RAF purpose
RAF promotes and protects hang gliding and paragliding across Rochester, Western New York, and the Finger Lakes. The club maintains flying access, develops pilots, and brings the community together.
ROCHESTER AREA FLYERS · ESTABLISHED IN THE 1970s
THE SKY
REMEMBERS.
Seven sites. Generations of pilots. One remarkable regional community.THIS IS THE ROCHESTER AREA FLYERS STORY
BUILT BY PEOPLE.
SHAPED BY THE SKY.
ALWAYS LOOKING UP.
RAF’s all-volunteer training tradition, the hills and valleys of the Finger Lakes, and the pilots who keep access alive form the heart of this club.
The Elmira pilots who opened and protected Harris Hill, Indian Cliffs, and Katydid are part of the region’s living free-flight story. Their experience, photographs, and stewardship deepen what today’s RAF community can learn and share.
THE RAF WAY IN
FROM FIRST RUN
TO FIRST FLIGHT.
Since the 1970s, RAF volunteers have helped aspiring pilots learn aerodynamics, weather, setup, ground handling, launch, landing, judgment, and the patient progression toward a USHPA H2 rating. The program normally runs from April through July at the training hill near Victor.
Explore RAF training →
FROM THE RAF ARCHIVE
LEARNING TO
LEAVE THE GROUND.
The original RAF film captures the equipment, instruction, repetition, teamwork, and delight behind the club's volunteer training tradition.ORIGINAL RAF TRAINING FILM · HOSTED ON YOUTUBE
FREE SPIRIT FLIGHT · ELMIRA HISTORY
TOM CASSETTA
The grandfather of hang gliding in Chemung County.
In the late 1970s, Tom Cassetta and fellow pilots explored and opened local launches including Harris Hill, Indian Cliffs, Katydid, Old Baldy, and Draht Hill. That spirit of mentorship, exploration, aircraft building, and stewardship continues to inspire pilots throughout the regional community.
Adapted from Free Spirit Flight’s published remembrance. Visit the original for the complete memorial and historic gallery.Read the original remembrance ↗“Wings of cloth and aluminum. Air that lifts. For up there in the sky is our paradise.”FREE SPIRIT FLIGHT
FILMS · FIELD NOTES · FAVORITES
WATCH. READ.
REMEMBER.
Stories keep their original club attribution, and official sources remain linked so changing guidance stays current.RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYRAF introduction + training filmWATCH ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYRAF news + field projectsEXPLORE ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYRAF meetings + calendarOPEN ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYRAF pilot and training libraryOPEN ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYFree Spirit original home + 42-photo galleryEXPLORE ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYFree Spirit sites and diagramsOPEN ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYNational Soaring MuseumVISIT ↗RAF REGIONAL LIBRARYUSHPA learn to flyLEARN ↗
STORIES · KNOWLEDGE · COMMUNITY
WHAT SHAPED US.
WHAT MOVES US.
A living collection of the ideas, traditions, and field knowledge that make today’s regional community stronger.Visiting pilots
Visitors need the applicable club membership, current USHPA standing, permission, a site briefing, and local accompaniment where required. The live RAF site deck now holds the actionable version.
Learning to fly
RAF’s all-volunteer program combines ground school and hands-on hill training, normally April through July. Students progress individually through equipment knowledge, judgment, launch, control, and landing skills toward H2.
Check It Out
RAF’s introductory program explains equipment, cost, safety, club structure, ground handling, launch movement, and flaring. Current dates and enrollment belong in RAF’s live training calendar.
Meetings and service
Club meetings, hill maintenance, launch cleanup, equipment care, instructor work, and landowner stewardship are how access thrives. RAF’s event and operations tools make it easier to show up and help.
Safety culture
Preflight discipline, judgment, appropriate ratings, mentorship, incident reporting, reserve care, and respect for official site procedures are recurring themes across both legacy sites.
RAF flying country
Bristol Mountain, Dansville, Hammondsport, and Padgham Hill form RAF’s established western network. Each has its own wind sector, access rules, ratings, landing considerations, and current status.
Elmira flying country
Harris Hill, Indian Cliffs, and Katydid reflect Free Spirit’s long ridge tradition and remain central to the region’s flying knowledge. Class D coordination, seasonal closures, private access, current LZs, and local accompaniment remain essential.
A better day at launch
Clear briefings, trusted weather evidence, current access information, thoughtful mentorship, and shared stewardship help every pilot arrive better prepared and every flying day run more smoothly.
Free Spirit’s beginning
Elmira pilots began exploring and opening local ridges in the 1970s. The community grew around Harris Hill, Indian Cliffs, Katydid, mentorship, mountain judgment, and the dream of soaring.
Landowners make flight possible
Both club histories depend on relationships, gates, fields, crops, hunting seasons, neighbors, and promises kept. A favorable forecast never overrides permission or a closure.
What we are building now
RAF connects seven-site planning, mobile check-in, training progression, member operations, compliance, offline field access, and source-grounded intelligence in one practical regional experience.
FIELD-READY SAFETY RESOURCES
KNOW THE PLAN.
BE READY TO HELP.
Site rules, emergency response, and incident reporting resources for the Elmira flying community. Always verify current officer guidance before use.WHAT COMES NEXT
THE BEST DAYS
ARE STILL AHEAD.
We honor the people, photographs, films, memorials, flying sites, landowner relationships, and hard-earned knowledge that brought Western New York free flight here—then build clearer tools, stronger training, and easier ways for the next generation to participate.