Organized
Formed in Vacaville, CA in 1985 the VSA (Valley Soaring Association, a.k.a. the Vacaville Soaring Association) has been fully operational ever since. Our home gliderport was originally Lagoon Valley Soaring, but since 1993, we operate from Williams Soaring Center (WSC), in the Sacramento Valley, California.
The VSA doesn’t have a product to sell and we provide no services. We are simply sharing. We exist because we all enjoy the sport of soaring, also called “flying gliders/ sailplanes”. On a typical day we takeoff from the gliderport about noon and land back home again four or five hours later. We share stories about how far we went, where we visited, and discuss how easy/ or difficult it was on that day.
Gliders
Many of us own our own ships, but many also rent the state of the art ships that we fly. Besides the rentals, we rely on our host (WSC) for getting into the air via a tow from a powered airplane. There are a few gliders that do have have an engine that will get them started on their glider flight, but they are the exception.
For those not familiar with gliders, read some of the flight reports listed in right hand panel – written by/or about pilots who are members of the VSA. We fly to enjoy the challenge of traveling hundreds of miles, and remaining aloft for five or six hours at a time, all this after releasing from a tow into the air which lasts about 15 minutes. Just like eagles and condors, we are able to use the rising air currents to remain aloft virtually all day long. We have several flights that have been well over nine hours, well over 20,000 feet and covering distances well over 500 miles at a time!
Try it yourself
Most of us fly gliders with only a single seat, but if you want to try your hand at it, or are interested in just taking a ride as a passenger, then contact WSC – visit their web site and see the staff of professional instructors and the fleet of modern gliders. Williams Soaring Center may well be considered the most modern sailplane center in the United States.
Outlook for Soaring
From its inception the VSA has always been an important part of the infrastructure in the local community of glider pilots, effectively publicizing and promoting the sport of soaring. The outlook for the Sport of Soaring is very strong.
Outlook for VSA
The VSA has served as an effective promotion vehicle for our host gliderport – WSC and we continue to serve as the social network that brings people together at the gliderport. We have well planned events throughout the year such as glider races, BBQ’s, guest speakers and seminars, complete with full audio-visual support. Annual meeting are held and Officers are regularly elected to the VSA Board of Directors.
Outlook for this VSA web site
The domain names of valleysoaring.net and valleysoaring.com will be maintained for historical purposes. Our host – Williams Soaring Center (WSC) – is now the focal point of our communications via the internet.
Read our Williams Today news forum at: located at https://groups.io/g/WilliamsToday
Page last revised: 7/18/2022
Questions/ Concerns/ Suggestions should be addressed to current officers of the VSA
Contacts
VSA Secretary, phone 530-473-5600
Alternate contact
Noelle: WSC Owner, email or phone 530-473-5600
End