Youth Soaring Camps
Sugarbush Soaring Youth Soaring Camps are overnight, week-long summer camps held at the Warren-Sugarbush Airport (0B7) in Warren, Vermont. They are open to youth ages 13 through 18.
SSA has been running these unique and popular camps for many years and they are a fantastic opportunity for youth who are passionate about aviation to learn to fly or improve their flying skills.
Each camper receives up to ten instructional flights (depending on weather) and daily ground school sessions over a seven-day period. Topics include aerodynamics, airspace, regulations, glider/aircraft components, launch and recovery procedures, glider maneuvers, soaring techniques, weather, and aviation career options. Instructional flights are conducted by our highly experienced, FAA-certified flight instructors in our two-place gliders (two PW-6’s and two SGS 2-33’s). Advanced, qualified students may also fly in our newly-restored SGS 1-26.
“I realized that you were not teaching me about flying alone, you were teaching me about life through flying”
All of our instructors have a passion for flying and a strong desire to share that passion with our students. We work as a team to ensure students enjoy a great instructional experience and have fun. We have high standards; safety is our top priority and we hold our students to those standards throughout the week that they are with us.
Through the process of learning to fly, youth gain skills that go well beyond learning to pilot an aircraft. Flying requires deep knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, hands-on mechanical skills, and a high level of independence and responsibility. As youth master the skills necessary to be good pilots, they also cement critical thinking and leadership skills that will serve them well throughout many areas of their lives. In learning to fly, students gain so much more.
While the focus is on making the student the best pilot he or she can be, other fun activities round out the experience. These include swimming and kayaking, hiking in the Green Mountains, informal sports (favorites include Frisbee, soccer and manhunt), a bonfire with s’mores and stargazing, and pizza & bad movie night.