Flying conditions

The best model glider flying is between the sea and dune, with the wind coming smoothly off the sea. Rarely does wind strike the dune straight on, but angles up to about 40 degrees to left or right provides fine lift. Although there are a few places where you can fly between the dune and the road, you'll contend with mosquitos, sand spurs and prickly pears as well as rough air (due to it's passage over land). I've found only two places to fly on the back side of the dune away from the ocean:

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Zagi THL glider on Frisco Campground Beach- I had to take extra batteries because they only lasted 3 1/2 hours! (300 mh in receiver). The dunes are about 15 feet high, the beach 70 yards wide.

The white sign posts protect turtle eggs, due to hatch in a month.

Flying areas between Highway and Dune:

* Jockey Ridge in Nags Head,best in SW to SE but all directions are theoretically flyable from this free-standing dune- this is there hang gliding lessons are taught. Depending on the wind, park either across the highway (E wind) in shopping center or at the state park. Dehydration is a positive danger.

* .8 mi. South of Avon, where there's a paved road leading East to an old section of the highway. Only good for W to NW winds, unusual directions for this area.

Flying areas between Ocean and Dune, North to South:

I haven't tried beach flying from Corolla through Nags Head, but the wind would have to be N to E. Unless you've rented a house in the upper reaches, it's hard to find a place to park and get to the beach. In the towns from Kill Devil Hills to Nagshead the beaches are congested in-season but there are some established parking areas.

South of Nags Head you get into the National Park, where there are many informal parking areas where you can walk over the dune and find yourself on the beach. Warning- many areas allow trucks to drive on the beach.

* Pea Island, just south of Oregon Inlet, is a great place to fly in NE to SE winds. The dunes are especially tall (some 20 feet) and the beach deserted with no trucks. Park by the side of the highway anywhere the sand allows.

* Rodanthe to Buxton alternates between towns (with no beach driving) and National Park beaches (some with trucks) and favors winds a little more southerly but mostly E to SSE. The dune is typically only 6 to 10 feet but eminently flyable with a good breeze. Parking in the towns is a little scarce but almost all the houses are rentals full of tourists (who don't mind your car). This area includes Avon and the area mentioned above where W winds can be flown on the backside of the dune away from the ocean.

* Buxton to Hatteras Village includes the actual cape where the beach makes a 90 degree corner from S to W:

At cape point a fantastic collison of currents sends the water boiling, but the dunes are low and the beach is congested with people and trucks. It's a long hike for walkers but beautiful- access is on the road to the famous lighthouse in downtown Buxton. There's a good and convenient dune here for NE to SE wind. The best beach I've found for the prevailing summer SW wind is just to the south in Frisco.

* Frisco Campground for SE to SW winds. The best flying is reached by turning off the highway on the airport/ Frisco campground road, passing the airport to the parking area on the right just before the campground. (There's a vehicle access point a little way further, but they come out on the beach a mile north and have to stay up there). A trail leads you on a 10 minute walk through pine woods to the dune, which is 15 feet high. No vehicles are allowed here, and it wide, deserted and wonderful. On the short walk you pass through the northern limit of loblolly pine and palmetto, the most abrupt biological edge in the world. South of here is the harsh intercapes zone, with only sporadic vegetation. Turtle nesting grounds are marked off limits, but otherwise you can fly anywhere for 10 miles of pristine beach. In the high season of August there are few people even visible and the water is delightful.

* Frisco Village for SE to SW winds. Further south, take the first left (Robin Rd.) to the East after the golf course, follow it to the end and park somewhere among the rental houses. This is only a one minute walk to the beach but you'll have to walk north a ways to get away from the crowds as the beach is only 50 yards wide here. The dunes aren't quite as tall but work well especially if the SW prevailing wind has a little more South in it.

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