What To Expect On Your Soaring Tour

Our home base is Payson, Arizona. Following are tips to have the best soaring adventure ever and directions to the Payson Airport.

Things To Do To Guarantee The Flight Adventure Of A Lifetime!

  • Please call after 5 pm the day prior to your scheduled flight so that we can check weather for your flight day to be sure winds etc will be appropriate. Please call (602) 622-2257.
  • Don’t forget sunglasses, a hat, and a camera.
  • Dress for Payson temperatures, you will not be cold inside the glider. Avoid dark colored clothing.
  • Save time for a healthy, low-fat meal before your flight – generally do not go on an empty stomach.
  • Cameras are welcome, but focus more on the flight than your camera. Binoculars are not helpful.
  • You should not fly if you have a cold or nasal/sinus problems. Please reschedule your appointment.
  • Your pilot Russ is a certified flight instructor in both gliders and airplanes with over five thousand hours experience. He is a nationally recognized expert in this type of motorglider and instructs other pilots across the United States. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you just want to fly a little during the ride, just let him know.
6 year old Fabian and Russ in the motor glider cockpit
The youngest client of Sky King Soaring: Russ and 6 year old Fabian.

Directions To Payson Airport

Use this address in your navigation app: 800 W Airport Rd, Payson, AZ.

From Phoenix

Take Loop 202 exit 13 for Hwy 87 turn north onto the Beeline Highway (Hwy 87) heading to Payson. Or, from Scottsdale, you can take Shea Blvd east to Hwy 87.

From Shea Blvd and Highway 87 intersection in Fountain Hills, continue 63 miles north. A beautiful drive if you’ve never seen this route to Payson, not to be missed.

Pass through the intersection of HWY 260 and continue north on the Beeline (Hwy 87). About 1 mile beyond Walmart, turn left onto Airport Road at the traffic circle.

From Flagstaff

Take I-17 south approximately 52 miles south to the Camp Verde exit (Hwy 260, exit 287).

Turn right (east) onto Hwy 260 and go approximately 34 miles. At the Hwy 87 intersection, turn right to stay on AZ 260 for another 24 miles.

Just as you enter the limits of Payson, you will see Airport Road signs (with airplane) directing you right onto Airport Road. Make the turn.

Once On Airport Road

After you turn onto Airport Road, go less than one-half mile and turn right into the entrance to the Crosswinds Restaurant, located midfield.

Park in the Crosswinds Restaurant parking lot and take either the gate to the west or the gate in front of the restaurant.

The gate code to get you out onto the field is: 1,2,5. Walk down through the green hangars to the motorglider where Russ your pilot will meet you at your appointment time. If you have any questions, please feel free to call.

If you have the flight of your lifetime, and if you can afford a gratuity, please tip your pilot.