Best soaring site in USA ?

[Sion Beard]

Where is the best place to soar year in year out in the states?

I hear Arizona and Texas are quite good.

Please flood the net with your responses.

Thanx

Sion

[MarcArnold]

I've soared throughout the Alps and it's a distant second place to what
the Rockies have to offer! I soared 3,000 nm up and down the Rockies
Aug/Jul '94 in my Stemme S-10... And covered numerous locations from
Kalispell, MT to Phoenix, NM... It was an extraordinary experience to say
the least!

My answer would be the whole mountain range... The best soaring is
adventure soaring via safari -- Go for it!

Onward and Upward,

Marc Arnold

[Jeff Knell]

Where is the best place to soar ... in the states?

Sion

==================================================

I'll avoid a "best" debate, and answer a slightly
different question:

Where is the best soaring in the US, relative to
amount of recognition and development?

That is: soaring quality
--------------
publicity

I claim it's Utah.

The conditions here rival the best, but Gary Kemp's
mid-June camps at Parowan are all you ever hear about
soaring in Utah.

One of these days someone is going to start a glider
operation at Parowan, and soaring is really going to
takeoff in Southern Utah.

A bonus to soaring in SW Utah is the proximity to
Zion and Bryce Natinal Parks and Cedar Breaks, with
some of the most spectacular hiking and sightseeing
in the world. And Southeastern Utah, with Arches
and Canyonlands, is not far away.

The Utah Soaring Association is planning a trip to
Moab this year. That should be the only time a tow
is available there, so if you are interested in
soaring over Arches and Canyonlands let me know.

Soaring in Northern Utah is also excellent, with 12K+
mountains and cross-country potential to the north,
east and south.

Check it out.

jeff

[Tim Taylor]

My vote is Truckee, CA.

Truckee combines great soaring, beautiful environment and many things for
your crew to do. Gives all the advantages of Minden (fly the same
places), but has earlier starts and your crew doesn't have to sit through
the afternoon hot windstorms in the Carson Valley. A little tougher to
get home at the end of the day, but plan your flights to end up North of
the airport and getting home isn't that bad (Airsailing is a good last
turnpoint). I have ridge soared home after thermal days over the
dessert. Has both campsites and bunkhouse on the airport and motels
nearby. Lake Tahoe is only 15 minutes away. Weekend evenings are
usually spent barbecuing with other pilots and enjoying a campfire.

It is not as famous as Minden because they don't have contests there
(airport management won't allow it), but is a great soaring site May
through September. I flew my first 500K out of Truckee, while I was
cruising down the pinenuts ridge 15 miles (24 km) east of Minden at
14,000 ft (4.300 m) the pilots at Minden were struggling to leave the
airport.

"Soar Seirra" should be required reading before flying in the area.
Also, believe what others tell you about tows at Truckee, this is tiger
country as they say. Don't get a checkout in the morning and think your
tow at 1:00 p.m. will be the same (this is true at Truckee and Minden).

Cruising down a cloud street at 17,999 ft (5.486 m) is memories I will
always cherish. Other sites have great soaring, but few put it all
together in a consistent fashion.

Timothy A. Taylor, Ph.D.
University of Missouri _____
Columbia, Missouri, USA |
NIMBUS IIM, SI \--------------------(*)--------------------/

E-Mail: tim_t...@muccmail.missouri.edu

[Frank Smith]

In <JEFFK.95F...@dosxx.med.utah.edu> je...@dosxx.med.utah.edu
(Jeff Knell) writes:

I vote for Hobbs, NM
Frank Smith

[David H Noyes]

In article <3j2qh7$1...@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com>,

Frank Smith <jafs...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>
>>I claim it's Utah.
>>

>I vote for Hobbs, NM > Frank Smith
>

Too hot! My vote goes to southern Montanna. :-)

[CLEMENT TONY SMOLDER II]

Jeff,

Several members of the Arizona Soaring Assoc are planning to attemp a flight from T
from Turf to Parowan. Any information on what time of year or dates we could
get a tow out of there for a continued flight north to Heber?

