Pilots began flying along La Jolla\u2019s cliffs in the early 20th century after discovering nearby air currents were particularly suited for unpowered aircraft called gliders. Charles Lindbergh created a phenomenon \u2014 and the now-historic Torrey Pines Gliderport \u2014 when he piloted a sailplane from Mount Soledad to Del Mar using Torrey Pines air currents, called a ridge lift, in the mid 1930s. David Jebb currently owns and directs flights at the historic gliderport, located on the cliffs at Torrey Pines, butted up against the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). But Jebb said he joins a handful of pilots concerned for the airport\u2019s future with several UCSD construction projects encroaching on the site. “We\u2019re trying to work with two buildings that could affect our airspace,” Jebb said. “Pilots are willing to look for compromise \u2026 but we want to see how we can work this thing out, and that this historic facility isn\u2019t slowly shut down through development.” Pilots said they fear encroachment from two future buildings, including the university\u2019s stem cell project, called the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (SDCRM), and an additional housing project. Jebb said he\u2019s concerned that pilots will have to alter their approach and flight patterns, endangering the gliderport\u2019s fate. “There\u2019s not one pilot against stem cell research or building a facility. It\u2019s good for the economy and people,” Jebb said. “But we said if you have to build this [here], then it will alter the landing approach for the sailplanes.” Although the Torrey Pines Gliderport features remote-control craft, paragliders and hang gliders, Jebb said sailplane pilots are those in danger from a flight path change. That\u2019s why the SDCRM acquired a 52-year lease from UCSD, and began bargaining for the same lease, he said. “The pilots said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you give sailplane pilots a lease?\u2019” Jebb said, referring to his bargaining with officials from SDCRM. “We asked for the sailplanes to use that site for another 52 years, too. And then it would also become a public airport and recognized by the FAA. Someone would have to step up and grade it, smooth it and have drainage put in.” Currently, Caltrans and UCSD annually regulate the gliderport, creating an air of uncertainty for pilots, according to Richard Ledford, SDCRM communications liaison. Jebb said pilots believe transforming the gliderport into a public airport would ensure its future, but they need permits and money for construction. “We would say go ahead and build on the property, but you pay for building the drainage and fencing [to make it a public airport] and we\u2019ll alter our flight path,” Jebb said. According to Ledford, the group has been working with Jebb and area pilots regarding the SDCRM project that would bring together four research science centers, including the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Scripps Research Institute and UCSD. The four groups initiated SDCRM, a nonprofit organization funded by California\u2019s Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative (Proposition 71) in 2006. But Ledford said SDCRM does not have the authority Jebb would like. SDCRM cannot authorize any lease on the university\u2019s land, he said. “I understand what\u2019s driving them to do this,” Ledford said. “Somewhere along the line, they\u2019ve missed the fact that we can\u2019t guarantee that. They\u2019re just asking the wrong parties.” Although SDCRM recognizes the historical significance of the gliderport, Ledford said the university and SDCRM have bent over backward to help the pilots. But now Jebb and the pilots are beginning to slow the project down, he said. “We have done everything possible to accommodate the pilots,” Ledford said. “But the permits go through UCSD every year. They can\u2019t ask us to condition a building permit. [Jebb] asked us to grade [the gliderport]. If we do that, we blow our EIR \u2014 we\u2019re under time constraints.” Although the consortium values the historical significance of the gliderport, Ledford said the group has done all it can for the pilots. “As well-meaning as they are, they said they don\u2019t want to get in the way of our project \u2014 but now they are causing it to slow down,” Ledford said. “We don\u2019t want to be the bad guy; we\u2019ve bent over backward.” Ledford said Caltrans and the FAA mandate the safety of the airport every year. “For the approach zones, it\u2019s not how gliders land but how Caltrans and the FAA say they must land,” Ledford said. “It\u2019s how quickly they drop down onto the runway. The ramp goes out and up on the approach zones.” According to Ledford, if the pilots want the gliderport established as a public airport, they are looking to the wrong group for help: the consortium does not have the power to help the small gliderport become a recognized airport. Ledford said Jebb and the pilots need to ask Caltrans, the FAA and UCSD, where the site is located. But Ledford said SDCRM helped the gliderport \u2013 whose hours are dependent on the wind\u2019s temperament \u2013 resolve some issues. “The folks at the gliderport were concerned when it turns out that we improved the safety of the airport,” Ledford said. “The greatest obstacle is the eucalyptus trees planted by the airport. But no one ever flies over the campus.” The consortium traveled to Sacramento many times on behalf of the gliderport, according to Ledford. And Caltrans sent SDCRM representatives a letter saying it will continue to permit the use of the gliderport, he said. “I believe that the issue is that they can continue. There is no impact on the gliderport,” Ledford said. To review the Draft EIR, go to http:\/\/phisicalplannin.ucsd.edu\/pub_notice.html or call (858) 534-6515. For information about the Torrey Pines Gliderport, go to http:\/\/flytorrey.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pilots began flying along La Jolla\u2019s cliffs in the early 20th century after discovering nearby air currents were particularly suited for unpowered aircraft called gliders. Charles Lindbergh created a phenomenon \u2014 and the now-historic Torrey Pines Gliderport \u2014 when he piloted a sailplane from Mount Soledad to Del Mar using Torrey Pines air currents, called […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":284651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Sailplane pilots apprehensive about university\u2019s construction","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11560,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}