How Much Does it Cost to Get a Gliding License?
A common question is to wonder how much your first season of gliding is going to cost as you move toward becoming licensed. Naturally, this will depend on your own dedication to learning and the pace you choose to follow. However, the following table will give you a sense of an active program of flying for a single season and the corresponding costs if you are a new student. Power pilots converting to gliding will usually require fewer flights.
The costs include membership at SOSA, initiation fee to the club, membership in the Soaring Association of Canada, ground school and Transport Canada ground school multiple choice test, the cost of individual tows and finally the cost to rent the gliders. In brief, you should expect to pay about $4,800 with everything included. This will likely get you to a situation where you will be flying solo and will have enjoyed between 40 and 60 flights depending on your time and energy.
70% Less than the Cost of Powered Flight Training
Gliding is a fantastic gateway to aviation. Since you’ll learn skills that are applicable to flying any aircraft, gliding opens the door to both recreational and professional flying. Unlike learning to fly a powered aircraft, glider training is inexpensive, costing 70% less than obtaining a private license for a single engine aircraft. Here’s a cost comparison:
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For Junior pilots under the age of 26, the costs are less as follows:
In both cases, you will notice that the second largest single fee is for tows. However, as you get more experienced, you will need fewer tows to get the same number of flying hours. As such, you can expect the cost may come down in later years.
2018 Full SOSA Fee Schedule
You can find more details about the membership costs on the 2018 Fee Schedule.