STERLING — If you’ve ever dreamed of gliding through the air, taking in the beautiful scenery below, the Greater Boston Soaring Club has just the ticket for you.
The nonprofit organization dedicated to helping its members learn and enjoy the sport of soaring in a glider has called the Sterling Airport home since 1998. The group was originally formed in Pepperell in 1974, and over its history the GBSC has also operated out of Groton and Plymouth, New Hampshire, and in 2002 it merged with the MIT Soaring Association.
GBSC currently has about 110 members who hail from the Boston and Central Mass area and all over New England. It owns 11 aircraft: four single- seat gliders, four two-seat gliders for training flights and guest rides, and three tow planes, a fleet that, according to the club’s website, ranges in performance from robust trainers to speedy cross-country ships.
There are also about 40 gliders that are owned privately by individual club members or groups of members. Westford resident David Sherrill joined the club in 2012, having never flown a plane before, and has served as the GBSC president since 2017.
When asked what he enjoys most about soaring, Sherrill said “that’s so varied.”
“Sometimes it’s the challenge of flying 100 miles out and back again in a single flight, all alone in a single-seat glider,” he said. “Other times, it’s the joy of taking a friend up for a short flight close to the airport.”
He added that the club “has more accomplished members who can double that distance” and that some of those seasoned fliers have competed internationally on the US Soaring Team. Sherrill said that two members, Tom Orsini of Sterling and Nelson Howe of Marlborough, New Hampshire, flew over 250 and 300 miles respectively on May 25 and that some of their climbs reached above 6,000 feet.
Orsini’s flight took more than 5½ hours with turn points in Sunapee, New Hampshire, and Pittsfield before returning to Sterling. Howe flew more than 300 miles on much the same path as Orsini, but stretched the last leg to Danielson, Connecticut, before returning to Sterling.
Sherrill described the act of soaring by mentioning the word lift as “pockets of rising air that allow a glider pilot to climb and gain altitude without an engine, just like hawks and vultures can climb without ever flapping their wings.”
“Some members are attracted to the challenge of flying as far as possible each day before returning to Sterling,” he said. “Two or three might fly together in separate gliders, spreading out a little to help each other find lift, as they fly a course they planned in advance, using detailed forecasts and seeking to use every bit of lift the day might offer.”
Sherrill urges anyone who may be interested in soaring or learning more about it to “come to the airport and have a look for yourself and maybe take an introductory flight.”
“For a parent with a teen interested in aviation, soaring can be a great way to start,” he said. “A student pilot can legally fly a glider solo at age 14, and can earn a private pilot’s license for gliders at age 16. Some members who started flying in the club’s Juniors program are now adults with aviation careers, and at least one is flying for a major airline.”
GBSC is an all-volunteer operation with no paid positions. Sherrill said the club “has a very active instructional program,” and that they have regularly scheduled operations every Saturday and Sunday from April to Thanksgiving, weather permitting.
“That’s when we have instructors and tow pilots scheduled for the entire day,” he said of the weekends. “We also try to arrange one weekday afternoon for instructional flights each week, and members can arrange an ad hoc operation on any day with good weather and an available tow pilot.”
He said flying days are very social, and that the club members all work together setting up things for the day and putting everything back away “when the lift fades away in the sunset.”
“A few of us will often gather at Barbers Crossing to finish the day with dinner and stories of our flights, and occasionally, we fire up the grill at the end of the day and have a cookout at the airport.”
For more information, email president@ soargbsc.com, visit soargbsc. com, and follow Greater Boston Soaring Club (facebook.com/profile. php?id=100057245808562) on
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