Glider enthusiasts from around the USA have found a new destination in far west Texas.

They come to fly with master glider instructor Burt Compton at Marfa Airport, above the grasslands of the

Marfa Plateau, near the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park.

For the public, Compton offers short introductory rides in his FAA certified two-seat glider and also shares his

forty three years of flying experience with visiting glider pilots from around the United States.   

Privately owned racing gliders participate in cross country flying tasks over the Big Bend area of Texas, making 

"personal best" distance and speed flights.   Towed aloft by a powered airplane from Marfa Airport, a glider pilot 

will release the towrope and then circle upwards in the invisible thermal updrafts found under cumulus clouds, 

then glide cross-country, often soaring for distances of over 300 miles.

Historic Soaring Site:  In the 1960’s and 1970’s Marfa hosted several US National Soaring Contests and

the 1970 World Soaring Championships, first ever held in the USA.   During those contests the public might glimpse

dozens of the sleek, motorless sailplanes (high-performance gliders) soaring over the mountains near Marfa,

Fort Davis and Alpine, but getting a ride in a two-seat training glider was usually impossible. "Eighty pilots gathered

from around the world to race their single-seat gliders. The purpose of the contest was to determine the

champion pilot, not for giving rides", says Compton, who first visited the Big Bend in 1967.

On April 5, 2008, Marfa Airport was designated as a "National Landmark of Soaring" by the 

National Soaring Museum, as a significant site for the development of the art and science of soaring.

Glider Ride Opportunity – Soar Like a Dinosaur:  Year-round, Compton will provide glider

rides or flying lessons to anyone who would like to experience the powerful thermal updrafts that made

the Big Bend area legendary in the aviation world.  The two-seat glider used for the soaring flights has a

54 foot wingspan, similar to the giant Pterosaur which also utilized Texas thermal updrafts 65 million

years ago.  Fossilized bones of the extinct bird-like creature have been discovered in the Big Bend.

Married in a Glider:  In July 2001, Kathie and Burt Compton were married in their glider high above

the Marfa Plateau.  They will celebrate their wedding anniversary by taking to the skies again.

To plan your soaring adventure, get advice on accommodations and other area activities,

or to obtain a glider ride gift certificate, contact Kathie or Burt Compton by Email at

marfagliders@aol.com or visit their website at www.flygliders.com