On Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 12:47:41 PM UTC-7, Charles Ethridge wrote:
Hi all.

I've done thousands of landings in all kinds of airplanes at tower-controlled airports (now called Class B, C and D), but I've never seen a glider land at one.

Does ATC frown upon this (unless one declares an emergency in which case you have a new problem) or to they take this in stride and accommodate us gliders as an unusual but accepted part of their workday?

Faced with the choice of this or a field, what would insurance say if I broke the glider landing in the field? Might insurance deny my claim since there was a perfectly good tower-controlled airport within gliding distance?

If this is an accepted practice at tower-controlled fields, how do you get the glider off the taxiway? Do they have an FBO come out and tow you off?

Ben

You shouldn't think twice about landing at a tower-controlled A/P, but you should contact them by radio FIRST. That said, there is a procedure to land there in the event of a radio failure. I am not going to discuss the procedure here, so look it up. BTW, I have done it. Bottom line: ATC's job is to support aviation of all sorts, but they EXPECT you to follow the rules and there are consequences for not doing so. Also, I am assuming that you are equipped with the required transponder for entering this airspace. Of course, you can always declare an emergency (by radio) and they WILL accommodate you.

Tom