The FAA has thwarted an attempt by officials in Riverside County, California, to ban glider operations from the airport at Hemet, which has been a premier California soaring site for five decades.

In 2009, Riverside County officials took advantage of an FBO giving up its lease at the airport to ban glider operations there, citing safety concerns. At that time, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) sent a letter to the Riverside County Economic Development Agency expressing its opposition to the ban. As reported in the September 23, 2009 edition of AOPA Online, Bill Dunn, then AOPA Vice President of Local Airport Advocacy, met with Hemet airport representatives, FAA officials, and Riverside County officials. According to the AOPA account, Dunn said, “Gliders have been operating safely in Hemet for decades, and their operations there are completely compatible with other airport users.” Dunn pointed out that the airport had received public funds for airport development and was, therefore, obligated to continue serving the local soaring community. Riverside County officials proceeded to ignore the AOPA and the local soaring community and evicted the 40 gliders then based at the airport. The Orange County Soaring Association, in a move supported by the Soaring Society of America and the AOPA filed a complaint with the FAA. The FAA initiated a study, which culminated in a decision by the agency this week to overturn the ban on glider operations. The FAA directed Riverside County to allow glider operations to resume or risk losing federal development funds. For more details, AOPA members can view the February 18, 2011 edition of AOPA Online.

We at the Soaring Cafe were alerted to this story by a news item in the February 21, 2011 edition of AvWeb, which bills itself as “The World’s Premier Independent Aviation News Resource.”