Mile High Gliding

Gave a glider ride for my wife's bday. She is still flying high even after landing!!
What a great group of professionals!!
A super experience - I'm coming back as I want to go!! And I'm taking the whole family with me!!!

Apparently plane gliding is a thing in boulder... and it is a must do for any 1st-time visitors or even long time residents.

My pilot was Doug Ball. He was extremely friendly and professional over the phone when booking the appointment as well as in person.

Gliding can be a scary thing... you're going up pretty high... but Doug spent a good amount of the time on the introduction to gliding, going over what's going to happen, the safety features, as well as some helpful tips here and there on what to expect and what to do. This was very reassuring for a first time glider.

The actual take-off was very quick and not bad at all, perhaps I got lucky with the wind but I'd say Doug as the pilot had a lot to do with that.

We flew over all of boulder where Doug pointed out some landmarks and random facts about the town. Also pointed out some good places to eat/drink. (This was a great introduction to the town we were going to visit by car and foot later). We flew over the Flat Iron Mountains which was an amazing sight.

I don't think I could have asked for a better intro to boulder or pilot for this experience. Me and my girlfriend had a blast!

Thank you Doug, you really help make our trip really special.

Highly recommend!

Great Place, loved the experience. Would recommend to anyone close or far to come hear and soar a mile high!

Bought gift certificate for Goddaughter for Christmas- just used today! Staff very friendly and helpful- she had a great time on her City flight - well priced, experienced pilot. Would definitely recommend

My wife and I did the Two Passenger City Flight (about 15-20 minutes long) and were super happy with how everything turned out. Brooks, our pilot, was very friendly and talked us through everything that was happening which helped shake any jitters we had before we took off. He clued us in on everything from our pre-flight info and getting the glider hooked up to the tow plane, to being in the air and saying that our glider was actually GAINING some elevation because of some of the wind that we were catching. Any other questions or concerns we had, whether on the ground or in the air, were answered in a way that made us feel extremely comfortable and allowed us to really enjoy the experience. We would absolutely recommend it to anyone else considering doing it!

The last time I experienced the skies in a soar plane was more than half my life ago in another state. Recalling the thrill and peace from that time, I bought the S.O. an individual gliding experience for his birthday with Mile High Gliding over a year ago. He enjoyed it so much that he got us a double ride with these guys yesterday to celebrate our engagement! Therefore, this was my 2nd time dealing with this small company.

Mile High Gliding is located on the north side of the runways of Boulder Airport. Drive too fast and you'll miss the run-down trailer that serves as their office. They have dirt parking right off Independence Rd. Walk into the trailer and you'll encounter a cramped space with a picnic table covered by magazines and flying paraphernalia. There probably was a bathroom stuffed somewhere inside the trailer, but I didn't look for it in this tiny "terminal," so I recommend that you should take care of business elsewhere before your appointment.

The girl checked us off on the calendar and apologized that they were running a bit behind (15 min) due to the frost that had built up overnight on the canopy. Our pilot Elliot walked us out to our glider so we could help him push it onto the tarmac while keeping its wings level. Our plane was older, and because it had the double seat in the back, it wasn't one of the high performance ones. The double seat is behind the pilot; if I remember correctly in the single seaters, it's opposite so the passenger gets to sit up front and even get to pull the tow cable release.

Luckily my fiancé (now) and I have small butts because this double seat was no larger than our single-seat couch: we were completely squashed in side by side! He had to put his left arm around me (awwww) for our shoulders to fit and align well inside the cockpit. Elliot showed us the air vent controls in case we got warm/cold, and then told us not to touch the brake or cable release handle.

The tow plane was an old thing that looks nothing like anything I've ever seen. But both aircraft gained plenty of lift very quickly and we took to the skies in no time. The plane dragged us northwest.

And oh, my love of flying returned! Commercial jets have taken the romance out of the experience, but in a soar plane without any engines, the pilot is in absolute control to find the best thermals, to determine which direction to go, and even what tricks to perform if he so desired. On my first flight many years ago, the pilot helped me experience vertical Figure 8s and plenty of barrel rolls in the sky.

Though no barrel rolls happened Sunday in our 3-seater, we were still able to request what we wanted to see. My fiancé had paid for the Extended 1 hour flight, which took us over the foothills, Nederland, and towards the Indian Peaks and Longs Peak. The flight wasn't as quiet as I remembered (I think these 3-seaters aren't as aerodynamic as the high performance gliders), but it was the same gentle floating sensation as we drifted towards the Continental Divide. These views of the Rockies were from a perspective I never envisioned. Our pilot said, "I have the best job in the world!" and I couldn't disagree. Though it had been a cold morning and we were wearing down jackets, the tiny cockpit warmed up enough from the bright sunshine (I wish I had worn sunscreen), but we didn't need to open the air vents much either.

We soared back north along the jagged spine of the Flatirons (and pretty close, I should say!), the CU campus and stadium, and downtown Boulder. Overall great conditions for soaring except for the fact that at this time of year, there aren't many thermals to catch. I did feel a little short-changed, though, as we hadn't been in the air for quite 1 hour. Still, the scenery was beautiful and the smooth sense of peace was astounding.

These guys may appear a little disorganized, but they want to share this experience with you and are passionate about it. The do sell Gift Certificates. Great for all ages!

My daughter's aerospace class did a glider ride through Mile High Gliding and it was an incredible experience. Everyone was really friendly and she had an amazing experience seeing the Flat Irons and mountains and all of Boulder. Peak experience. Highly recommend them.

I called three times to request a flight and no return phone call. Even if they were booked, at least give the courtesy of calling me back.

This was by far the best experience I've ever had, the staff was very kind and the gliders were smooth and clean. 10/10 would absolutely do again.

This was hands down my best experience in visiting Colorado. All of the staff were very friendly and the glider ride was over the top great . I originally was going to take the 40 minute flight, but opted for the longer 1 hour flight. I would encourage everyone to take the longer flight. You will be glad you did. The views were just amazing. I will definitely do this again on my next trip.