That's a pretty comprehensive rundown of the options. The only thing I
can add is that the ShortLine bus from the Port Authority bus terminal
in NYC goes past the Wurtsboro airport and will stop there. I used to
take it all the time when I was learning to soar.

Long Island Soaring Assn. flys out of Brokhaven Airport on L.I., about
a mile or so from the Mastic/Shirley LIRR Station. There are a few
LISA members who live in NYC. There is bus service from NYC to the
other cities too, but I'm not sure how far from the airport the
service runs.

I live on L.I. and work in NYC, but I keep my glider at Ridge Soaring
in PA, and drive about 5 hours each way. Two other pilots from L.I.
keep their gliders there as well, and some LISA members bring a club
glider there from time to time as well. LISA also keeps a glider at
Wurtsboro for the summer.

On Feb 26, 5:00 pm, "Papa3" wrote:
On Feb 26, 4:25 pm, "fbrahic" wrote:

I'm considering moving to Manhattan at some point in the future, and
was wondering if there's anyone here who knows what it's like to keep
soaring while living there?

I've noticed there are a couple of clubs on Long Island, but I'm not
sure how long it takes to get there from Manhattan, or what the
soaring conditions are like.

Any input is appreciated!

Just in case others may be interested, I'm responding to the group
instead of directly to the author. I get about 2 or 3 requests like
this each year, so maybe I can head off some future requests.

The answer to your question is "it depends." As long as you're
willing to set aside the better part of a full day, it's doable.
Secondly, you either need to own a car (read have a lot of $$ to keep
it in NYC) or be willing to rent. Though I have seen people make it
work using mass transit, it's not for the faint of heart.

In terms of sites, there are several options. These include:

- New York State. In addition to the Long Island operations you
mentioned, there are very good options in Middletown and Wurtsboro,
usually referred to as southern New York State. These are probably
1.5-2 hours away depending on traffic and how you get out of
Manhattan.
- New Jersey. Again, depending on where you are in Manhattan,
locations in NJ can actually be relatively easy to get to. The
closest (Somerset) is probably 1 hour from the mouth of the Holland
Tunnel without traffic. The other major operation (Blairstown) is
much larger and features good ridge soaring, but it is more like 1.5
hours.
- Pennsylvania. Believe it or not, the operation at Van Sant airport
is also "only" about 1.5 hours from the mouth of the Holland
Tunnel.

The good news is that, if you are like most people, this will be a
weekend activity, so the outbound leg (ie. getting out of Manhattan)
shouldn't be too bad. Coming home, even on a weekend, can be a bit
arduous.

I frequently would spend Friday night in the city and still be able to
get to Blairstown or Van Sant in time to assemble my ship and launch
by late morning.

Please feel free to contact me directly for a more in-depth review.

Good luck

Erik Mann
LS8-18 (P3)
SSA State Governor NJ