Discussion: Utah Soaring compared to other clubs

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Bret Hess

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May 19, 2025, 10:14:04 AMMay 19

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Richard Kennedy sent this to the club, and I'm posting it on this group to make discussion easy.

There has been some conversation on the Nephi GroupMe page regarding Utah Soaring operations and winch launching. Frank had suggested that I submit some experiences and observations from flying in other countries. This is a somewhat lengthy response so I thought that an email might be better than the app.

I’ve been fortunate enough to fly gliders in six other countries. France, Spain, the UK, Austria, New Zealand and Australia. All of these countries have a mix of aero tow and winch launches but I can’t remember a club that did both… (doesn’t mean that there wasn’t one, if there was I just can’t remember it)… the clubs that winch usually do not even own a tow plane. They are 100% winch 100% of the time. I met many pilots who have never flown an aero tow! These clubs have conditions or locations that are conducive to long flights because they can hook up with thermals or ridges immediately after getting off tow. In most other countries, the Glider ratings and “licensing” is done by a non-government organization. Imagine the SSA being the governing and licensing soaring organization and you have an idea of how the other countries operate. There are varying regulations and medical requirements that are specific to each country so it’s not always easy to compare apples to apples..

We have some challenges in our club that are somewhat unique to the United States. In other countries, general aviation is rare, at least compared to the United States. I can’t remember an occasion in any of the other places I’ve flown where there was any conflict between power traffic and the Gliders. The only exception to that was in Innsbrook, (winch only) where the gliders operate along side of 737’s and other airliners!

When I try to explain to glider pilots in other countries about the traffic issues we face at our 4 locations they shake their head in disbelief. They have very little experience in trying to land and take off in a pattern full of power traffic!

Of all the places I’ve been, I have never encountered a club that is organized like ours, and I don’t mean that in negative way… it’s just different.. the other clubs are heavily invested in their infrastructure. They own the tow planes, hangars, mowing equipment and the gliders. They own or maintain the club houses and other facilities. They have to train and schedule tow pilots etc.. and they have to maintain their grass runways! And their annual dues are significantly higher than ours.. but on the other hand they also share a sense of ownership, responsibility and camaraderie.

Utah Soaring has traded a lot of those responsibilities away, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does seem to make us less connected in some ways.. the biggest challenge, of course is in tow operations. We don’t have to own tow planes and train and schedule pilots, but if Kim is not available in Logan, we don’t fly. If we don’t have a tow plane in Nephi, we don’t fly. I don’t know enough about Morgan and Heber to comment on those operations.

I love winch launches but it does take a large support team and can be very tricky in high traffic situations (like Nephi and Logan). It’s much easier when you have a location that is “glider only” but that’s another can of worms!