Restricting Glider Ops at Public Arpt.

Judy Ruprecht wrote in message ...

That said, it's been my experience that many airport
utilization issues tend to involve glider pilots saying,
'we've always done things this way' while the airport
manager, his/her supervising Commission, the City/County
Board and/or the local FSDO or ADO point to FAA advisory
material and say, 'well, you're in conflict with FAA
safety standards.'

Judy: I am also in the club/situation in question, and if it is your
implication that we ACTUALLY are in conflict with FAA safety
standards, you are incorrect. This club operation is very safe indeed,
and the Airport Authority's position is at best, arbitrary, and at
worst, illegal.


The intersection traffic cop is a novel and unprecedented
idea, as far as I know... but given the LGC runway
layout shown on Airnav and blind ends of the intersecting
runways, it would not IMHO seem unreasonable for airport
operating rules to require either radios in all gliders
or (1) a launch announcement by a radio-equipped tow
plane and (2) normal glider landings stopping well
short of the intersecting runway.

Your suggestion is exactly what our proposed plan was. There is no
difficulty stopping short of 13/31 on landings, and we do have a radio
in our tow plane, and have always announced our staging and takeoff.
As a matter of fact, our operations have never (since I have been in
the club) involved any conflict with power operations.

Finally, I note that in a previous post, you mention
that gliders are not allowed to operate from the runway
with an instrument approach, which is cited on Airnav
as an ILS on 31. Presumably this is used in IMC and
for practice approaches in VMC. Meanwhile, Soaring
Eagles' website mentions (occasional?) winch launch
activities apparently taking place on 03/21. Hmmm...
maybe an intersection traffic cop isn't such a bad
idea when the winch is in use.

The winch has long since departed.

A few ancillary points. This is (as opposed to Minden) an uncontrolled
airport. There is, based on the FAR's (or whatever we are calling them
now) no requirement for ANY aircraft to have radios in this airport,
and in fact, there are several power operators, including ultralights,
who operate without radios. One fact that really tweaks me is the fact
that the new requirements include the need for people on foot to be
better equipped (radio) than aircraft at this airport. Seems absurd to
me. On the other hand, this entire matter is absurd. And it is
dangerous to soaring operations everywhere (who don't own their
airports).

Jim