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Welcome
Sylmar is the world capital of hang gliding and pilots have been flying hang gliders in these mountains since 1969. The first U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships were held here in 1973.
The Flight Park is located just outside of Los Angeles and we enjoy around 300 days of flying a year. Please check out the rules and site information before flying here. The Sylmar Hang Gliding Association is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization. Dues and other payments can be sent via PayPal.
Pilots and non-pilots are welcome to enjoy our flight park year 'round! Fly high, fly far, fly safe!
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Gidget and Olive ready to go hang gliding!
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May 4, 2024
Planned for May 4. Yes, we're looking way forward to Spring, but save the date!
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 March 20, 2023 10:10am
Report of Tuesday afternoon starting out very nice with a SW wind. Then it turned WNW and got spooky. Everybody came out to land. Highest altitude was about 5K. TODAY.....is looking quite nice again. It might even be a decent soaring day. The ground inversion is strengthening and the haze is building. I'm not seeing any NW in the picture this afternoon. Winds aloft are SW between 2 and 6kts by 2pm. Max altitude of 4,500ft.
Subscribe to expanded forecasts
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Today - March 17th
Shuttles listed are independent operations and are not operated by SHGA
No trucks scheduled YET through March 17th
Click here to reserve a seat in a Windsports shuttle.
Rides will appear available even if there is no shuttle running. If a minimum of 5 pilots request a ride we will run a shuttle.
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Wheels
There are lots of reasons not to fly with wheels. First, they cause drag. When flying in a competition against other pilots on equally fast gliders and of similar skill, then leave the wheels at home. Likewise, skip the Go-Pro camera, and make sure there aren't any wrinkles in your racing harness.
Wheels are also expensive; they cost as much as a downtube or two. For those who have never bent a downtube or scratched up a carbon fiber basetube, wheels are superfluous.
Wheels can also be problematic on a few launches; for example, they're discouraged at Yosemite. Then again, on rare occasion, one will observe a nearly-blown launch saved by wheels.
Aside from those special situations (competition flying, abject poverty, or Yosemite), consider flying with wheels. They really do reduce injuries, damage to gliders, and long-term cost.
Airspeed is What You Need
How much airspeed do you need for the roll control you want when flying close to fixed objects? How much do you need for the insulation against stalling that you want then?
Launching a glider is essentially a process of increasing airspeed. Consider that it's not a number of steps, or how fast, and read the Airspeed is What You Need post in the Safety Forum. Some conditions, some locations, need more.
Flying the Air or the Location?
When you're on approach to the Sylmar LZ, do you study the wind conditions? When you're circling in the staging area?
While you're on your downwind and base legs, are you adjusting your geometry to arrive at the entry point of your optimal final leg, flying your chosen speed?
It's natural for the human brain to organize around the visual information -- fly down that path, over to there, and then to there. However, we fly in the invisible medium that's in motion, and getting yourself to the top of the ideal final leg for the day requires an approach customized for the conditions you actually encounter.
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