We will be presenting Ground School this winter on Tuesday nights from 7pm till 10pm, Feb7 to April 10, in downtown Toronto. This ground school is open to everyone. Members of other clubs are more than welcome.
Gift certificates are available for an unforgettable and exhilarating sailplane flight.
Great Lakes Gliding Club (GLGC) is a not-for-profit group of glider pilots who enjoy the sport of soaring. GLGC is the gliding club closest to Toronto, Newmarket, and Barrie, Ontario, and offers introductory flights, training to license qualification, cross-country and competitive flying. All of our members are enthusiastic about sharing the joy of soaring with prospective students and members, and with guests to our club.
Ric Willems flying his ASW-27.
Soaring like a bird.
A pair of sailplanes flying in formation.
Since GLGC was founded, it has attracted members who range from students with no flying background to experienced glider, airline and military fighter pilots. Our club has grown from the five founding members to an average of approximately 25 members, made up of students and licensed pilots.
The terms soaring and gliding are used interchangeably, although not technically identical. A glider is an unpowered airplane without an internal power source to gain or maintain altitude. The sport of soaring entails flying airplanes using only air currents as an energy source; for this reason gliders are called sailplanes.
Many of our students have successfully obtained a glider pilot licence. Former students have become instructors, pilots for our guest rides and private aircraft owners. GLGC’s experienced cross country pilots may soar for hours and cover hundreds of kilometers in a day. Our members have competed in soaring competitions at both the provincial and national level.
We rely strictly upon volunteer help from our own membership and all revenues collected are used to offset the costs of fuel, insurance, maintenance of the field and fleet and our limited peripheral equipment.
We welcome both prospective members and the “simply curious” to contact us. If you are also interested in learning more about GLGC or the sport of soaring or both, please send us an email so we may contact you in response to your questions and about our activities.
