TO SOLO:

Student pilots may solo at a minimum age of 14 with a student certificate endorsed for solo flight at the discretion of an FAA-Certified Flight Instructor for Gliders (CFIG). Several Hood River Soaring members hold the CFIG rating and offer instruction to club members. To solo, you must demonstrate safe control of the glider and knowledge of soaring to your instructor. These areas include pre-flight, tow maneuvers, planning, flight maneuvers from take-off to landing, theory of flight, weather, regulations, and emergency procedures.

FROM FIRST SOLO TO LICENSE:

After solo, student pilots may qualify as a Private Pilot-Glider provided they:

• are at least 16 years of age;
• Have logged at least 10 hours of flight time in a glider including at least 20 total glider flights;
• have two hours of solo flight time in a glider;
• have passed the FAA written examination; and
• have passed the flight exam with an FAA Examiner.