Las Vegas Soaring Center

These people are fundamentally dishonest and you should look elsewhere for glider rides.
To make a long story short: We were told that their tow plane’s magneto had developed a problem and they needed to make repairs. We only found out by happening to have called them just before we got in the car. They definitely should have called us. Had we not thought to double-​check, we would have driven out and back for no reason at all. Anyway, we rescheduled.
The next day, we are told that the wind is too strong to fly. That’s strange — according to our weather forecasts the wind won’t get bad until early the next day, but fine. We call every few hours to check on conditions, and we go to the Hoover Dam to kill time until later in the day. While driving out to Hoover Dam, we see skydivers, which makes us think that there are probably no issues with high wind at the moment.
After Hoover Dam, we call again, and after pressing the issue, we discover that the real issue is still their magneto. They needed to get it inspected and signed off on, and they hadn’t been able to do that yet.
So in sum, they lied to us and misled us about the nature of the problem. In doing so, they wasted our time and prevented us from calling another company before we had to go back home. They should have just been honest with us about the nature of the problem. Because they weren’t, we didn’t get to go glider riding before we had to come back home.
Do not, under any circumstances, give your business to people who are this dishonest, who are this bad at communication, and who have no concern for their customers.

Good part: when you get to ride in the sailplane the instructor is good and the scenery is great. Bad part: who knows if you will ride.
I’ve made two trips out to Vegas specifically to do this, both times signed up via back and forth emails well in advance and confirmed the day prior by phone/​text. I really wanted to do some winch launches. First time there was no ground crew, I was disappointed, but we did aero-​tows and still had a pretty good time. The second time I drive the car I rented just to do this the 20 miles south of the strip and arrived at 10:00 for my 10:00 appointment. This time there was nobody there.
After a while I text and call on the phone. No answer. I waited in the 101 degree sun for an hour and a half. Never heard back from them. They have my email, my text number, my phone number. I’m out the rental car cost and hours of my limited time in Vegas. Talking with the skydiving operation at the airport all you get is embarrassed shrugs and ‘who knows where they are.’ I left at 11:30. Zero communication from the glider people.
This is no way to run a school or a business. Very frustrating. The winch was there. The sailplanes were there. I was there. But no one from the school was there. I still want to winch launch, but now looking at taking my money to other places that might at least try to pretend they care about my time.

While the flight itself was great fun and an experience, the operation is a bit sketchy. The pick up and drop off service was unprofessional, we had to wait for while she stopped and shopped for dog food. Thankfully I shot some IPod video as I am still waiting for my in-​flight video (1 year) and good luck getting them return phone calls asking about the video. I had planned on getting my glider license with these guys, so ultimately their poor after the fact service has cost them the training fees and future rentals.

This company is extremely difficult to deal with and their communication is at best inefficient and at worst fundamentally dishonest. I required Groupon to intervene to even make an appointment, since 2 voicemails did not receive a response in 5 days.
I received a call from them on the scheduled morning and had my appointment rescheduled. Not a big deal itself, but it perhaps should have been a clue going forward. When I arrived for my appointment, there was no one present at the office. No human, no sign, no note. After waiting 20 minutes, and leaving another voicemail on the office line, Karen arrived.
I hate that she attempted to lie to me. She gave me a form to complete and tried to pretend that everything was normal. When I pressed her, though, she admitted that they were overbooked and it would be at least another hour before I could go up. I’m not sure that that’s true, either, but I couldn’t wait that long. I left without having my soaring experience and have asked Groupon for a refund. This nasty experience cost me 45 miles of driving and 1 hr 45 minutes of time wasted.
I will never deal with this company again.
They are inefficient.
They are dishonest.
If I can’t trust them to make an appointment, can’t trust them to keep it, do I really want to trust them with my life?

Total ripoff. I wish I could say differently.
I attempted to use a Groupon voucher, and booked 2 months in advance for this past weekend. When I arrived the evening before, a voicemail from the Soaring Center mentioned the tow plane had valve problems and they would call back in the morning with an update. No call, so I called them, and they said to call back in a couple of hours (so my appointment was squashed). Later, they said call later.
I let them know I could change my schedule to go on another day. No return calls. I left them a message saying I was disappointed with the lack of follow up. They stopped contact.
I wouldn’t waste your time or money with them. Clearly the aircraft are not reliable, and neither is the team there.

I have wanted to do a glider flight since I lived in New York an hour and a half from Elmira, NY which is often called the soaring capital of the US.
I took the time to go to Jean and go for my glider ride. Picking the right day is important. My ride was only about 20 minutes yesterday, but I knew with the colder weather and the noon flight time I chose was not the best for the optimum ride time, but I had to go early enough to get back home, change, and get to the Strip for dinner.
I was really impressed with the operation. My only problem was not giving them my cell phone when I first called. We played a little phone tag, but that would have been solved with the cell number.
Getting ready for the flight was a piece of cake and the take off from the runway was super! When we got to the correct altitude, I got to pull the know that released the tow rope from the glider and we were on our own.
It was such a super ride looking at all the beautiful desert and mountain scenery below. Had we had better thermals, the ride would have been longer. The pilot explained everything and was really a pleasant fellow.
I’m hooked. I will be back in April when it’s warmer and there are better thermals.

To the poster commenting on my review… No need for name calling. I wrote an honest review of MY experience. Keep your opinions on Unilocal for your own experience. And by the way, I felt sorry for my wife too because this placed stiffed both her and I. She was pissed and prompted me to write this. Who’s the jerk or should I say bitch now?

We recently visited Soaring Center Las Vegas. It’s a good thing we didn’t read the previous poster’s review first, because it doesn’t represent the true quality of the experience. In fact, I feel sorry for his wife who gave him the gift — what a jerk. Anyway, a caveat — we are not in any way related to the owners or anyone who lives or works in Vegas. We’re just a couple of 40-​ish people vacationing in Vegas who wanted something more than slots and craps.
If you want to jump out of a plane, then this isn’t for you. The excitement doesn’t come from risking your life doing something that nature didn’t intend for you to do. For me, the thrill came from being 6000 ft above sea level in a small tin can without an engine, propellers, or energy source other than the thermal updrafts. If you’ve ever seen an eagle soaring high above you and wanted to know what it felt like, well, this is as close as you’re gonna get.
Yes, the glider isn’t pretty. There are some privately owned beauties out at the airstrip — don’t even look, it’s not the one you’ll use. Yes, you’ll use that old ancient-​looking contraption with patched leather seats, slightly rusty controls, and a frayed tow-​rope. Your pilot, however, has years of experience unmarred by a single safety issue, and your tow pilot is one of those dang pesky highway patrol guys who clocks you from his plane and radios down to the guys in the cars who hand out the tickets. You’re in good hands.
The ride duration does vary. For those who choose acrobatics it is shorter, as the dips, stalls, and turns take you down a bit faster than those who choose gliding. If you’re gliding, your ride length is mostly based on the thermals. My ride was over 30 minutes, as the winds were excellent — my husband’s ride was about 20 minutes though, as he did a few stalls and steep banking turns, losing altitude at a rate that was far too fast for me! The four of us had a great time and thought it was a better use of money than throwing it down on the craps table.
It’s a family run operation. There’s no slick ads or gimmicks, no flashy entertainment or tacky souveniers. It’s not for everyone, but it was good for us.
check out my video and see for yourself!