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

I fly out of Wurtsboro. I take the Shortline bus from Port
Authority. It's been hard sometimes. The last bus is at 4:40PM. If
you miss it too bad (it sometimes swings by at 4:30 and does not
wait). I've been stranded twice and had to stay at the airport until
the next day. The cool thing is Wurtsboro is a lovely airport. Nice
thermals and a Ridge and occasionally mountain wave. There is State
Park directly next to the Airport that you can camp in. So if you
plan it right it can be a nice way to get out of the city for a few
days. The added bonus of Wurtsboro is they are always open so if you
have a flexible schedule you can choose the best time of week to fly.

I have looked into Ridge Soaring in PA. There are busses from the
city, however the trip is 4+ hours each way.

All in all it's not easy keeping the soaring thing going in the city
but as they say if you can make it here you can make it anywhere. :-)