Where to live with soaring in mind?

On Feb 14, 9:50*am, wrote:
On Feb 14, 2:22*am, tienshanman wrote:

snip ...places to live which have the best combination of

access to good flying, good schools (3 elem school age kids), a
critical mass of interesting people and culture and good weather. One
thing I do not want to do is drive anything more that about 15 – 20 min
to a glider field and I intend to buy a self launching glider if some
sort so I could presumably fly from a small, welcoming GA airport.

Sounds like odds of finding a job in your chosen field isn't a major
criterion - congratulations!

You can soar pretty much anywhere in the US so you need to decide on
your minimum threshold for strength of conditions and soarable months
out of the year. If you want nearly year-round cross-country soaring
you are almost certainly talking about the desert southwest. My
experience is that some of the best soaring locations are more remote
and are far less developed/diverse in terms of cultural offerings and
public school systems - again this is a threshold question (as well as
personal taste - if you like rodeos you are in luck!). One way to
counter the trend for schools is to find University towns such as
Boulder, CO, Austin, TX and Tucson, AZ. I haven't spent much time in
Albuquerque, NM but there is some awesome soaring and I know great
people who fly there. There is a regional contest in Logan, UT near
Salt Lake City this summer that could put that city more on the
soaring map. Dallas, TX appears to have an active soaring community.
If you are okay with winter hibernation it opens up possibilities in
more northern states.

The 20-minute requirement could put serious constraints on your
housing choices in many locations unless you don't care about being at
an airport with an established soaring operation - this is an issue
for me because I prefer flying with friends. Even without a glider
operation finding an airport that close will require a tradeoff in
most places. When I lived in Tucson my home was on the outskirts of
town closest to the El Tiro glider field and it was still a 30-minute
drive.

Best of luck,

9B

If you want to stay married never, ever disclose access to soaring as
a consideration.

Andy's list is pretty complete - I wouldn't criticize any of the
cities he mentions. I don't think anyone in Boulder drives more than
10 minutes to get to the airport - some just ride a bicycle.

US soaring weather is pretty darn good anywhere in the western
mountains and deserts with the exception of a thin strip along the
west coast which is usually under the influence of a marine inversion.

"tienshanman" wrote in message
...

I would appreciates some suggestions…..I am looking for the ideal place
to live in the US – for soaring


Take some time to research and visit the places mentioned.

I'm retired and fortunate to be able to live wherever I wish. I moved to
Minden, Nevada mostly for the superb soaring, but also for the scenic
beauty, recreational opportunities, and lots more. I've never seen a place
I'd rather live.

But, this sort of thing is one of those personal decisions that, in the end,
you'll need to decide for yourself. However, you do owe it to yourself to
visit Minden!

bumper
QV & MKIII
zz

Soaring in the San Gabriel mountains, located in the high desert of
Southern California is excellent; ridge, wave, thermal, shear...often
in combination on the same day. The San Gabriel chain runs east-west,
across the prevailing onshore from the south.
Crystal Airport 46CN, zip code 93544, has an FBO, soaring school & a
sailplane repair facility. It's a private airport, but obviously
glider pilots are welcome, & it's OK to fly your power plane in.
Office SCSA (661) 944-1090.
You can buy a near-new house within 50 miles for $100,000. A tract
house in Lake Los Angeles for $50,000. Or live in the country club for
$250,000. I don't know about schools, but the teenagers who serve as
line staff grew up around here & they're alright. George & Robert at
the sailplane repair both have children & can advise on schools.
The flying culture out here is traditional; straight out of 'The Right
Stuff'. Edwards Air Force pilots come out to fly gliders. You'll meet
old guys with 25,000 hours tinkering on their homebuilt racers at
nearby Apple Valley airport, KAPV. You can rent a 7AC Champ to explore
the mountains. There's an aerobatics box; watch world class experts
like Mike Mangold practice routines.
SCSA has fine gliders; DG's & Grobs for rent, including a brand-new
DG-1000.
Los Angeles is only an hour away, if you prefer the city; there are
plenty of major stores out here in the high desert now.
Good luck,
Jim

tienshanman wrote:
I would appreciates some suggestions…..I am looking for the ideal place
to live in the US – for soaring (I have not told my wife how massively
weighted this particular criterion is!). I am overseas now and more
than likely we will return to the US this summer. I have spent hours on
the net researching places to live which have the best combination of
access to good flying, good schools (3 elem school age kids), a
critical mass of interesting people and culture and good weather. One
thing I do not want to do is drive anything more that about 15 – 20 min
to a glider field and I intend to buy a self launching glider if some
sort so I could presumably fly from a small, welcoming GA airport. I am
open to virtually any region. I’ve been gone for 14 yrs so I’m dealing
with a blank slate. What places should I consider? Why?


The US gliderport with the best year around soaring conditions is at
Warner Springs in the mountains northeast of San Diego. However, it is
more than a 20 minute drive from the amenities you are looking for.

You indicate you are willing to fly a motorglider out of a GA field,
which gives you a lot of options. There are several GA airports between
the coast and the mountains in California. You could live in a location
with a temperate coastal climate and all the features you desire, yet
not have to motor very far to get to excellent mountain soaring
conditions. For example, live in Ventura, base your plane at the
Camarillo or Oxnard airports, and it is only a 25 mile flight to
excellent soaring conditions in the mountains north of Ojai.

