Can gliders and powered aircraft co-exist using the same runway?

Ron Lee wrote:
Can anyone identify an airport where gliders and powered aircraft use
the same runway? Do they use opposite traffic patterns? Any other
operational issues?

Ron Lee

Lasham, the largest gliding centre in the UK, shares the field with a
commercial jet maintenance facility. This means the runway is shared
with 707/727/767/Airbusses.

If you delve around on their site, http://www.lasham.org.uk/, you can
find more information.

Long Island Soaring Association has been flying out of Brookhaven (HWV)
for almost 20 years. T/O and landing is from the grass adjacent to the
two 4000' paved runways. Power patterns are left for all. When the
grass is on the right, gliders make a 45 degree entry to a right
pattern. When the grass is on the left, gliders make a crosswind
mid-field entry 1000' AGL to a tight left pattern. This eliminates all
traffic pattern conflicts (as long as the power traffic makes a
standard 45 degree entry.

The glider tow planes make a standard power pattern, then land on the
grass with the gliders.

There is also a banner tow operation, with banner pickups on the
inactive runway. The banner planes take off from the active runway,
then come around to pickup from the inactive, and then turn to join the
upwind departure from the active again. This is not a big problem.

The main conflict is with airplanes taxiing to the the active runway.
The gliders and tow planes have to cross the taxiway extension on
approach to the grass runway. One time the tow plane dragged the rope
across a Cessna's wing.

"Ron Lee" wrote in message
...
Can anyone identify an airport where gliders and powered aircraft use
the same runway? Do they use opposite traffic patterns? Any other
operational issues?

The Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association operation at Frederick
Maryland was forced by the airport manager into sharing a paved
runway with power traffic. There are two runways and in most
wind conditions power and glider traffic use different runways,
but sometimes we both use the same.

We use different patterns for power and gliders and those cases,
and we are required to announce our intentions on Unicom.

On some days, power traffic is almost continuous at certain times
of the day. Touch and goes are occurring. Power planes may be
lined up for takeoff, while more than one power plane is in the
pattern.

Personally, I find this situation to be undesirable. The number
of glider takeoffs per hour is greatly reduced. We need to stage
carefully off the runway, then rush to get on and launched
quickly. We sometimes have to cut in to the lined up power
traffic if we want to get off at all.

Landings are more harrowing. Sometimes I have circled the field
at 1,000 or 1,200 feet listening to announcements by power planes
that typically announce their landings from several miles out.
Waiting for no announcements is out of the question. When I get
low I just have to find a slot and take it, whether power is
close or not. I have to be prepared to land on the grass, and
some of our club members have done that, though I have not yet
had to do it.

I also feel more pressure to steer off the runway while I still
have enough inertia, rather than coming to a dead stop. I have
managed to clip a runway light, and many others have too.

All in all, I find intermixing with power traffic, especially if
there is a lot of it, to be cumbersome, unnerving, and not really
as safe. But then I'm a low time Sunday pilot. The really
competent pilots seem to take it all in stride.

If you have specific questions, you might want to write to talk
to our chief flight instructor, Glenn Collins. If you wish to email
me, I can forward your inquiry to him.

Alan

Alan Meyer schrieb:
"Ron Lee" wrote in message
...

Landings are more harrowing. Sometimes I have circled the field
at 1,000 or 1,200 feet listening to announcements by power planes
that typically announce their landings from several miles out.
Waiting for no announcements is out of the question. When I get
low I just have to find a slot and take it, whether power is
close or not. I have to be prepared to land on the grass, and
some of our club members have done that, though I have not yet
had to do it.

In my opinion, as an glider pilot you have "the right-of-way over an
airship, aeroplane, or rotorcraft" in this situation.

(http://www.caa.co.ug/docs/Rules%20of...egulations.pdf)

The aeroplane pilots can't expect that you are landing in a field,
because they are lazy about doing a 360.

I know many airfields with opposite traffic patterns for glider and
power traffic. If a glider pilot reports "position for landing", on any
of this airfields, powered aircrafts in final approach have to hurry up
or turn out of pattern if they are to slow, powered aircrafts in base
have to give the right of way to the glider.

But perhabs the airport manager could add an adequate grass strip for
gliders.

Andreas

Also, in the US, see AC 90-66A "RECOMMENDED STANDARD TRAFFIC PATTERNS
AND PRACTICES FOR AERONAUTICAL OPERATIONS AT AIRPORTS WITHOUT
OPERATING CONTROL TOWERS"

John

On Jan 12, 8:18 pm, (Ron Lee) wrote:
Can anyone identify an airport where gliders and powered aircraft use
the same runway? Do they use opposite traffic patterns? Any other
operational issues?

Ron Lee

Thanks for all the responses. It has given me a lot to research to
ensure that we can keep the gliders operating at my airport.

Ron Lee

On Jan 27, 6:07 pm, Andreas Alin
wrote:
...
In my opinion, as an glider pilot you have "the right-of-way over an
airship, aeroplane, or rotorcraft" in this situation.

Yes, and I think the power pilots understand. I've never personally
seen a power pilot do anything dumb when a glider was landing.

Still, I try not to assert my rights and cut in front of someone else
unless I have to.

(http://www.caa.co.ug/docs/Rules%20of...20Air%20Traffi...)

The aeroplane pilots can't expect that you are landing in a field,
because they are lazy about doing a 360.

I know many airfields with opposite traffic patterns for glider and
power traffic. If a glider pilot reports "position for landing", on any
of this airfields, powered aircrafts in final approach have to hurry up
or turn out of pattern if they are to slow, powered aircrafts in base
have to give the right of way to the glider.

But perhabs the airport manager could add an adequate grass strip for
gliders.

Unfortunately, although we have a perfectly adequate grass strip
that was specifically created for gliders and used successfully and
safely for many years, our airport manager has decided to close
it down - perhaps in an attempt to force us out and bring in higher
paying power traffic.

Alan

"Alan Meyer" wrote:

Unfortunately, although we have a perfectly adequate grass strip
that was specifically created for gliders and used successfully and
safely for many years, our airport manager has decided to close
it down - perhaps in an attempt to force us out and bring in higher
paying power traffic.

Alan

Hence the basis of my question should the glider strip here go away.
How to keep the gliders here safely intermingled with powered
aircraft.

Ron Lee