Last Plane Out

All the other gliders are gone from Hemet-Ryan Airport. All the T-
hangars on the glider side have been sold, dismantled, and removed.
The word "GLIDERS" on Runway 22 has been painted over with black, and
a big yellow X has been painted over it. The outhouses are gone, and
the shade structure outside the Sailplane Enterprises office is in
pieces on the ground.

It's quiet.

There's one glider still tied down - one of our club's Blanik L13's.
The one I soloed in. The one I first reached 10,000 feet in.

We've come to tow it away to its new temporary home at an airport not
far away. But knowing I won't be coming back to this field for a
while, the other airport feels very far away.

A towplane will come from the other airport, and a pilot and
instructor will take off from the bigger Runway 22. The pilot hasn't
done a cross-country aerotow before, and hasn't landed at the other
airport. So in keeping with our club's purpose, the last flight from
here will be an instructional flight!

I'm here to help push and to run the wing. So we prep the plane, untie
it, and put the tie-downs inside the glider instead of leaving them on
the ground... we'll be needing them elsewhere after the glider's one-
way flight. Technically there's no reason they could not take off from
23 - it's not damaged - but the County has spoken. We push it all the
way to the taxiway on the other side of 22.

Due to a mix-up and some technical problems, the towplane takes a long
time to arrive. We have time to hang out and talk. A couple of
vehicles drive out and the drivers chat with us while we wait. It's
pretty rare to see a glider on this side of the field. A few planes
and a helicopter come and go... pilots taxiing by wave to us... it's
late in the afternoon, so it's pretty dead.

Finally, about 5:30 the towplane arrives and we hook up and launch.
The first and only time I've seen a glider take off from 22 (well,
there's a motorglider or two who use it). They climb, circle the field
once, and head west into the lowering sun.

I get in the car we came in and drive out the gate. There's no one on
this side of the airport to say good-bye to.

But... we may be back. Next week we will file a formal complaint with
the FAA in Washington, D.C., with the support of AOPA and Cal Pilots.
If that works, and gliders get to return, it could turn out better
than ever. Some of our leaders have developed the concept of a "Glider
Park", and have presented some conceptual drawings to some of the
community leaders of Hemet. So... we'll see. While the complaint makes
its way through the FAA, we'll keep flying our silent ships over other
fields.