flying solo while meeting the FAA Private Pilot flight requirements. The student must also complete a home study program in preparation for the FAA written test. The FAA requires successful completion of this written exam before the Private Pilot flight test can be taken. The flight test is known as the “check ride” given by an FAA Designated Examiner. The check ride includes both an oral exam and a flight exam. A Private Pilot certificate allows you to take your friends as passengers in the glider. Bermuda High has an FAA Examiner on staff. Please note that to complete this course may require a commitment of several months of flying and study.

An Intensive Training Course is available for students who live too far away to commute to Bermuda High on a weekly basis. This course consists of the same eight sessions leading to solo. However, the student will take two sessions per day. Under ideal conditions it is possible to solo in four days but individual student learning rate and weather conditions, as well as other factors, may influence the time required. Advanced reading and study is a must to be successful in this intensive training course.

Upon successfully passing the written exam the student may return to Bermuda High for a week to complete the required solo flights and to take the FAA “check ride.”

II. The Power-Pilot Transition Course

This course is designed for the person who already has a Private Pilot certificate or higher rating in fixed wing aircraft. This course can be completed in 3 or 4 days if the pilot has several hundred hours and is “current”. (Pilots who are not current or who do not have many hours accumulated will require a little more training time before solo.) The best way to discover your particular position on the learning curve is to take an evaluation flight with an instructor. The average mid time “current” pilot will solo after 8 to 10 training flights. Included in these flights will be required training in “emergency procedures” such as a simulated rope break, tow plane engine failure, etc. After solo the pilot must complete 10 solo flights to satisfy the FAA requirements for a Private glider rating. For a Commercial Pilot adding a Commercial glider rating 20 solo flights are required. While a written test is not required the pilot must take a check ride including an oral exam. Some pre-course study (reading assignments) is required before training begins. Bermuda High has an examiner on staff. A current medical is not required. However, as required by the FARs a medical self-certification statement will need to be completed.

III. Advanced Training Courses

Our prerequisite for Glider Flight Instructor training is at least 50 hours solo time in gliders.

Flying cross-country is truly advanced soaring. We invite you to join the club and explore the possibilities the sport has to offer!

Bermuda High Soaring Club Operations

The Bermuda High Soaring Club exists for those soaring pilots who want to continue to enjoy the sport of soaring and make Bermuda High their “home field.” One of the best explanations of a soaring club comes from Lasham Gliding Society Limited in England. Only paraphrased slightly it goes like this:

“Soaring is a social sport: it is not possible to soar without the help of other people, at the least someone in the office area to answer your calls for scheduling, to mow the runway, to instruct you, to hold your wing tip, to control the launch by signaling, to fly the tow plane, to tow the gliders to and from the launch point at the beginning and end of the day, to retrieve gliders back to the launch point after landing, and later on in your soaring career, to retrieve gliders from fields when they have landed out on cross country flights. Therefore, do not expect it all to be done for you (except perhaps on your first flight or two). You have to pitch in and help other pilots and in return they will help you. Get to know people and learn the proper and safe way to do things.

“If your time is really precious and you can only spare an hour or so on each visit, perhaps soaring is not for you as help on the ground is a necessary part of operations. We sincerely hope you do choose soaring though, as there really is nothing quite like it. It is the most personally challenging sport in the air, when the latter stages are reached.

“We do hope you enjoy your soaring – you will get out what you put in. Your first few visits are the most difficult, but can be made that much easier if you push yourself forward and talk to members. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – we are all here to help.”

There are both an initiation fee and monthly club dues (see price list for details). A pilot who wants to join the club must submit an application that will be reviewed by a committee for approval. Club members are expected to attend one or two required club meetings per year. Each member is also expected to contribute some time each month to the operation of Bermuda High.

Member benefits include:

Reduced rates for tows
Reduced rates for sailplane rental
Reduced rates for instruction
Free Birthday Flight (must be taken on birthday or closest operating day)
Rental of the fiberglass sailplanes
Free rental for 4 hours of a completed 5 hour flight (for Silver Badge duration) in a SGS 1-26
Free badge processing for the SSA ABC Badge Program
The opportunity to participate in more advanced badge (Silver, Gold, and Diamond) work coordinated with fellow club members
Free usage of barograph/flight data logger
Participation in safety meetings
Participation in special training events such as cross country training

The Private Sailplane Owner

We welcome visiting pilots with their own sailplanes. Please note: there will be a “User’s Fee” for facility and field usage in lieu of membership fees. Visiting pilots will be required to satisfy the Chief Flight Instructor that he/she is familiar with the field and local flying regulations. Normally a simple verbal checkout is all that is required.

Gift Certificates

For Christmas, birthdays, or other special occasions, give the gift of silent flight. Our attractively designed gift certificate for rides or instruction may be ordered either by mail or phone. Check, Master Card, or VISA is accepted. GIVE AN ADVENTURE!

Safety First! Thank You for Understanding

For your safety and the safety of others, please observe the following rules while enjoying your day at Bermuda High Soaring.

Please remain in the area bounded by the front porch of the clubhouse and the gazebo unless accompanied by a staff member. This area is the best place to watch the soaring activity. It is very important to stay off of the runway and away from the hangers. Gliders are silent and can be easily damaged by the uninitiated!
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult when visiting.
Please keep all pets on a leash and away from the clubhouse and runway areas. Bermuda High Soaring has a menagerie of pets and they are territorial!
Unfortunately, Bermuda High Soaring does not have the facilities or staff to provide child care while parents are flying.