"James" wrote in message
om...
I can't believe no one has nominated SOAR TRUCKEE yet
http://www.soartruckee.com . Situated only five miles from Lake Tahoe
(and about 20 mi as the glider flies from Minden) it offers the BEST
soaring with strong thermals, decent wave, views of Lake Tahoe and the
Sierra Nevada mountains that cannot be matched. It is a challenging
airport to land at with density altitudes often at 8-9000 feet, a
cross wind that comes up in the afternoon, a narrow runway with runway
lights, and a 400' drop off before threshold. But hey, if you can fly
TRK you'll have the confidence that you can truly fly anywhere.

I agree with your praise of Truckee soaring. Truckee is the best place I
have flown from regarding early launching with easy getaways from low tows.
The main glider runway, 1-19, is 4,650' by 75', which I don't think is
particularly narrow, and I fly 18 and 20 meter gliders. Yes, there is
sometimes a crosswind on 1-19, but the crosswind runway, 10-28 is 7,000' by
100', and a dead easy landing. Soar Truckee will send a golf cart to get
you if you land on 10-28. The 'dreaded dropoff' at the end of runway 19 is
a measured 150' high and one definitely doesn't want to go there, but with
4,650' ahead should not be a problem. At least there is no barbed wire
fence, like many airports have.

Many pilots drive 4 hours from the San Francisco Bay area every
weekend to TRK. Yes, it is that good. There is a camp ground among
the beautiful pine trees next to the airport where many pilots keep
camper trailers throughout the soaring season. Every Saturday evening
after the day's flying there is a great BBQ...no hot dogs and
hamburgers but tri-tip, ribs, fish, steak, etc. Finally, the staff at
SoarTruckee, especially Joe and Samantha run a first-rate operation.

The staff is exceptional!

Soar Truckee is an "S" corporation, co-owned by many (58 total) of the
pilots that fly there. When Soar Truckee was first conceived by Les Sebald
and Jerry Niedrauer, they decide to form a corporation instead of a club, so
that equipment might be depreciated and to have more clout with the airport
than a not for profit club. This recipe has clearly worked, and Soar
Truckee is thriving. Soar Truckee is open May 1 through the end of
September each year. There are FBO gliders for instruction, but not for
rent. There are also three clubs based at the field, Silverado Soaring, Bay
Area Soaring Associates, (BASA), and the Northern California Soaring
Association (NCSA). These clubs also provide instruction, and aircraft for
members.

The part I like best about Truckee is that I live in the HOT Sacramento
valley and each weekend I escape to my motor home in the pine trees as
Truckee, usually the coldest reporting point in the 48 contiguous states in
the summer. Many summer nights are below freezing, and days can warm to the
low 90's, but more usually in the low 80's Fahrenheit. I get out of bed in
the morning, shiver, and smile...

Did I mention the soaring? I was able to complete three 750+km and many
500+km flights this past year out of Truckee, with no land outs. We fly the
same basic airspace that the Minden and Air Sailing folks do.
-Bob Korves
5H Duo Discus
5K LAK-17a