Thanks,

Tony

[GKEMP]

Re: Flying to Parowan from Turf.......

Best time would be before the onset of the summer monsoons.......our group
of 15-20 pilots will be there from the 11-25 of June, but Dave Norwood of
ParoAir has a tow plane there all year.

Gary

[Gus Wazz]

My pick for best soaring site is Val Aero in Durango, Colorado. Remote
but spectacular! The runway is a little tricky however. It's got a bit
of a dog leg mid-field and has power lines nearby. The scenery and
soaring conditions are unbeatable.

Steve Wasilowski
Sky Soaring, Hampshire, IL

[Jer/ Eberhard]

Gus Wazz (gus...@aol.com) wrote:
> My pick for best soaring site is Val Aero in Durango, Colorado. Remote
> but spectacular! The runway is a little tricky however. It's got a bit
> of a dog leg mid-field and has power lines nearby. The scenery and
> soaring conditions are unbeatable.

Please post particulars... name, address, phone, instructors,
ships, rates, et.al.

--
Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, j...@fc.hp.com, 303 229-2861 OFFICE, 303 229-3598 FAX
Hewlett-Packard, 3404 East Harmony Rd MS-E8, Ft Collins, CO 80525-9599
C-182 N182H, CFII Airplane & Glider, Civil Air Patrol, MSN CheckPilot, PP218
HAM N0FZD, FAA Aviation Safety Counselor, Denver FSDO, 26 Young Eagles Flown!

[Guenther Eichhorn]

You can get information about soaring sites on the WWW:
General Soaring server:
http:/adswww.harvard.edu/SSA/ssa_homepg.html
Soaring Sites:
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu:80/~tamsky/sites/

Guenther
| Dr. Guenther Eichhorn | `\ /' |
| CPL,ASMEL,ASES,IA,Glider,CFI | ------^------ |
| DC-3 type rating | | |O| | |
| AOPA, EAA, IAC, SSA | ------v------ |
| Pitts S-2A: N1GE | | |
| g...@cfa.harvard.edu |*** Flying is the Pitts **|
| See also: http://adswww.harvard.edu/IAC/iac_homepg.html |
--
| Dr. Guenther Eichhorn | \ / |
| CPL,ASMEL,ASES,IA,Glider,CFI | ------^------ |
| DC-3 type rating | | |O| | |
| AOPA, EAA, IAC, SSA | ------v------ |

[SRALegal]

Hello Steve, I think Sky Sailing in Techacpi CA is one of the best places
in the world. How's that new 1-26 going, I understand Von is proud owner
of a new 1-35.
It should be a fun year in Illinois.

Mark Winders
Hinckley Soaring

[pdbl...@gmail.com]

Lol, Dave Norwood hu? Paraglide Norwood?

[markm...@gmail.com]

Thread amazingly comes back from the dead after 22 years,

[Ernst]

KANSAS

[Giaco]

Awesome... I was all of 7 years old when this thread started... can't wait till we have people commenting who are younger than the threads!
And answer to the question is unequivocally New Hampshire

[2G]

No one mentioned Ely, NV, which routinely has multiple pilots in the OLC top 10. Unfortunately, tows are no longer available (unless you arrange for your own towplane), so it is primarily motorgliders now. The terrain can be unforgiving and you HAVE to have your act together.

To broaden the scope a bit, Invermere, BC, has spectacular scenery that is unrivaled.

Tom

[Dan Marotta]

Stated like a true Easterner. Come to the southwest on your next
vacation. We have a treat in store for you!

> Awesome... I was all of 7 years old when this thread started... can't wait till we have people commenting who are younger than the threads!
> And answer to the question is unequivocally New Hampshire

--
Dan, 5J

[Tango Eight]

Look up the precip maps for 2017, and you'll see that Chris is having a little joke at his own expense :-). It'll get good, again. Patience required here.

best,

Evan / T8

[Dan Marotta]

Thunder storms booming right now...

