Best consistent ridge soaring site

Where is the best consistent ride soaring site in the USA. Recently got my PPL, and I'd love to experience ridge soaring. I've Only flown in the flat lands.

On Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 10:13:12 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Where is the best consistent ride soaring site in the USA. Recently got my PPL, and I'd love to experience ridge soaring. I've Only flown in the flat lands.

http://higlideracademy.com/

On Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 10:13:12 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Where is the best consistent ride soaring site in the USA. Recently got my PPL, and I'd love to experience ridge soaring. I've Only flown in the flat lands.

East: Ridge Soaring in Pa or Jersey Ridge Soaring (Blairstown).
Central: Talihina, OK Oklahoma Soaring Association
West: Logan, UT; Utah Soaring Association
Hawaii: Dillingham Airfield

For east, don't forget Mifflin in PA or New Castle in VA.

Dillingham Airfield on Oahu is the absolute best ridge soaring site. The trade winds are very consistent. The view is impossible to top. A 500 foot tow and you are off. Leave the ridge and fly out over the ocean to look down at the coral reefs.

I have done it five times. The winds failed to blow on only two days. Within two days things were good again.

On Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 7:05:37 AM UTC+3, wrote:
Dillingham Airfield on Oahu is the absolute best ridge soaring site. The trade winds are very consistent. The view is impossible to top. A 500 foot tow and you are off. Leave the ridge and fly out over the ocean to look down at the coral reefs.

I have done it five times. The winds failed to blow on only two days. Within two days things were good again.

I don't think you've really experienced ridge soaring until you've done a 50 km or 100 km or longer run at high speed without turning.

Doesn't look possible there.

Along the chain on the east coast of the island, maybe, but that's a totally different wind direction than would make Dillingham local ridge work.

On Wed, 15 Nov 2017 23:51:07 -0800, Bruce Hoult wrote:

On Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 7:05:37 AM UTC+3,
wrote:
Dillingham Airfield on Oahu is the absolute best ridge soaring site.
The trade winds are very consistent. The view is impossible to top. A
500 foot tow and you are off. Leave the ridge and fly out over the
ocean to look down at the coral reefs.

I have done it five times. The winds failed to blow on only two days.
Within two days things were good again.

I don't think you've really experienced ridge soaring until you've done
a 50 km or 100 km or longer run at high speed without turning.

Doesn't look possible there.

Along the chain on the east coast of the island, maybe, but that's a
totally different wind direction than would make Dillingham local ridge
work.

The Dillingham ridge looks as if 7-8km should be easily usable. But, the
section of the Pennines centered on Cross Fell and easily accessable from
a winch launch at Eden Soaring is 12km. This section works in wind from
SSW through NW and in good conditions 60km will work. In addition, a
decent easterly sets up wave directly above the airfield and westerlies
can give wave off the Lake District on the other side of Eden Valley.

As Bruce says, you could get 40km on the east-facing ridge past Kailua,
but how often do you get an easterly there and does it wave?




--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

What about the continental US?

On Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 10:58:04 AM UTC-5, wrote:
What about the continental US?

It depends on where the wind is blowing the right way today.
I'd add Benton TN to the list. Good site and terrain, and excellent teaching staff.
UH

At 15:58 16 November 2017, wrote:
What about the continental US?

It all depends on what you want to do. There are a number of
sites in the CONUS that offer very nice shorter length ridges. If you
want to try to make long distance ridge flights, then the Appalachian
mountain system in the eastern CONUS is where you want to go.
There are a number of good sites along that mountain chain, some
of which are better located on some of the main ridges for long
flights. That ridge system can be accessed from numerous places
from New York, all the way south to Alabama. It pretty much all
started back in the late 1960's with Karl Striedieck flying from his
private field on Bald Eagle Ridge just west of State College, PA.
Ridge Soaring is a commercial operation that is in the valley just
below Karl's private field in Julian, PA. Ridge Soaring is geared
towards accommodating pilots like you who are new to ridge
soaring, and are able to provide very good support for newbies and
record flyers alike. You will want a commercial operation that is
there 7 days a week if you are going to be visiting. You don't want
a club which only operates on weekends. History shows that a large
amount of national and world records have been set with a launch
point of either Eagle Field (Karl's place) or Ridge Soaring. I don't
think you will find another CONUS location that can rival these
accomplishments using pretty much "ridge only" flights. If I were
you, I'd get in contact with Tom Knauf at Ridge Soaring and see
what he has to offer. I don't think you will be sorry.

Good Luck......

RO