Glider location near the beach?

On Jan 15, 7:26*am, SF wrote:
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? *Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Forget the USA, come to New Zealand ;-)

http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Ret...%20North. JPG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Ret...e%20east.J PG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Tur...he%20coast.JPG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/On%20Tow2.JPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtvLme0PJYg

People do 300+ km cross countries from Paraparaumu almost every
weekend, and 750 is not unknown.

sisu1a wrote:
I can't speak for the X/C potentials of the FL sites, but Seminole is
not too far from the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans (but not a 'beach'
site) and being right next to Orlando can make the sell easier than
some other sites.
http://www.soarfl.com/main.htm and of course in Fl you also have
Miami Gliders: http://unusualattitudes.biz/ , not on the beach either
but closer to the water.

When I flew with Unusual Attitudes, the prospects for XC flights sounded
grim. Everything in the area is either city or swamp, and the natives used
to make arrowheads out of the stones underlying the swamp, so not a
friendly place to land out. Airport hopping is made very tough by the fact
that cloudbases are typically 3000ft (albeit with ground level right at
0). The flying seemed good from a stay-aloft point of view, and the
operation was really friendly (although quite small) but XC flying from
there appears to be a non-starter.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon

Check out the Everglades Soaring Club in Immokalee FL. 20 miles east of
Naples and Ft. Myers. This is the 1st week we haven't been in the 80s all
winter (it's going to be in the low 70s for the next week or so).

Mike Schumann

"sisu1a" wrote in message
...
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Absolutely! And your timing would be perfect if you wanted to go soon
(before it gets hot there...) Dillingham Airfield, North Shore of
Ohahu, Hawaii. You didn't specify mainland, and I believe that's the
best beach soaring in USA. Talk to Steve Lowrey at Acroflight
International: http://www.acroflightinternational.com/ It's a
fantastic place to fly, and an easy sell to the Mrs(?) if you can
afford it. (note-nice $5/night campgound right across the street from
Dillingham in addition to standard options...) Worth consideration;
when I flew there I never needed more than 1000' (actually 800' but
they have a 1000' min charge...) since the Tradewinds are almost
always blowing at 10-15kts steady, perpendicular to a steep 1000' high
ridge that runs the length of Mokolia Point, about 3/4 mile south of
the (9000'!) runway that runs parallel to it. A few laps on the ridge
and you are high enough to thermal hunt in the pineapple fields and go
explore. People do fly X/C there despite the limited real estate,
although lazily drifting around in the convergence slightly off-shore
while watching pods of whales/dolphins with some acro sprinkled in has
it's own appeals too should you stay tethered.

More locally, if you can time it right, good ole' Torry Pines could
possibly fit the bill too. http://flytorrey.com/cms/

I can't speak for the X/C potentials of the FL sites, but Seminole is
not too far from the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans (but not a 'beach'
site) and being right next to Orlando can make the sell easier than
some other sites.
http://www.soarfl.com/main.htm and of course in Fl you also have
Miami Gliders: http://unusualattitudes.biz/ , not on the beach either
but closer to the water.

I vote for Hawaii!

-Paul

On Jan 14, 4:48*pm, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Jan 15, 7:26*am, SF wrote:

Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? *Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Forget the USA, come to New Zealand ;-)

http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Ret.../On%20Tow2.JPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtvLme0PJYg

People do 300+ km cross countries from Paraparaumu almost every
weekend, and 750 is not unknown.

Wow Bruce, those photos sure brought back some memories. That IS a
great site. Greatings to all my OLD friends at WGC. Matt Michael

http://unusualattitudes.biz/

I paid then a visit last Feb. and had a hour beetling around. Landout
possibilities seemed limited unless you wanted a close acquaintance with a
'gator or two.

As you say very friendly people and close to the Keys

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisgsa...76191498657410

pictures 10 -14

pictures 29 - 31 are at Dillingham, HI to reference a previous comment.

Chris


Michael Ash wrote:
sisu1a wrote:
I can't speak for the X/C potentials of the FL sites, but Seminole is
not too far from the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans (but not a 'beach'
site) and being right next to Orlando can make the sell easier than
some other sites.
http://www.soarfl.com/main.htm and of course in Fl you also have
Miami Gliders: http://unusualattitudes.biz/ , not on the beach either
but closer to the water.

When I flew with Unusual Attitudes, the prospects for XC flights sounded
grim. Everything in the area is either city or swamp, and the natives used
to make arrowheads out of the stones underlying the swamp, so not a
friendly place to land out. Airport hopping is made very tough by the fact
that cloudbases are typically 3000ft (albeit with ground level right at
0). The flying seemed good from a stay-aloft point of view, and the
operation was really friendly (although quite small) but XC flying from
there appears to be a non-starter.

On Jan 14, 12:26*pm, SF wrote:
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? *Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Hawaii

On Jan 15, 9:50*am, wrote:
On Jan 14, 12:26*pm, SF wrote:

Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? *Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Hawaii

And here I thought you were gonna recommend our club in Hartford, WI.
We have beaches on Lake Mi, or for that matter on Pike Lake :-)

http://tinyurl.com/9knaoz

Pete

On Jan 14, 10:26�am, SF wrote:
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? �Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

San Diego. Some of the best X/C and some of the best ocean beaches in
the U.S.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mzsoar/G...y=JGUZgBUhE2M#

Mike

On Jan 14, 6:26*pm, SF wrote:
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? *Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

If you would be prepared to consider "offshore US" on the
"unsinkable aircraft carrier", we have ~90 clubs all 70 miles
from the sea And if the beach becomes boring, there are
many other more interesting things to do nearby.

With the pound sinking like a stone, it would probably seem
quite cheap to you (typically $8/launch or $25-35 for an aerotow)

http://www.gliding.co.uk/findaclub/ukmap.htm

Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Jan 15, 7:26 am, SF wrote:
Is there any place in the US where there is good glider cross country
potential near a beach? Trying to come up with a vacation spot that
meets the criteria of both of the people on the vacation.

Forget the USA, come to New Zealand ;-)

http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Ret...%20North. JPG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Ret...e%20east.J PG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/Tur...he%20coast.JPG
http://soar.co.nz/Gallery/images/On%20Tow2.JPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtvLme0PJYg

People do 300+ km cross countries from Paraparaumu almost every
weekend, and 750 is not unknown.

Well - yes Bruce

Paraparaumu is very close to the beach.
There are many pleasant apartments available.
One local museum in case it rains, but there are lots of other things to
do locally.
The world famous Kapiti island is just offshore for a little bird
watching and unspoiled nature. Etc.
There are expansive beaches available.

Only negative is - to paraphrase my 10 year old. "Where are the waves?"
and "Why is the water so cold in December?".

Maybe not everyone's idea of the beach.