Flying sailplanes is much better. And it costs a fraction of flying a powered airplane. I doubt this is an option in downtown San Fransisco, but if you by chan

Flying sailplanes is much better. And it costs a fraction of flying a powered airplane. I doubt this is an option in downtown San Fransisco, but if you by chance live in an area where the airspace is a little less tight, soaring is a much cheaper and more "down to the basics" kind of flying. You are yourself fully responsible for finding sources of lift, and if you make a bad decision, you'll have to land. Flying powered airplanes is a lot more forgiving in all senses - you get multiple shots at landing, you don't have to think too much about the wind direction for fear of getting on the lee side of a ridge, you don't always have to be within gliding distance of a suitable landing site, etc, etc. And you'll actually have to use the rudder pedals, all the time. These restrictions make soaring much more fun. And to top it off: if you do a low-pass over a hiking group in the mountains from a powered airplane, they'll likely think you're a jackass. If you do the same in a sailplane, they'll be surprised it is even possible to fly without an engine. You do get a lot more freedom if you've got an engine, and I'm not bashing Cessna pilots here. Flying is fun no matter how. But if it's sports you're after, nothing beats gliding. How's this for an intellectual challenge: unless you navigate all around and circle at least every 20 minutes, you'll fall down?