Sonderlandeplatz Stölln

Sonderlandeplatz Stölln is a winch-tow flying field about 70 km northwest of Berlin, sitting at just 30 m in the flat Brandenburg countryside. Because there's no hill nearby, paragliding and hang gliding here happen purely through winch towing, opening up flatland flying that would otherwise be impossible in this landscape. The site works across a wide spread of wind directions — northeast through east, southeast, southwest, west and northwest — which gives it more flexibility than most winch strips. It sits on genuinely historic aviation ground: the Gollenberg, just a few hundred meters north of the tow line, is where Otto Lilienthal made many of his pioneering glider flights in the 1890s, making this one of the birthplaces of powered and unpowered flight in Germany. The sandy soil here heats up readily, so the site is thermically active with cloud streets forming on good days, and cross-country flights are possible from the tow line. It's a working aerodrome rather than a scenic mountain site, run on the same historic ground that started it all.

Launch & conditions

Winch tow only — flat terrain with no hill launch. Favorable wind covers a wide range: northeast, east, southeast, southwest, west and northwest.

Getting there & local rules

The field sits about 70 km northwest of Berlin in flat Brandenburg countryside.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Sonderlandeplatz Stölln, read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open Sonderlandeplatz Stölln with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.