“There’s nothing like soaring through the air in a glider”

I study aerospace engineering at TMU. The first time I heard about gliding was in 2023, when the University Soaring Society sent an email to people in my program. The USS is a partner of the Toronto Soaring Club, an organization for people who want to fly gliders, and the note mentioned the possibility of an introductory flight. I didn’t know anything about gliding, so I did a bit of research. I found out that a tow plane uses a cable to take the two-seat glider up between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. The glider pilot then releases the cable and slowly soars the craft back down to earth. An experienced pilot will be able to find pockets of warm air called thermals to gain altitude and extend the flight time. It sounded exciting and like something I had to try.

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A month later, I headed to the Toronto Soaring Club’s airfield, a series of grass airstrips and ­hangars in Southgate, near Shelburne. I couldn’t wait to get in the air—strangely, I wasn’t nervous. Flight instructors took us through the daily inspection, checking for things that could go wrong: loose controls, cracks, dents and other signs of stress. Then we picked the best runway based on the weather conditions—low wind is ideal. I climbed into one of the gliders with an instructor, and the tow plane pulled us up, higher and higher. When the rope was released, we slid away so smoothly. Looking around and seeing the other planes and gliders and the fields in the distance was inspiring. I had never experienced anything like that before. I knew instantly I would do it again.

Glider pilots describe soaring as a game of chess in the sky. You have to look at the clouds and figure out where thermals might pop up. If there are no clouds, you look for other sources of rising air, like farmers releasing energy while plowing fields. Finding and catching a pocket is incredibly rewarding.

After roughly 10 months of training, I got my licence and have since completed 21 solo flights. Gliding gives me something to look forward to, something to work toward. I get up there almost every weekend—somehow, being in the sky helps me feel connected to the earth below.