Richmond Field (FAA: 69G) is a privately owned turf landing strip in Gregory, MI, in Unadilla Township, 20 miles northwest of Ann Arbor. It is used as the headquarters for the Sandhill Soaring Club, an organization for glider pilots.
In the news
- NTSB report on fatal glider crash, June 2010
The NTSB report indicates the winch cable revealed “features consistent with overstress fracture.” The report also stated that individual wires within the cable bundle were broken at several locations. A log maintained by the Sandhill Soaring Club, which owned the glider, indicated that the cable was last replaced in September 2005, according to the report.
- Crash kills glider passenger, Ann Arbor News, June 2009
Early indications are the crash at Richmond Field in Unadilla Township, west of Pinckney, may have been caused when a winch cable used to help the glider take flight failed on takeoff, Unadilla Township Police Chief William Cook said. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.
- On the Way to 69G, Flying Magazine
The controller provided a vector to Carriage Lane, near Gregory, about 30 miles northwest of Ann Arbor. Gregory is a microscopic rural community, and Carriage Lane airport is proportionately tiny; besides, its 1,700-foot turf runway can barely be distinguished from its surroundings. A couple of minutes later, the controller offered another airport: Richmond, 69G, a couple of miles southwest of Carriage Lane. The runway there was turf as well, and equally well camouflaged; but at least it was 2,471 feet long and it was slightly closer.
