{"id":557,"date":"2024-11-27T01:53:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T01:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flyhighgofar.com\/?page_id=557"},"modified":"2024-11-27T02:32:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T02:32:02","slug":"hensons-gap","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flyhighgofar.com\/?page_id=557","title":{"rendered":"Henson’s Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Henson's Gap<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sequatchie Valley, TN<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"The Magic Valley\"<\/em><\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Cross-country journeys across green, lush farmland in southern Tennessee<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Flying here since 2012, one of my home sites \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Tennessee Tree Toppers club has been around since the early days of hang gliding, building one of the original wooden launch ramps out from the mountainside. The launch has been upgraded and expanded significantly, to include a huge grassy area perfect for paragliding launches and top landings. It’s a great site with pretty farmland views sure to impress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This past summer 2024 we had a drought season that brought some great conditions. I did my first “milk run” which is about a 30 mile flight from Henson’s to Lookout that takes 3 or more hours (in my case, 5 hours!)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

I also did a reverse milk run ending in a top landing at Henson’s \ud83d\ude09 Both firsts for me!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Useful <\/i>info<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We have a punchy spring season in March & April, summer June & July are typically too hot and soupy to be very good (but can be great if there’s a drought!), and fall flying brings beautiful leaf changing views but light thermals. It’s best to come for at least a full week, as the flying is not very consistent – two days in a row is great, and we typically have at least one day a week that’s flyable.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0Thermals are generally between 200 and 600 fpm, quite small in size. There’s usually cumulus clouds to guide the flying as well, and many local birds. I usually check windy.com for Dunlap, TN, and look at all models for\u00a0 congruence. We don’t have one “most reliable” model in our area, so look at all of them and take the similarities as most likely.\u00a0<\/p>

Favorable wind is best for NW up to 8mph on the ground, or can also take NE up to 6 or so. The site can also take straight north but not very well. I usually launch around 1pm, but some days it turns on earlier so it can benefit from an earlier arrival.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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At Tree Toppers, there is space to camp up top on the launch. It’s free to camp, has a beautiful view, and the space includes a hot water bathroom with a shower you can use.<\/p>

If you need a house or hotel, it’ll cost about $75\/night.<\/p>

It’s best to rent a car for a visit, as the launch is about 45 minutes from the nearest airport, Chattanooga, and it’s fairly rural. Car rental varies, roughly $25\/day. You can also fly into Atlanta and drive up, it’s a 2.5h easy drive.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Pilots of all skill levels are able to fly at Henson’s Gap. A current USHPA membership is required along with a waiver and small fee paid on the TTT website<\/a>. Local members will likely ask you, so it’s good to go ahead and pay it to support the club, it’s reasonable.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Henson’s gap has a very active pilot community among both hang gliders and paragliders, so once arriving connect with local pilots to hop on the Telegram group, or ahead of time through the Tree Toppers website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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