Can gliders and powered aircraft co-exist using the same runway?

Harnett County Airport, HRJ, near Erwin, North Carolina
(about halfway between Raleigh and Fayetteville).

5,000' paved runway. Gliders launch from paved runway
and use a right traffic pattern. Power planes use
'standard' left pattern. Club has been there for about
19 years or so.

For landing, gliders can use grass on either side of
runway, but 'primary' grass area is to the right side.
Landing on the pavement is done when grass is filled
with other gliders or grass is too wet and ground too
soft.

While it is a county operated airport, the county only
cuts the grass when it get's high enough to hide a
glider, therefore, the club pays to have its area of
operation cut.

There's not that much traffic at the airport, but we
have had an occassional power pilot doing touch and
goes and we have to work our way into the sequence
to launch. We try to have pilot strapped in and ready
to go and pull him to the runway with golf cart, minimizing
time on runway. If there is enough ground crew.

There have been times where we have asked power traffic
to extend their downwinds, and they do so without problems.

Yes, in 19 years of operations, there have been some
runway incursions on part of the glider. We do our
best not to do so by keeping ears listening to the
radio and eyes watching for traffic. We've set up
on the runway when both 'straight in's' and 'normal
left hand' traffic patterns were being flown by power
pilots. In all cases, we just missed hearing their
announcements on the radio and didn't see them until
we were on the runway moments from launching. This
doesn't happen often, but it has happened. We are
doing much better job now of not doing it. Much better
just by being more vigilant.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA