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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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Chloe Burgis learning to fly, with Baby Lamb as copilot, 6/21/2020
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The Forest is open again!
Sept 23, 2021
After being closed since the beginning of September, the Angeles National Forest is open again. Fire danger is still extreme, so please be careful not to park near dry brush where a catalytic converter could start a fire.
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October 17th, 2021
The annual Dahlsten Cup Competition was a huge success, with many pilots seeing altitudes of well over 6,000 ft. Lots of pilots made goal and everyone seem to have fun. Also some great food served up by our local chefs, Wolf and Russ!
Open Class results:
1st place - Andy Prychiak
2nd place - Chad Margolin
3rd place - Jay Devorak
Sport Class results:
1st place - Rick Warner
2nd place - Nathan Hallahan
3rd place - Sue Sen
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 October 19, 2021 9:55 am
Report of no flights on Monday. It was launchable and it looked nice. TODAY.....another soarable day. SSW winds aloft between 4 and 8kts by 2pm. The inversion is way up high around 8K. There's more haze but other wise forecast to be clear. Max altitude 4,500ft.
Subscribe to expanded forecasts
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Dahlsten Cup 2021
Due to predicted north winds, the Dahlsten Cup Competition has been postponed once again to NEXT Saturday, October 16th.
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Landing out
Landing away from a familiar LZ is one of the most challenging things we do as hang glider pilots. Practice is hugely valuable, and if the ability to land out is important to your flying style, then it's worth intentionally doing so on occasion.
Walking the most likely bail-out LZs is another great way to reduce risk. Here in Sylmar, our bail-out LZs change continually as the forces of wilderness and urbanization battle against each other along the foot of the mountains. While there are descriptions here, it is worth visiting them in person every now and again.
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.
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