• Motorless flying by Cayley (UK, 1853), Montgomery (USA, 1883), Lilienthal (Germany, 1893)
  • Wright Brothers learn control by soaring amidst Wind and Sand: Flight of 1:00 min on 10/21/03
  • First glider contest: Intercollegiate meet hosted by Harvard College, 5/28-30/11. Won by Tufts, MIT
  • First well-known soaring record: 9:45 min duration by Orville Wright, Kitty Hawk NC, 10/24/11.
  • Soaring becomes organized sport at Wasserkuppe, Germany, 1920 (Versailles treaty outlaws power)
  • USA Glider clubs proliferate with air-minded youth, 1928. National Glider Association founded
  • First USA National Glider Contest, Elmira NY, 1930. All pre-WWII Nationals held at Elmira
  • Soaring Society of America founded May, 1932, to hold the 3rd National Glider Contest
  • Development phase: 1920-1940 (towing, 20:1 sailplanes, 3 forms of lift, distances to 500 km)
  • Expansion phase: 1960-1980 (SSA goes from 1,000 to 16,000 members, from 1 to 5 Nationals)

Soaring History (see "Wings like Eagles", P.A. Schweizer, Smithsonian Press)