UCSD Continues To Restrict Hours Of Use

The Torrey Pines Gliderport (CA84) on the California coast in San Diego is a unique place for gliding, due to the nearby cliffs and prevailing winds which can provide lift for the aircraft.

But the University of California at San Diego (USCD), which owns the land on which Torrey Pines sits, is creating significant drag on the operation of the gliderport.

The La Jolla Light reports that the university last signed a lease with the Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California (AGCSC) in 2009, and in years prior to that, gliders had been restricted to flying only during the month of February, the windiest month of the year in that area.

In 2009, UCSD built a Stem Cell Core Facility near the airport. AGCSC historian Gary Fogel told the paper that between the construction activity, and new restrictions imposed by the FAA, "we haven't been able to operate."

Brune Coons, director of an group called 'Save Our Heritage Organization' (SOHO), told the paper that while UCSD says it wants to continue glider operations at Torrey Pines, the restrictions imposed by the university made flight impractical. In 2009, the university redesigned the runway at the gliderport approved the the California Department of Transportation, as well as what Coons described as 'financial obstacles" and stringent requirements for insurance. Fogle called the insurance requirements "higher than anything that's ever happened in the world of soaring in America."

The university is also building a 10-story residential and academic complex near the gliderport, and while Fogel said that the buildings likely would not affect the use of the runway, it is seen as a convenient place for the storage of construction supplies and equipment during the project, which is expected to last until 2020. With all those factors stacked against them, Fogel said it's likely that glider operations at Torrey Pines are "doomed".

FMI: Original Story