What is ski flying? Simply stated, ski flying is BIG ski jumping. Only the best ski jumpers in the world ( about 100) can qualify to ski fly; everything else, including equipment used, is the same. Olympians compete on two size hills, small (90 meters) and large (120 meters). Copper Peak is a 170 meter hill allowing flights in excess of 600 feet, about 35 percent further than the largest Olympic hills. Hills larger than Olympic-size hills are, in the vernacular of the sport, called ski flying hills. There are five (5) ski flying hills in Europe. Copper Peak is the only ski flying facility in the Western Hemisphere. The world ski flying distance record, set in March of 2004 at Planica, Slovenia, is 758 feet (231 meters).

The superstructure (inrun) at Copper Peak, a unique architectural icon, is the largest of its kind in the world rising some twenty-six (26) stories above the crest of a 360 foot copper-bearing outcrop. (Many of the large hills utilize the side of an existing hill or mountain to gain elevation, thus their inrun heights are much smaller. However, the inrun at world famous Pine Mountain Ski Jump in Iron Mountain, Michigan is the largest ski jump in the world rising 176 feet above the top of the hill, thus allowing jumps up to 450 feet.)

Copper Peak is owned and operated by Copper Peak Inc., a 501(c)3 Michigan non-profit corporation, for "the benefit and enjoyment of the people of this area, region, and nation."