Welcome to the ESA

The Experimental Soaring Association, formerly the Sailplane Homebuilders Association, is a division of the Soaring Society of America. While the key points of design and construction of self-built sailplanes remain at the core of the organization, new types of soaring flight, the problems of economical launching methods, the place of motorized sailplanes, and the challenge of reducing the cost of entry into soaring are major interests that prompted our change of name.

Our goal is to share knowledge and to encourage experimentation, research, building, and flying of soaring aircraft. Our organization is built on the shoulders of aerospace giants such as Paul MacCready, Burt Rutan, and others, and we continue to pursue their goal of economical, efficient, and innovative forms of flight. Please join us as we take soaring and aircraft homebuilding into the future!