In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

I am located in Western NC, between Hickory (on I-40) and Boone.
(Appalachian State) Are there other opportunities for soaring bases that I
may have missed? I am surprised at how few glider operations I have found
within a 45 minute or hours drive from here.

Don't be afraid to look farther afield, it's more practical than it
might sound. Of course everybody is different, and what's practical to
one person might be too distant for you, but don't dismiss it out of
hand. I'm 90 minutes away from my gliderport, and the majority of my
club is a similar distance. (When I was evaluating the club, I thought
that it might be too far to be workable, then looked at the members page
and saw that almost everybody else was that far away too.)

I once heard that the average SSA member's drive to the gliderport is
two hours, which is quite a lot!

Certainly I'd love to be closer, but it's been pretty reasonable for me.
Soaring tends to be an all-day activity. Even if I can't stay up all
day, I'll still stay out at the gliderport until close of ops to help
out, chat with friends, and just enjoy the day. My 3-hour round trip is
a lot more palatable when it bookends 8-10 hours at the field.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon