New High School Soaring Team

By Nick Poucher

Last month the Lakeland Aero Club created a new high school competition soaring team with eight inaugural members. Over the past year LAC has helped seven students solo a glider through our PIC@14 program, currently of the team’s eight members, six have a private pilot glider certificate and will begin working to meet the requirements needed to enter soaring competitions while the remaining members continue to stay current and prepare for a check ride once turning 16.

Soaring team member Steven Tellman recently attended the Mid-Georgia Soaring Association camp where he achieved his SSA Gold and Diamond badges before entering the Cordele Region Five contest. Tellman who is 16 years old finished the competition in 11th place with over 500 miles flown and more than 17 hours of flight time during the competition.

Soaring is one of the truest forms of flight and enabling 16-year-old pilots to compete and safely expand their limits with no engine before being eligible to be a licensed powered aircraft pilot will not only make them more precise pilots, but more importantly it will create safer pilots with more years of PIC experience.

The team is excited to qualify more competition pilots next school year as well as help to solo more 14 and 15 year old students that can help grow the team and create more safe, effective pilots from a young age.