On Saturday, December 6, 2014 3:59:16 PM UTC, wrote:
On Saturday, December 6, 2014 3:08:20 AM UTC-5, albs wrote:
I live in Europe and will be relocating to New York City next spring. Which would be the closest airfield where I could keep a SLMG (doesn't necessarily need to be a glider club) or the closets airfield where gliders are operated (which and/or tow)? Any that you'd recommend in particular?
thank you

Greetings,

With respect to deciding the best place for you to fly, what are you looking for in your flying experience and can you pinpoint somewhat more precisely where in NYC you will be located. It is quite a big place!

1) There are several general aviation airport that are probably within 45 minutes where may be able to hangar a sailplane. Depending on the wingspan and how your motor glider disassembles to a smaller fit, it may be possible to find an airport closer than the glider operations.

2) Blairstown- We are about 1:15-1:30 from Brooklyn/Manhattan. The biggest advantage is that we are at the practical Northeast terminus of the ridge system.

http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0...l?dsId=2300438
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0...l?dsId=3523882

It is quite an interesting and dynamic place to fly with a lot of cross country opportunity and arguably better suited for "bigger" flights than the other nearby clubs. We also have a club on the field. The operator (Yards Creek Soaring) is on a 4 day a week schedule (Friday-Monday), though through appointment it may be possible to fly other days.

The disadvantage is that tows are not cheap ($55-65 a pop) and neither are the tiedowns or hangar space.

3) Wurtsboro- About 1:30-1:45 from the city, depending where you are. Wonderful place to fly and probably the easiest place to "stay up" out of the three soaring sites. They also have a 20 mile section of ridge. Their forte is that they often get wave conditions coming in over the Catskill Mountains not far to the NE of the airport. Flights up to 18,000ft are quite possible. They have a great informal club environment, with a set of cabins nearby that can be rented and there is hangar space (to my knowledge) for a large spanned motor-glider. Lastly, it is probably the most consistently operating location. You can pretty much get a tow any day of the week.

Disadvantages- It is the farthest soaring site out of the three assessed and the tow price is ~$55.

4) Middletown- If you're based in Manhattan, this is probably the closest soaring site out of the three. I'd say 1:05-1:15. It is a friendly club run operation. They have a solid bloc of five enthusiastic cross country pilots that are rapidly advancing in soaring. They're a fun and motivating bunch to be around. Their tow prices are half of the other places.

Disadvantages- Usually operate solely on weekends.

Best Regards,
Daniel


Daniel thank you very much. I've got 230hrs on gliders and a Silver badge and about 250hrs on my PPL. Soaring is really what I'd like to focus on (badges, x-country, OLC + other competitions, etc).
I will live in Manhattan. Will definitely visit the three airports you mentioned.
An alternative could be I keep a SLMG at Lincoln Park (N07) which is an uncontrolled, not busy airport, 40 mins drive from Manhattan. Would not need a tug and can always fly to Blairstown (30Nm) or to Wurtsboro for example (40Nm) to meet and fly with other glider pilots.

Best regards,
Alberto