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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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Sept 16th, 2023
Thank you, Kevin Powell, for recently weed whacking launch and removing many bushes!
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 September 24, 2023 10:55am
Report of a cloudless day with lots of haze. Lift started out ratty but ended up smooth and buoyant. Highest altitude on Saturday was 4,392ft. TODAY.....cloudless. Another sunny forecast with even more low haze and a weak inversion. SSE winds aloft between 6 and 8kts by 2pm. Max altitude 4,400ft.
Subscribe to expanded forecasts
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Bob LaFay Memorial
Bob Lafay, one of our pioneering pilots, has recently passed. Below information is from his daughters Renee and Amy:
Our father Bob Lafay, former SHGA member and pilot from 1974-1997, hung up his wings some 25 years ago yet he continued to soar and take with him the spirit of flying into everything he embraced.
His time spent hang gliding was memorable for him and made a lasting impact on everything he did.
Please join us on Oct 22 from 3-5 pm at the Landing Zone as we share memories, adventures, laughs, and many of his cartoons that documented the good times!
August 16,1934-February 7, 2023
USHGA # 3074
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Wire crews
One of the responsibilities of a pilot is to manage his (or her) wire crew. This includes giving clear instructions about what the pilot will ask for, and what the crew members are expected to do. The pilot must also be prepared, no matter what the wire crew actually does. Sometimes a crew member will fail to clear the wing completely, or give instructions rather than taking them, or conversely, save a pilot from his own mistakes.
It should also go without saying that we are grateful for our wire crews, and one should always be courteous and appreciative of these volunteers.
Preflight upgrades
Moving up to a new high-performance glider? It's time to upgrade the preflight as well!
Most of us develop our preflight routine based on a single-surface glider such as a Falcon. When moving up in performance, one may be adding a nose cone, or a VG string, or sprog zippers, or a "dingle-dangle" hang point. I think pilots are particularly likely to overlook those items in their preflights, because they weren't part of the initial routine that they learned.
Avoiding a mid-air collision
It takes two pilots to have a mid-air collision, and one alert pilot can virtually always avoid disaster even when the error primarily lies with the other.
We're taught to clear our turns. What if the other pilot doesn't? Keep an eye out for nearby gliders, and have an escape plan if they do something unexpected.
What if the other pilot enters your thermal improperly? He'll sidle in from the outside, so if you're watching to the outside of your turn as well as the inside, you can dive away.
How about that pilot directly above in the same thermal, who hangs out in your blind spot and fails to yield to your right of way? Often, the shadows on the ground will reveal the situation.
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