Top 20 US Soaring Sites

Looking for cross-country soaring sites to visit on vacation? Places to retire with top-notch soaring?

The analysis here was based on three years (2014 - 2016) of US OLC (Online Contest) flight data covering 270+ sites, more than 40,000 flights, and in excess of 5 million miles flown. The results are shown in the following three documents.

Google Map

This Google map shows the top 10 sites in red (most OLC distance points), the next 10 in green. Sites with >50% of flights over 300 km are shown with a jet icon; sites with <50% are shown with a glider icon. The intent is to provide a visual, map-based way to better understand the locations and regions with strong soaring conditions and supportive infrastructure (soaring clubs and commercial operations).

Description of the Analysis

A more detailed description of the purpose and the process used to do the analysis, as well at tips for using and interpreting the results.

Spreadsheet of Flight Details

Detailed spreadsheet with the supporting data, including a starting list of clubs and commercial operations which operate at the listed sites.

To forward feedback, corrections, or suggestions to the author, send an email to scoh.web@gmail.com. If you know of other cross-country location analyses or maps, let us know - we'd be glad to link to them.