Soaring - Naples / Ft. Myers FL???

I am hoping to spend most of next winter at our house in Naples. In
anticipation, I have been researching soaring opportunities in the area.

While there is a small commercial operation (Hi-Country Soaring) that is
trying to make a go of it at the Immokalee airport, they don't seem to be
particularly successful. A big problem, in my opinion, is their
un-appealing equipment; a single tired looking 2-33 that is tied up outside
on the ramp.

I took a brief look at the FAA pilot database, and it appears that there are
75 - 100 glider rated pilots whose permanent addresses is in the Naples /
Ft. Myers area. I suspect that there are many more glider pilots who are
seasonal residents and/or visit the area for 2 - 4 week vacations during the
winters. I would suspect that if we could get organized and get some half
decent equipment, there would be quite a bit of activity in the area.

I suspect that one of the bigger problems is a chicken / egg situation
regarding hanger availability. While there is lots of tiedown space for
trailers, and daily assembly of single place ships is something that we all
take for granted, 2 place gliders like an ASK-21 are a lot more hassle. My
gut instinct is that the availability of a decent 2 place glider is going to
be critical if a serious glider operation can take hold. This probably
won't happen unless there is hanger space available, so that such a glider
doesn't need daily assembly.

It appears that the Immokalee airport is currently moving ahead with a
taxiway extension project to permit them to build more hangers. This is the
golden opportunity for us to try to make provisions for glider hangers.
While it may be difficult to get people and/or the airport to specifically
fund the construction of glider specific hangers before a demand has been
demonstrated, it may be possible to get the airport to build some communal,
multipurpose hangers that could be used for glider storage along with other
aircraft as a 1st step to test the market.

I am going to be in Naples for a couple of weeks in March, and plan to talk
with the airport management to explore options. It would be very helpful to
get some feedback to see if anyone else is interested in such a project.

Are you game?

Mike Schumann

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Mike Schumann



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