A friend of mine asked me a few weeks ago if I would accompany him on a glider ride. I had one 45 years ago when Calistoga still offered them, so of course I said yes! We drove 2 and a half hours to arrive on time, were greeted by a friendly reception team and they guided my friend through the short paperwork process, and we were on our way! Our pilot was a skilled young man named Nathan. He was friendly, informative and we had a great time! The only thing that almost didn't work was the glider we were in had the pilot in the front, and space for 2 (pretty petite) people in the back. My friend is solid and tall with long legs, so we barely squeezed into that space! We both really enjoyed the flight! read more

Had the boys up for a flight today. Everyone here is extremely professional, I did a tandem flight with my wife last year and thought the kids would love this as well. Lots of fun, we will be back again, thanks for the awesome memories read more

Williams Soaring Center - Kids - Flight Instruction Near Me - Williams, California

This was a birthday gift to myself and was an awesome adventure and a ton of fun! If taking a glider ride is on your bucket list, Williams Soaring Center, is the place to do it. From booking to gliding, everything was smooth and organized. My brother and I initially planned for a two person mile high glide but when that didn't work out (we didn't fit!) I ended up going on a 7,000 foot glide with Pablo. Pablo was the best! He has a ton of experience, clearly loves gliding and was enthusiastic in sharing stories, answering questions and listening to my chatter. Pilots tailor the ride to the passenger - starting mellow and adding more maneuvers if you wish. Pablo did every trick we legally could do and it was well beyond a blast! I didn't have any concerns about safety but I think it would be comfortable even for those who do. I would definitely highly recommend it and happily go again! read more

See all

A world-class aviation/gliding/soaring operation in Northern California. Learn to fly, soar silently over our beautiful California landscape or blow your mind twisting wildly in an aerobatic soaring adventure. Williams Soaring is the best place to go to learn to fly sailplanes or just go for a ride. More than 30+ years in the aviation business, Williams is the place to begin your soaring adventures. Surrounding the Mayes family is an enormous community of soaring enthusiasts who will welcome you into their "flying family". read more

Had a great time for my birthday thank you especially Ben our pilot he made it a great flight with some 90 side turns and nose dives. We will be back :) read more

Williams Soaring Center - Taking off - Flight Instruction Near Me - Williams, California

My husband bought us a glider ride for two at Williams Soaring Center, and it was amazing! All of the employees were super friendly and accommodating, even though my very forgetful but very cute hubby got us there 30 minutes late. Ben piloted our glider and he was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and made sure we were comfortable every step of the way. I was nervous going into it, but the ride was super smooth and peaceful--and then thrilling, once hubs and I decided we were ready for some acrobatics! I'd recommend the glider flight at Williams Soaring Center to everyone I know! read more

The place to fly in Northern California for beginning soaring pilots, and experienced cross country pilots. For new pilots, Williams provides an all glass fleet with ships up to Open Class performance for rent. Instructors has deep experience, and the best is the social side, with the Valley Soaring Association (valleysoaring.net) holding seminars, racing series and evening dinners. For rides, the gliders are clean and safe. For boys, this is the place to learn about handling airplanes and the basics of flying. See pics on some of the cloudscapes. read more

See all

WOW! What a great experience this was. I went up to Williams last week for a glider ride and it was amazing. It was only a 40 minute drive from Sacramento and well worth it. I did the 30 minute glider ride but it felt like so much longer. Once I got over the initial butterflies, I was able to relax and enjoy the views of Sutter Buttes and Mt Lassen. My pilot, Ed, was very informative and shared stories about the history of gliders, you could tell he is very passionate about his craft. I highly recommend trying this out, it won't disappoint! read more

Williams Soaring Center - 2 person glider - Flight Instruction Near Me - Williams, California

See all

My son started taking glider lessons in Truckee, CA. When his instructor moved over to Williams, we went with him. This is a very professional and friendly operation and Pablo, his instructor is great. With their help, our son has now soloed. read more

The customer service was fantastic. Everyone who worked there was warm and helpful. Crazy Ed was our pilot, he took us up in the air and gave a little bit of information on the history of the surrounding area and what we were looking at. The ride itself fun too. It was a bit loud because of the wind shooting through the glider, but it was a great experience. The only negative things were the scenery (there wasn't much to look at other than rice fields) and my husband and I weren't used to being so high in an enclosed space (we got a little sick). The customer service made everything great though. read more

What an amazing experience! I had recently read about this place in Frommer's California travel book and decided to give it a try with a friend (booked the Shared Magic glider ride). The receptionist was so friendly and our pilot, Ben, took great care of us! He asked us if we wanted a more relaxed or adventurous ride and we were feeling more on the adventurous side. It was so much fun! I would HIGHLY recommend this to everyone. read more

Williams Soaring Center - The glider that we were towed up to 3000 feet in. We had to sit side by side in the back and our pilot was seated in front of us. - Flight Instruction Near Me - Williams, California

Highly recommend! Did this randomly with a friend just to try something different and all the staff were very friendly, no problems with scheduling, paying, or getting an appointment on the exact day we wanted. Smooth experience all the way through. Our pilot Marty was great and told us we could have a smooth ride or make it more adventurous and he catered it to what we wanted & also told us about his background and asked about us. It was super fun and totally worth it! :) read more

I had gotten a gift certificate for a full price ride ride for 2 people so I go in to schedule a flight for just me. I was scheduled and ready to go. I ended up in the hospital the night before and called them an hour before my flight time to reschedule because I hadn't been released from the hospital yet. So when I called and explained my situation the manager said that if I don't show then the gift certificate would not be acknowledged and I would lose the value of the flight. So basically they wouldn't reschedule my flight and the gift certificate was no good. I'm very disappointed to think that after being in the hospital and looking forward to the flight (even enough to remember an hour before my flight time) to let them to know what happened only to be told I had lost the gift certificate and the ride. Have some compassion. read more

Williams Soaring is THE place for glider rental, rides, and instruction in Northern California! The instruction is always top notch, the gliders are modern, well-maintained, and reasonably priced, and the service is excellent at this family-run gliderport. I have yet to fly at a gliderport I didn't like, but Williams is by far the best I've seen! Want to earn your private glider pilot license or add the glider category to your current pilot license? Do it at Williams! read more

All I can say is it was money well spent. I took my girlfriend out for a ride in a 1929 bi-plane and she loved it. Rex our pilot was top notch. Wind blowing threw your hair, the roar of the engine and flying across wonderful farm country on a Sunday morning, It doesn't get any better! read more

Williams Soaring Center is very impressive across the board. The staff is ultra friendly, down-to-earth, and they were cracking jokes with my husband and I during our entire visit. Being a gliding novice I really didn't have any idea as to what to expect on our ride. We did a two-person gliding ride and we had a ball. Our pilot, Crazy Ed, told us all about the process of gliding and was very responsive to all our questions. The take off was so fun, watching the small plane take off and pull us along. When the plane got to an altitude that was safe to let us go there was a fun little dip and then we were off. We did a bit of mellow cruising, taking in the beautiful view. Then it was time for the optional "roller coaster" cruising. Ed was turning the glider every which way and it was way better than any roller coaster I've ever been on. I'm pretty sure I had a wide grin plastered on my face the whole time. I would recommend Williams Soaring Center to anyone and I can't wait to go back for another gliding adventure! read more