Winging it: Soar the skies in an engineless glider plane

With no motor and no propellers, glider soaring is about as close as it gets to flying like a bird. Glider pilots harness thermals -- rising columns of air -- to gain and maintain altitude. Gliders can easily rise 5,000 feet and soar 80 miles an hour.

"The experience was fantastic," recalled Michael Deitchman of D.C. "The sailplane bucked and swerved while being towed, not content to be held back from free flight. But once the tow line released, the ride was smooth and the noise of the air rushing over the canopy and wings was all that remained." Time raced until "the ground quickly rose to meet our landing; touchdown was smooth to a gradual stop."

Glider rides aren't offered in the D.C. region because federal air space is restricted, says Rob Wilkinson, a pilot who through Soaring Adventures of America arranges rides with Federal Aviation Administration-certified pilots in 60 locations from Wilmington, Del., to Honolulu.

Based in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Wilkinson has taken 7,500 people, including Washingtonians, soaring since 1974. "They get a view of the shoreline that is magnificent, with the lighthouses and boats and water," he said. Wilkinson's Grob 109-B sports a 60-foot wingspan and small engine for liftoff only.

"I have a dual-control glider, and many people like that quite a bit," he said. "Some like doing wing-overs and lazy eights. Others just want to soar."

"We've maintained a 100 percent safety record over three decades," Wilkinson said. Tickets, starting at $99 for a 20-minute flight, are "open," allowing individuals to choose date, time and location.

When most children were thrusting little balsa wood planes in their yards, Rick Kohler was cadging glider rides from his father's friend; by 16, he was piloting planes. English literature studies and performances with the Cincinnati Opera couldn't shake the flying bug; in 1994 he opened Sundance Aviation in Moriarty, a rural town an hour east of Albuquerque, N.M.

Having logged 10,000-plus hours flying unpowered planes, Kohler counts among his passengers adrenaline junkies and "a 100-year-old man who now gets free birthday rides for life." The seat-side motion sickness bag? "About one out of 20 people get sick." A tip: Drinking sufficient water before soaring helps the body adjust.

After a passenger sinks into the front seat of Kohler's fiberglass Grob 103, a crop-duster carries the glider to 3,000 feet then releases the tow line, which flutters like a ribbon and disappears. The cloud surfing begins.