Learn
The history, science, and pure joy of unpowered flight — from the pioneers of the 1890s to modern carbon-fibre sailplanes.
Gliding is the purest form of flight — no engine, no fuel, just a pilot reading the sky and coaxing lift from the invisible rivers of air that flow across the landscape. It is a sport of skill, patience, and an almost meditative connection with the atmosphere.
The sun heats the ground unevenly — dark paddocks, towns, and rocky outcrops warm faster than water or forest. The air above rises in great invisible columns called thermals. Glider pilots circle inside these columns, climbing hundreds or even thousands of metres before gliding on to the next one. Thermals are the workhorse of cross-country soaring.
When wind strikes a hill or ridge at a right angle, it has nowhere to go but up. Pilots fly back and forth along the upwind face, maintaining height effortlessly for as long as the wind holds. Ridge soaring is often the most accessible form for beginners — predictable, steady, and spectacular when the ridge runs for kilometres.
Mountain ranges create standing waves in the atmosphere — like water flowing over a submerged rock. These waves can extend 100 km or more downwind and carry gliders to extraordinary altitudes. The distinctive lenticular (lens-shaped) clouds that sometimes sit stationary in the sky are the visible sign of wave. Some of the world's highest glider flights have been made in wave conditions, approaching the stratosphere.
Long before the petrol engine made powered flight possible, aviation pioneers understood that the sky could be navigated without machinery — if only you could learn to read the wind. That quest gave birth to gliding, and it remains as compelling today as it was in the 1890s.
"To soar is to be liberated from the earth without abandoning it — to move through the sky at the speed of weather itself, reading a landscape most people never see."
Australia is one of the finest soaring countries on earth. The combination of vast, flat inland plains, reliable summer sunshine, and mountain ranges along the eastern seaboard creates soaring conditions that pilots travel from around the world to experience.
Australian pilots and Australian conditions have produced some remarkable moments in the sport's history. The Snowy Mountains and the Australian Alps generate powerful wave systems capable of lifting gliders to extreme altitudes — flights above 10,000 metres have been recorded in Australian wave. Inland, the thermal engine of the Australian summer has supported cross-country flights of well over 1,000 kilometres in a single day.
Australia has hosted the World Gliding Championships on multiple occasions, most notably at Benalla in Victoria — a site regarded globally as one of the best soaring venues in the world. The standard of Australian competition pilots is consistently among the highest internationally, with Australian representatives regularly reaching podium positions in Open, 18-metre, 15-metre, and Club class competition.
Gliding Australia (formerly the Gliding Federation of Australia) is the national governing body for the sport, affiliated with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and operating under CASA regulatory oversight. It sets training standards, administers pilot licensing, and supports clubs and competitions across the country. Gliding Tasmania is a full member club of Gliding Australia.
Approximately 100 affiliated clubs operate across Australia, from tropical Queensland to the Tasmanian Midlands — each offering a slightly different soaring environment and culture, but all sharing the same deep attachment to silent flight.
The glider of 2025 bears almost no resemblance to the wooden and fabric machines of the pioneers. Decades of aeronautical research, driven largely by the competitive demands of the sport, have produced aircraft that are marvels of engineering efficiency.
Contemporary competition gliders are built entirely from carbon fibre composite, with wing surfaces so smooth that a fingernail can detect manufacturing imperfections measured in fractions of a millimetre. Their aerodynamic efficiency — the glide ratio — exceeds 60:1 in the best designs, meaning they travel more than 60 metres forward for every metre of altitude lost. By comparison, a commercial airliner achieves around 17:1.
One of the more counterintuitive features of a high-performance glider is the ability to carry hundreds of litres of water in the wings. On strong soaring days, the extra weight allows the glider to fly faster between thermals without losing overall efficiency — and it can be dumped overboard in seconds if conditions deteriorate. It is an elegant solution to a complex aerodynamic problem.
Electric-powered self-launching gliders have transformed access to the sport in recent years. Aircraft like the Arcus E and Antares carry a retractable electric motor that can get the glider into the air independently, or sustain flight if lift disappears. Once aloft and climbing in a thermal, the motor retracts and the glider becomes purely a soaring aircraft. This technology removes the dependence on tow plane operations and extends the range of sites where soaring is practical.
Tasmania's compact geography packs an extraordinary variety of soaring environments into a relatively small area. From the Midlands where Tunbridge Airfield sits, pilots have access to multiple forms of lift across different seasons and conditions.
The Midlands corridor is Tasmania's most reliable thermal country — cleared farmland heats quickly in summer sunshine, producing strong and well-defined thermals.
The Central Plateau and Western Ranges generate significant wave systems when westerly winds blow. High-altitude wave flights are possible in suitable conditions.
Sea breezes from both coasts can converge over the Midlands, creating lines of lift that can be used for extended cross-country flying.
Tasmania's relatively low density of aviation traffic means more relaxed airspace and a peaceful soaring environment — a rarity in an increasingly busy sky.
An introductory flight with Gliding Tasmania is the best way to understand what gliding is all about.
Book an Introductory Flight