Classic X-C Flights

Climbers and Backpackers have lists of the "Top 100 Climbs/Treks in the
World".

How about a list of the "Top 100 X-CRoutes in the World" with dominant
lift types and distances? A very few examples are included below.
Obviously, routes may be reversed, multiple flight types are possible
(yo-yo's. triangles, etc), and distances may be varied within these
basic geographic routes routes.

USA:
Tehachapi/CalCity, CA - Boundary Peak (700 km O/R Thermal)
CalCity - Reno (1000 km O/R Wave)
Ridge Soaring, PA - Bluefield, WV (1000 km O/R Ridge)
Minden NV -Cerro Gordo CA (500 km O/R Thermal)
Black Forest CO - Alamagordo NM (1000 km O/R Thermal)
CalCity/Tehachapi - Ely (700 km Thermal Dogleg)
Ely (1000+ km FAI triangles Thermal)
Minden - Steamboat CO (1000 km Wave/Thermal)

NZ
N and S Island (1000+ km O/R Wave)
Omarama - Mt Cook (300 km O/R Thermal or Wave)

Add your favorites!

Arizona - Phoenix/Grand Canyon (500 km O/R Thermal)

Mike

Arizona: Turf (Phoenix) to Parowan (500 km straight out, Thermal).
Also the return. Get to fly over the Grand Canyon, Zion, and the Cedar
Breaks; tows available at both ends.

Kirk
66

On 23 Mar 2006 17:22:43 -0800, "Mike the Strike"
wrote:

Arizona - Phoenix/Grand Canyon (500 km O/R Thermal)

Germany, Landau-Weinheim, 55 km, Thermal only.

Flown by nearly any student pilot from Landau who got his license
within the last 50 years. Usually a Ka-8 is being used these days.

A true classic.



Bye
Andreas

Mark,

This won't qualify as 'Top 100 X-C Routes in the World',
but it is about the top X-C flight for our club, the
North Carolina Soaring Association in, well, North
Carolina, USA:

Harnett County Airport - Ball Airfield - Burlington-Alamance
County Airport - Harnett County Airport. (That's the
counter-clockwise direction. Can be flown in clockwise
direction as well.)

303 km triangle. (as shown on Glide Navigator II)

Nice triangle that circumnavigates the Raleigh-Durham
International (they fly to South Carolina) Airport
class C airspace. Works perfectly for a 300 km FAI
triangle.

All thermal.

Ground elevations between 200 feet and 600 feet.

Supplemental oxygen not required :-)

I think the fastest was flown by J7 and was close to
the three hour mark.

The slowest was probably by me when I did it a bit
over six hours. Hey, I didn't want to burn the gel
coat off by flying so fast...

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
LS1-d, 'W8'

At 23:36 23 March 2006, wrote:
Climbers and Backpackers have lists of the 'Top 100
Climbs/Treks in the
World'.

How about a list of the 'Top 100 X-CRoutes in the World'
with dominant
lift types and distances? A very few examples are
included below.
Obviously, routes may be reversed, multiple flight
types are possible
(yo-yo's. triangles, etc), and distances may be varied
within these
basic geographic routes routes.

USA:
Tehachapi/CalCity, CA - Boundary Peak (700 km O/R Thermal)
CalCity - Reno (1000 km O/R Wave)
Ridge Soaring, PA - Bluefield, WV (1000 km O/R Ridge)
Minden NV -Cerro Gordo CA (500 km O/R Thermal)
Black Forest CO - Alamagordo NM (1000 km O/R Thermal)
CalCity/Tehachapi - Ely (700 km Thermal Dogleg)
Ely (1000+ km FAI triangles Thermal)
Minden - Steamboat CO (1000 km Wave/Thermal)

NZ
N and S Island (1000+ km O/R Wave)
Omarama - Mt Cook (300 km O/R Thermal or Wave)

Add your favorites!