Learn to fly a Glider!, Oahu

Read Customer Reviews      Tour Details      Buy This Experience

• Scenic glider flight and hands-on lesson

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, look it’s a small bubble-topped aircraft with no engine!  Ok so, it’s not quite so catchy, but this is the closest you will ever come to stepping beyond the confines of mere man, and taking flight!  The most original & thrilling way to see the island is by letting the wind wash over your wings as you sail the skies watching panorama after panorama unfold serenely in front of you.  No engine noise, no rotor interference, no silly cape.

Hands-on lesson 

This is an introductory flying lesson in conjunction with the scenic tour and will be taken by an experienced FAA certified glider (sailplane) pilot.  Be amazed at the ease of working the controls and choose how much of the flying you would like to do with this introduction to basic flying manoeuvres.

DoSomethingDifferent offers three other options for your consideration:

Scenic Glide

Acrobatic Flight

You can add your own review for this experience

• Transfers (unless requested - $25 per person payable in resort, minimum of 2 passengers)
• Refreshments

• Casual, comfortable
• Camera

• If you would like return transport to Dillingham Airfield from the South of the Island, then this can be arranged.  Please advise click on this option at the time of booking.  There is a charge of $25 per person (minimum 2 passengers), which is payable directly once you are in resort. 
• Transportation departs at 9.30am daily, from Moose McGillycuddy's, 310 Lewers Street (off Kalakaua Ave), Waikiki.
• The round trip takes about 3 hours

Are gliders safe?

Gliders are very safe. In fact, they’re so safe that the FAA permits 14-year-olds to fly solo.

How long can a glider stay in the air?

A glider can stay airborne indefinitely – as long as it flies in updrafts. Updrafts or “lift” can carry a glider higher. In a way, lift is like in-flight refueling. If the pilot wants more altitude or if he wants to fly longer, he just goes back to the lift and fuels up.

How do gliders get into the air?

They are towed up with airplanes.  There are other methods but the tow plane can take the glider as high as desired by the glider pilot.  A 20-minute flight can attain altitudes of 3,000 feet or more.  Mother Nature sometimes has a say in where and how high the flight gets (because of cloud-cover and wind-conditions), but rides of up-to half-an-hour are available.

How do they fly?

The air flowing over their wings allows gliders to fly. The airflow creates low pressure on the top of the wings which helps support the weight of the glider.  It can’t support all the weight however so the glider gradually descends.  By using updrafts or lift, the pilot stays aloft and actually climbs higher.

What makes updrafts? 

You will fly from Dillingham Airfield, where the tradewinds blow against the mountain and are pushed up creating updrafts all along the side of the mountain. Another kind of updraft or lift, we often get, is thermals. Thermals are columns of warm air rising off the ground. If you have ever seen hawks or even buzzards circling without flapping their wings, they are thermalling: hitching a free ride by circling in a thermal and letting it carry them upward.  There are also two other kinds of lift:  Convergence lift is like a mini-front where  two air masses meet and the colder and denser air pushes the warmer and lighter air up.  Mountain wave forms when air blows over a mountain range, setting up a series of stationary waves that extend away from the mountain. It’s similar to water flowing over a log in a stream. A series of waves form downstream from the log. The waves stay in the same place behind the log while the water flows through them

What happens if the wind stops blowing?

Nothing happens to the glider.  It doesn’t need wind to fly: Gliders are not kites.  All a glider needs to fly is air flowing over its wings. It’s the pull of gravity that keeps the air flowing over the wings.  As a glider flies, it is gently coasting downhill feeling the wind, just as a cyclist feels the wind while coasting downhill.  Of course, if the glider flies through rising air, it climbs. Fortunately, air and gravity are not in short supply!

How does the pilot control the glider? 

Gliders have exactly the same flight controls as airplanes.  This flight will give you the opportunity to find out for yourself.

They land in much the same way as an airplane. The pilot descends, levels off, and then allows the plane to touch the ground very gently.

Do the pilots have licenses?

Yes, glider pilots are certified through the Federal Aviation Administration (the American version of our Civil Aviation Authority) – just like airplane pilots and helicopter pilots.  The FAA requires periodic flight reviews and an advanced commercial rating is required to carry paying passengers.

Will the pilot do a loop? 

Not during a hands-on lesson, however if you would like to combine your learning with a thrilling aerobatic experience, then check out our Combo Soaring Flight

Do gliders fly in rain?

Gliders don’t fly in heavy rain or other bad weather. Fortunately, the weather in Hawaii is so good that there are only a few days out of an entire year when the gliders have to stay on the ground. 

What will I see? 

You will have an incredible view of Oahu’s North Shore, the Waianae Mountains; the Pacific Ocean; coral reefs and breaking waves. During the winter, you might see humpback whales at play, but more significantly than all this; you will experience the unique feeling of soaring, which is as close as you can get to flying like a bird. 

Can I take pictures? 

The experience is one Kodak moment after another!  You may also take a video camera, but if you would prefer to sit-back and enjoy the moment, then you can purchase a video of your flight.  The gliders’ video system has two cameras and a microphone mounted inside.  One camera takes the forward panorama, the other is trained on the faces of the back-seat passengers and a microphone captures all your comments for prosperity; mind your language! 

If you are staying on the South of Oahu and have hired, or are planning to hire a car, then we recommend taking a flight on a day when you are visiting the North of the Island.  This is simply due to the distance invloved travelling between the two points.

Buy This Experience - Add to Basket

Ticket	Quantity	Price
Adult	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	£58.00
Child	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	£58.00

« Back to search results