On Feb 15, 4:20*pm, Greg Arnold wrote:
tienshanman wrote:
I would appreciates some suggestions…..I am looking for the ideal place
to live in the US – for soaring (I have not told my wife how massively
weighted this particular criterion is!). I am overseas now and more
than likely we will return to the US this summer. I have spent hours on
the net researching places to live which have the best combination of
access to good flying, good schools (3 elem school age kids), a
critical mass of interesting people and culture and good weather. One
thing I do not want to do is drive anything more that about 15 – 20 min
to a glider field and I intend to buy a self launching glider if some
sort so I could presumably fly from a small, welcoming GA airport. I am
open to virtually any region. I’ve been gone for 14 yrs so I’m dealing
with a blank slate. What places should I consider? Why?

The US gliderport with the best year around soaring conditions is at
Warner Springs in the mountains northeast of San Diego. *However, it is
more than a 20 minute drive from the amenities you are looking for.

I ditto that. I can't think of a better location then San Diego area
for year around great soaring, great weather and great location. I
think Warner Springs is less then an hour drive from most locations
around San Diago.

Ramy

I ditto that. I can't think of a better location then San Diego area
for year around great soaring, great weather and great location. I
think Warner Springs is less then an hour drive from most locations
around San Diago.

Ramy

I live in north San Diego County in the small coastal community of Del
Mar. It takes me about 1hr 10 minutes to get to Warner Springs. SD
County is a big place, 4,261 square miles, so driving time can vary
widely. I would say and certainly the OLC data backs this up, that
overall, we do get the best year round soaring. There are places that
have better conditions at certain times of the year, but probably no
site that is more consistently soarable.

Bob

"tienshanman" wrote

What places should I consider? Why?

Two words: Austin. Texas.

Well, a few mo
- Year-round soaring possible (6 knots to 6,500 feet last week!)
- 10+ knot summer thermals
- Short, mild winters (50's to low 80's in Dec, Jan, & Feb; rare frosts &
freezes)
- Hot, dry summers (90's to low 100's in July & August)
- Showery springs full of wild flowers from March through mid-June
- Perfect fall weather usually lasts from mid-September to early December
- Palm trees (people were not designed to live where palm trees won't grow!)
- World-class university town
- Great schools
- Dynamic, multi-cultural community
- Vibrant arts scene
- Local soaring club with its own airfield
- Live music capital of the world!
- Lakes, rivers, trees, hills, parks, trails
- Easy access to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, & Gulf beaches
- Relatively low cost of living
- Lots of local airports
- No state income tax
- Choice of urban, suburban, and rural lifestyles all within 30 mins of
downtown
- It's in Texas!
- Even better, it's in the Texas Hill Country!

TXBill






--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
-------http://www.NewsDemon.com------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access

Lake Elsinore in Southern California has an airport at the end of the
Lake.

You can have a home on, or with beach rights access to the Lake for
other summer activities at the beach that the kids will love.

You have a 40k population with serveral new schools elementary to
highschool.

The homes can be had with beach access for as low as 80k for a cottage
with options all the way up to Multi Million dollar homes and ranches
nearby.

Everywhere in Elsinore you are 15 mins or less from the airport.

The Airport features a Soaring club with their own runway and there
are already several motor gliders located there.

www.soarelsinore.org

You do not have to join the Soaring operation to fly there, just $40/
mth tie down fee is all it has to cost with a motor glider.

There is also a Skydive operation from the other runway. The
operations coexist very well without any conflicts.

The Elsinore soaring type is Ridge, Thermal, Convergence and Wave at
various and frequent times of the year.

Your takeoff is out over a treeless flood plain out over the Lake so
shallow glide paths are possible and good emergency landing options
are abundant.

There is Warner Springs and Hemet Soaring also nearby.

100LL is available at French Valley airport 8 miles away if you need
it.

The some water bombers now use the lake as a base during fire season,
as well as the additional land based water bombers in Hemet 30 miles
away
so any fire hazards nearby are quickly dealt with.

You are close to big Cities LA and San Diego about 1 hour drive in
opposite directions and are 30 miles from the coast in case you like
visiting the beach or going surfing.

Mountains for skiing in the winter are also a couple hours drive away
in Big Bear, although I can get there by motor glider in about 45
minutes.

There are dozens of other small airports nearby within 50 miles if you
want to go explore.

The big airspaces nearby are John Wayne, Ontario and March AFRB and
are easy to fly around or transition if you want.

The scenery is spectacular and you are able to enjoy it year round due
to the moderate climate.

I just think this area is paradise and am looking forward to some fun
trips in my Grob 109 this year.

There are many cool destinations around that can be gotten to by way
of mountains, ridges, thermals and convergence that make this place a
lot of fun for Motor gliders and gliders alike.

Anywhere from Catalina Island(Leisure/boating), San Francisco
(Entertainment), Reno NV(Wave soaring camps), Parowan UT(Motor glider
competitions), Las Vegas(Entertainment), Laughlin(The River), Desert
Cities(Off Roading), Arizona(Heat) to Mexico(Cheap Everything &
coastal resorts) are a nice liesurely flight from here.

I'm sure there is something bound to be pleasing what ever your
preferences.

Ray

Grob 109
HP-11
Moni

On Feb 18, 2:06*pm, jb92563 wrote:
I'm sure there is something bound to be pleasing what ever your
preferences.

Did you forget to mention the flooding or doesn't that happen anymore?

Andy

On Feb 18, 2:21*pm, Andy wrote:
On Feb 18, 2:06*pm, jb92563 wrote:

I'm sure there is something bound to be pleasing what ever your
preferences.

Did you forget to mention the flooding or doesn't that happen anymore?

Andy

After reading some of the posts I must wonder if the authors read the
original post looking for "places to live which have the best
combination of access to good flying, good schools (3 elem school age
kids), a critical mass of interesting people and culture and good
weather." Some of the places mentioned here, while having their unique
qualities, could not be further from what the poster was looking for.

Ramy