My initial experience with Eagle some years ago was excellent. The education was thorough and never boring and the combination of a training hill that (almost) always works, mountain launches for completing the training, and the beautiful surroundings to relax in were/are perfect. Where Eagle really soars (pun intended) however is *after* the initial certification. They actively nurture the incredibly friendly and helpful flying community in Santa Barbara, not just with words, but also by providing useful services like the Eagle van, shuttling anybody who can fit in to the mountain launches for a very modest fee. Even though I live in NJ I’ve been back to SB many times and have *always* felt welcome and *always* had my questions and concerns answered without once feeling like a burden. I’ve also taken one flying trip with Eagle to Columbia and I am planning to take more. The trips aren’t cheap admittedly, but like in Santa Barbara, the education during the trip, the provided services like driving to launch and retrieve vehicles, tirelessly repairing little (or large) mishaps to gliders that can happen during the days, and the sense of community created were outstanding. I especially liked the separation of pilots into groups by their skill level and then having one instructor flying with that group and providing guidance in the air was really helpful and reassuring.