About PPSS

The Pikes Peak Soaring Society has been in existence since the 1970s and has a current membership of about 40 people. The club meets on the third Monday of every month and holds monthly contests at its flying site on the plains east of Colorado Springs. Sport-flying, instruction for new flyers, contest practice, and individual achievement goals under the League of Silent Flight (LSF) pilot rating system, take place on non-contest weekends, weather permitting. All PPSS members must also belong to the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

The Pikes Peak Soaring Society is governed by our Constitution and ByLaws.

Contests and Standings

Throughout the year we hold thermal duration contests to measure our skills against each other. We hold both AMA sanctioned and non-sanctioned contests. Since we are an AMA chartered club, we require AMA (or equivalent) membership to fly at our contests. We hold one electric powered contest and one hand-launched glider contest each year.

At the end of the year we crown a club champion. Each contest is normalized to 1000 points. The member with the best 5 contest results wins. All of the contests count toward club standings except for the Barn Fly, which is a Christmas social event for club members and family.

We hold, or try to hold, a night fly contest each year. This is also a family social event. We gather at the flying field the afternoon of the contest, trim our planes, do some fun flying, and have a picnic dinner before sunset. After dark, we have a 3 round 15 minute add'em up contest.