I've been out of the hobby for over 20 years since moving to East Tennessee. Before I moved here in 1990 I was a very active member of Tulsoar, which I understand disbanded after loosing thier flying field.
Now that the kids have grown up I'm expolring getting back into flying sailplanes since they have been staring at me hanging on the garage wall for so long.
Are there any sailplane clubs or sailplane flying sites in East Tennessee?

So no sailplane clubs in ET, how about flying sites?

I am 2 hours from you in western NC but you are welcome to come over here. You should go to the AMA web site and search for clubs in your area. Welcome back.

Yeah I've searched on the AMA website, but most clubs are power clubs and aren't into Sailplanes.
Where in NC?

There's a club in Tullahoma called the Coffe Airfoilers... Not sure how far that is from you, but I know some of them, and it would be worth the drive...

Merry Christmas!

Jack

Hi Garry,
Bob in Seattle here. In know your looking for a club, but in the mean time, just go fly. If you wait to fly until you find a club, it could be years. Or, just find 1 or 2 guys where you are and fly with them. I like the solitude of flying by myself. Best of luck to you, in any event.

Bob in Seattle

Garry There are 4/5 handlaunch guys and at least one sailplane flier associated with Horse Mountain RC club in Knoxville. Hope this helps. You are welcome to come to Tullahoma. Don't know where you are in east TN so may be not feasible.

Don C

Originally Posted by GarryOgilvie

Yeah I've searched on the AMA website, but most clubs are power clubs and aren't into Sailplanes.
Where in NC?

I am just outside Boone, NC. The club I belong to does any kind if flying. We have tow planes for the sailplanes and anything from micro to jets can be found on any given day.

Thank everyone for their input.
I think that my next step is going to be to research new radios to replave my 25 year old Futabas. I can see risking a good airplane on a old radio.

I don't know what your budget is or what kind flying you plan, but if you are looking for sailplane radios, these would be worth a look.

Futaba 8fg
Hitec Aurora 9
Airtronics SD10G
JR 9503
Spektrum DX18

The links below may be of interest as well


> Choosing a Sailplane Radio - What to Consider
http://www.flyesl.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=223

Low cost sailplane radios – RC Soaring Digest
Two part series – July and August 2012

Upgrading 72 MHz Sailplane Radios to 2.4 GHz
http://www.rcsoaringdigest.com/pdfs/...SD-2012-07.pdf

Low Cost Sailplane Radio
http://www.rcsoaringdigest.com/pdfs/...SD-2012-08.pdf

Thank you! Those are great articles.

Originally Posted by GarryOgilvie

I've been out of the hobby for over 20 years since moving to East Tennessee. Before I moved here in 1990 I was a very active member of Tulsoar, which I understand disbanded after loosing thier flying field.
Now that the kids have grown up I'm expolring getting back into flying sailplanes since they have been staring at me hanging on the garage wall for so long.
Are there any sailplane clubs or sailplane flying sites in East Tennessee?

I am also interested in gliders and have not flown since 2001 when I moved to Vonore, TN from the island of Guam. I would like to get back into flying again.

I uses to do slope soaring but would like to also learn thermal soaring.

There are several guys that fly gliders at House Mt. Google House Mt RC.
We are located near Knoxville, Tn. in Corrington, Tn. There is another post on this forum that gives more details.

I'm in the process up upgrading my radios and cleaning up my sailplanes after being stored on the garage wall for over 20 years...
After reading aeajr's articles on radios I was able to pick up a Turnigy with the 9er mods already reflashed on the transmitter. For an old guy that was used to the plug and fly Futabas it has been intresting learning the program of this radio, but the good thing is that I only basically need one Tx now, not the three that I had before.
Looking forward to getting out!

Flew my old Electricus today for the first time in 22 years!
Yes I was a little rusty but both the plane any myself did well over all.
I'm readjusting the CG a little more forward since it really didnt want to glide that well. After changing the radio out and removing the simple servo controlled switch to a ESC the old gal just seemed a little nose light.
Brought her back home in one piece and am going back out tomorrow!