Tucson Club Lets Pilots Soar in Glider Planes

By Associated Press

The Tucson Soaring Club recently held its first open house, taking guests up in glider planes for a ride over the desert and Ironwood Forest National Monument. The club is looking to attract new membership and grow its current 105 members to about 150 by 2010. Former club president Tony Smolder will be taking guests up in the gliders. "It's really peaceful," Smolder said. "I love the days where all the nice puffy clouds are all over the sky and you're up there near the base of the clouds and you're looking ahead and there's one after another." Eighteen-year-old glider pilot Sheena Stogsdill agrees. "It's so serene and quiet up there," she said. "You get a different perspective of the world." She says there are very few women with glider pilot licenses and she would like to see more. "It's too bad because it's amazing."

December 9, 2009