Soaring near Charlotte, NC

Hello everyone.

I will be relocating to Charlotte, NC in the next couple of months and
was wondering if anyone had recommendations for soaring clubs in the
area. I am currently flying with High Flights Soaring near Colorado
Springs, CO.

I saw that there are three clubs in NC based on the SSA web site, but
was wondering if anyone has had good/bad experiences with any of them.

Thanks,
Alex Vasconcelos.

It is unfortunately a three-hour drive from Charlotte, but Bermuda High
http://www.glider.org/ is one of the best soaring operations on the east coast.

Vaughn

Take a look at Airscapes Gliding Club in Spartanburg SC. You can find
us on SSA's "Where to Fly"

You can also send me an email. I'm a member. I'll be glad to answer any
questions.

As Vaughn mentioned, Bermuda High is another good option.

Doug

My GPS calculates a 1hour 10 min drive from downtown Charlotte which
agrees closely with my memory. If you are moving to northern 'burbs, add
45mins.

Great site, great people but haven't been there in quite awhile.

I may just buzz over there this weekend and see what's happening.

Vaughn Simon wrote:
It is unfortunately a three-hour drive from Charlotte, but Bermuda High
http://www.glider.org/ is one of the best soaring operations on the east coast.

Vaughn

Four Eyes,

The Reids are hosting one of the 'Virginia-Carolina
XC Tours' this coming weekend at Bermuda High, so come
on down. This is NOT a race. I repeat, this is NOT
a race. But I bet the 'winner', to be determined by
OLC, will brag a bit.

Now, another site, not in the SSA database is at Anson
County Airport, just north of the town of Wadesboro,
North Carolina. They have a small club with a Pawnee
doing the towing. If you are interested, I can send
you some contact information.

Wadesboro is located east of Charlotte on US-74. Driving
time depends on what part of Charlotte or surrounding
area you'll live in. It could be one of the closer
soaring sites for you.

The pilots flying out of Wadesboro seem to have better
soaring conditions than we do farther to the east in
North Carolina at Harnett County Airport. Probably
because they are just better pilots...

As a recap, the clubs/operations you might consider
a

Spartanburg, SC
Bermuda High, SC
Anson County, NC

The other places in North Carolina could be a longer
drive:
Piedmont Soaring Society, located west of Winston-Salem

North Carolina Soaring Society, located on the Harnett
County Airport. (That's where I fly and have been
a member for about 10 years.)

A 'Must See' club is the Blue Ridge Soaring Society,
in New Castle, VA. It is probably a two or three hour
drive north on I-77. Nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains
where you can fly thermals, ridge, and wave. Just
a couple of Friday's ago, when I was at work, a couple
of my friends (who apparently don't have to work all
the time) were giddy with hypoxia: they were getting
to 11,600' msl IN THERMALS. Rare, extremely rare in
this part of the country.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina


At 00:00 12 May 2006, Maule Driver wrote:
My GPS calculates a 1hour 10 min drive from downtown
Charlotte which
agrees closely with my memory. If you are moving to
northern 'burbs, add
45mins.

Great site, great people but haven't been there in
quite awhile.

I may just buzz over there this weekend and see what's
happening.

Vaughn Simon wrote:
It is unfortunately a three-hour drive from Charlotte,
but Bermuda High
http://www.glider.org/ is one of the best soaring
operations on the east coast.

Vaughn