Welcome to Nelson Lakes Gliding Club
We are a club of about 50 members. We fly from Lake Station which is about 9 kilometers west of St Arnaud (one hour's drive south of Nelson, South Island New Zealand).
Lake Station is a large sheep and cattle farm and is owned by the McConochie families who have been there for a number of generations. They allow our club to use their 1500 meter long airstrip which is 1700 feet above sea level.
Parked on the airstrip are 10 or so privately owned sailplanes in their trailers as well as a hanger for our 2 two-seat club sailplanes and 2 single-seat club sailplanes and a winch to launch with.
The winch launch gets us some 1500 feet above the valley floor and level with the two low ridges on either side. These nursery ridges give us ridge or thermal lift and from them we normally progress onto the Southern Alps. The local mountain peaks of the Southern Alps range from 5000 to over 7000 feet above sea level and are often snow-capped.
Nelson Lakes Gliding Club
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