Riv Press-Enterprise: HEMET: Gliders return to airport
HoUdino
PAUL ALVAREZ/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER Gliders take flight over Hemet on
Nov, 19. The gliders returned to Hemet-Ryan Airport after a two-year
eviction and legal battle with Riverside County.
BY JOHN ASBURY
STAFF WRITER
jas...@pe.com
Published: 19 November 2011 06:01 PM
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RelatedPHOTO GALLERY HEMET: Taking flight
WEBLINK HEMET: Decision expected in dispute with gliders (Nov. 7,
2010)
WEBLINK HEMET: FAA rules gliders wrongly ousted from airport (Feb. 16,
2011)
Two years after gliders were banished from the Hemet-Ryan Airport, the
self-propelled aircraft returned Saturday.
Pilots with the Orange County Soaring Association took their first
flights at the airport under a new agreement that resolved a dispute
over safety and sharing space with other planes.
“We had a great day,” Soaring Association President Larry Touhino
said. “We gave it test runs and everything worked out great. We are
excited about being back here.”
Gliders had used Hemet-Ryan since 1991, but in 2009 their lease was
canceled and the runway they used was closed. Riverside County
officials said it was unsafe for gliders to use a runway that ran
parallel to one used by other planes and Cal Fire aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration ruled in February that the gliders
should be allowed to operate out of the airport. The gliders will now
be kept to the south side of the airport and restricted from the main
runway. They must take off and land on the same runway and keep the
area clear, Touhino said.
This weekend was the start of test flights before the gliders move in
during the coming months.
Tuohino said the length of time it took to reach an agreement
eliminated about two-thirds of the club’s members. Other gliders were
sent to fly at Lake Elsinore, Barstow and the remote High Desert
community of Pearblossom, east of Palmdale.
“The whole battle of Hemet was to maintain a location close to a metro
center and affordable for people involved in aviation,” Touhino said.
“In the desert, multiple clubs were all competing for the same people.
It was like sending us to Siberia.”
The biggest issue pending was runway space, Touhino said. Gliders will
operate on the south end of the airport and are still negotiating to
expand or relocate, Touhino said.
The soaring association will lease the site for about $1,500 a month,
which is subject to review in four years, according to the contract.
The Hemet-Ryan Airport includes a Cal Fire Air Attack base, where
Riverside County and a portion of the state’s firefighting aircraft
are based. The base is slated for renovation, and all glider activity
may be stopped during major activity, according to an airport report
by the Riverside County Economic Development Agency, which operates
the airport.
Assistant Economic Development Director Colby Catalbi said the runway
was reopened last summer and welcomed the gliders return.
“We’re all working for all different aspects of flying modes,” Catalbi
said. “There’s room for everyone to operate at the airport.”