--
Dan, 5J

[mark...@aol.com]

Ely is Tiger Country As Tom Stowers says "just don't look down and you will be fine..."

[yellowp...@gmail.com]

I did some analysis for Australia using the last season's https://SkySight.io/ forecast data.

Total km's flyable:
https://www.facebook.com/SkySight.io/photos/pcb.1142864472488646/1142861489155611/?type=3&theater
Biggest flight possible:
https://www.facebook.com/SkySight.io/photos/pcb.1142864472488646/1142861505822276/?type=3&theater

I'll put up an analysis for the US at the end of the season and we can settle this definitively :)

[Mar...@mpsvt.org]

I'm younger than the thread! I was born in 2000, and I'm going for my PPG this year at Sugarbush Soaring in Vermont. Great soaring there - everyone seems to have forgotten East Coast soaring in this thread.

[armstro...@sbcglobal.net]

As a nonpilot but a soaring crew member, I love Tehachapi California. Great place to live, Sierras are accessible, tons of vintage ships, events, great soaring airport, long flights, and dinners with the group weekly. Plus good work, aerospace, and a community loaded with pilots of all types. And affordable. And yes I am involved with the chamber of commerce/economic development here..😊
Janice Hagen Armstrong

[azo...@yahoo.com]

Hands down it's Inyokern California. But I may be a bit biased.

[Sean Fidler]

IONIA, Michigan!!!!!!

[disc...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, August 6, 2017 at 12:56:15 AM UTC-4, Sean Fidler wrote:
> IONIA, Michigan!!!!!!

Can't beat Ionia on a good day and it's easy to park.

[John Cochrane]

A minor correction to Tim's nice post about Truckee: They do have regional contests. I've been for the last two years, and it's superbly run. Sergio sets an ambitious but doable task, and briefs each day's likely get home route. That makes it a great introduction to the site for new pilots like myself. Yes, getting back is tricky, but it follows well established routes and minimums. If you can't make the minimums, you land at Minden, Carson, or Stead, and they happily come tow you home. The setting really is stunning.

John Cochrane BB

[markm...@gmail.com]

Ionia?? Really? With six flights totaling 1,821 OLC points since October 2016, I doubt I will be putting it on my bucket list.

[Sean Fidler]

I was kidding "a bit" about Ionia although as Glenn says when it is good there there probably isn't a more pleasant place to fly. To be honest, based on the weather all over the USA over the past few years, Ionia is at least as good as anywhere else in the eastern USA. For example we are at Uvalde right now and it has been well weaker than normal and last year they only got I. 4 days for Sports class Nationals here. Meanwhile I flew in Toronto (4-5 hours west of Ionia) and flew 7-8 days in a row during the exact same period as Uvalde Sports Class Nationals with cloud bases of 10k and speeds of nearly 85 mph every day.

One thing we should all consider is a "flexible contest location" (or fun flying location). In the sport iceboating they will move several hundreds of miles (or more) to a location with good ice if the original location ends up having bad "ice" (weather). Soaring could really benifit from this type of thinking. Example, Mifflin with a backup at Perry.

Sean
7T

[markm...@gmail.com]

I was kidding "a bit" about Ionia.

Uh, I think you wuz kidding "a LOT!"

The OLC does provide a great way to evaluate sites across the world (and US). Just go to OLC Scoring and click Statistics Airfield and Statistics Club to get an overall view of what's hot and what's not. Be prepared to wear out your mouse clicking "next page" before getting to Ionia.

[Tony]

For the record Uvalde last year should have had 5 days last year but one day was cancelled due to the runway NOTAM expiring. The days we flew were pretty good Uvalde days. Then the weather got weird and that was the end.

After Region 7 this year we also talked quite a bit about the idea of a floating contest site. That is something that deserves some effort I think.