New rules coming for glider pilots at Hemet-Ryan Airport

[HoUdino]

One more hurtle jumped and couple left to go. We hope to reopen this
Fall.

Knock on wood!

LT


Riverside County: New rules coming for glider pilots at Hemet-Ryan
Airport

By City News Service, on July 25, 2011, at 3:20 pm


Glider pilots who successfully challenged Riverside County’s attempts
to ban them from using Hemet-Ryan Airport will have some new rules to
adhere to under an operational framework expected to be approved
Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.


In 2009, glider pilots at Hemet-Ryan were ordered to vacate the
airport on the basis of safety concerns cited by officials with the
county Economic Development Agency. Between 30 and 50 sail planes were
removed from the airport.(Flickr/Creative Commons)

The new Hemet-Ryan Airport Operations Manual for Sailplane Operations
& Pilots was drawn up after the Federal Aviation Administration in
February warned the county that prohibiting glider traffic at Hemet-
Ryan could result in a loss of federal funding to support the
facility, which serves as a year-round hub for firefighting aircraft.

County officials relented and followed the FAA’s directive to
establish operating guidelines for non-powered flights.

The new regulations restrict glider operations — takeoffs and landings
— to runway 4/22, reserving the airfield’s longer runway, 5/23, to
powered aircraft.

Under the new standards, sailplane operators will be required to:
– monitor and communicate on the VHF radio frequency that all local
air traffic use;
– avoid the grassy space between the two runways;
– never use the vacant space on the northeast end of runway 4/22,
except in emergencies;
– park in areas specifically designated for gliders; and
– cease departures and arrivals when they conflict with Cal Fire air
attack operations.

Violators will receive a verbal reprimand for the first transgression;
a written warning for the second; and will be prohibited from using
the airport again after a third.

Supervisor Jeff Stone, whose Third District encompasses the area, led
the effort to boot glider pilots from Hemet-Ryan in the fall of 2009.
The then-board chairman said sailplane operations were incompatible
with the county’s plans to modernize the airport and conflicted with
firefighting missions – to the point of creating safety concerns.

The county’s Economic Development Agency, which manages the airfield,
evicted the roughly four-dozen glider pilots paying rent to keep their
planes there.

The pilots vigorously protested the county’s moves, noting that
sailplane flying had been going on at Hemet-Ryan since the mid-1960s.

Members of the Orange County Soaring Association hired an attorney,
and a formal complaint was filed with the FAA, prompting an
investigation.

Federal officials determined that the county’s closure of the 2,000-
foot runway dedicated to glider operations was based on “flawed or
unsupported” reasons.

“The (county) is obligated by its grant assurances … to operate the
airport — not just specific pieces of infrastructure on it — on
reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination,” the FAA stated,
adding that the county’s action constituted an “unreasonable denial”
of use.