About Us
Our soaring facility is located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and is convenient to thermal, ridge and wave soaring with a wave window to FL230 available. The Grant County airport (W99) from which we operate is large and quiet with landable fields surrounding it.
The facility is the closest weekday (and weekend) operation serving Washington DC, Baltimore, Northern VA and the surrounding areas; the only commercial operation in the mid-Atlantic region exclusively offering the most exciting form of glider launch (winch launch); and one of the highest winch launches on the East coast.
Available by appointment Thursday - Sunday
Thu/Fri: 10 am - 5 pm
Sat: 8 am - 5 pm
Sun: 12 pm - 5 pm
Currently, we are closed for the season. We anticipate a later than usual start date in 2025 (most likely after May); however, we will not finalize that date till early Spring. Check back here in late April for more information!
ESC - Escape to the sky!
Eastern Soaring Center
Enjoy the rugged, mountain skylines of beautiful West Virginia
About your pilot: Brian Collins is a retired USAF colonel who learned to fly and instruct in gliders at the USAF Academy from 1989-1991. After a short hiatus he returned to soaring in 1996, purchased a Pik-20 and obtained his CFI-G. Since then he has accumulated over 4000 hours and 10,000 flights in gliders including thousands of cross-country miles. Currently, he is an SSA Instructor, Glider Check Pilot Examiner with the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and owner/operator of the Eastern Soaring Center, Inc. Thanks to numerous USAF moves he has flown at over 30 sites around the country and competed in a handful of local, regional and national competitions. He has set over 20 state and 2 national records and is the only U.S. glider pilot with all SSA Distance badges up through 1500 km. In 2015 he was named the ‘2d Most Active’ SSA Instructor in the U.S.
Wanna learn to fly? You've come to the right place. Glider Rides near Washington DC, Gliding near Washington DC, Soaring near Washington DC
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While you're here enjoy all that West Virginia has to offer!
...hiking/skiing, canoeing/rafting, camping, bed & breakfast getaways, parks & recreation/wilderness areas, sightseeing, caverns/rock overlooks, train rides, Civil War & other historical landmarks.
Talk with us and we'll give you even more ideas.