The Texas Soaring Association is one of the oldest gliding clubs in the United States. It was founded in 1947 and continues to this day as a vibrant and growing community of soaring enthusiasts of over 200 members. The current club owes a great debt to it's founding fathers who struggled through the years to keep the club alive.
There is no recorded history of organized soaring in the Dallas area prior to WWII. After the war, cheap military gliders became available from the government. A group of soaring enthusiasts got together and formed the Texas Soaring Association in 1947. The original TSA was located on a small light-plane airfield near Love Field in downtown Dallas. The club has moved several times as airspace around the Dallas area has become more and more restricted over the years. The club is now located in Midlothian, Texas which is about 30 miles southwest of downtown Dallas. The new facility is one of the finest soaring parks in the country. For complete information and to learn more about the history of TSA, please visit their website at Texas Soaring Association
I visited the park on several occasions and met a few of the pilots and members of the club. I shot a lot of photos from the ground but was quickly informed that the only way to really cover this story was to, of course, go up in one of the gliders. Flying is not one of my favorite activities, so I was a little apprehensive at first, especially when I had to put a parachute on. However, I was in the very good and capable hands of Marvin Willis, who would pilot the two-seat glider. Mr Willis has been a member of the club for 50 years, having joined in 1957.
It is a very tight fit in a glider. I took the forward seat while Marvin would fly the glider from the rear seat. After being securely strapped into the cockpit, the tow cable was attached to the nose of the craft and the tow plane started down the runway. After picking up speed, the glider just briefly leaves the ground before the tow plane makes the ascent, and then suddenly, both planes are in the air and the tow plane starts gaining altitude quickly.
I have just enough room to maneuver my camera which is equipped with a wide angle zoom lens. The canopy of the glider is made of a thick plexiglass type material that is tinted a shade of blue for the UV rays. It was very difficult to shoot through it. However, there was a small porthole for air that did enable me to actually stick the lens through it to get a few un-obstructed shots.
When the tow plane finally releases the tow cable, the glider seemed to shoot upwards a bit, taking my breath away. We are actually soaring on nothing but just the air under our wings! It is an exhilirating experience. Marvin takes us up to about 2000 feet and the view from the glider looking down below is just spectacular. At one point we came across another glider in front of us and we played a little safe "dog fight" with each other as we chased him around in the brilliantly lit, blue sky.
We were in the air for about 40 minutes, but it seemed like a much shorter time. Marvin had told me about how a lot of the old timers involved in this sport just became addicted to soaring, and I could understand why. It was by far, one of the most exciting and at the same time, peaceful, things I have ever experienced.
I want to thank everyone at TSA who made my visits very enjoyable and a special thanks goes out to Marvin Willis who provided the old photos and also provided the historical information for this story.
