Gliderport.
In fact, it is perhaps the oldest active glider club in the United States. Dr. H. K. W. Kumm, helped organize the club following two successful glider meets in Pacific Beach in 1929. Club membership increased steadily in the 1930s, following the Great Depression and following the discovery of the Torrey Pines Gliderport. Early members would launch and land their gliders by auto tow from Black's Beach north of Flat Rock at the bottom of the Torrey Pines Grade. By the mid-1930s, Woody Brown searched for a better launching site on top of the cliffs and shortly thereafter became the first pilot to launch a sailplane from the top, rather than the beach below. Other members such as John Robinson and Alan Essery worked with the City of San Diego to lease the location as a gliderport and in 1939, the site was dedicated by then San Diego Mayor P. J. Benbough "to the youth of California." Devices such as the auto-pulley takeoff system and a the sensitive Robinson variometer (to measure increases/descreases in altitude) were developed at Torrey Pines.
However, with the advent of World War II, the U. S. Government procured a majority of the Torrey Pines Mesa for the establishment of U. S. Army Camp Callan for anti-aircraft artillery training. Some of the concrete stanchions and foundations from this Army base can still be found on the gliderport property. Members of the AGCSC gladly gave up their lease with the City and many of the local glider pilots became glider instructors for the U. S. Army during World War II at other locations such as Twentynine Palms, California. It was this instruction that helped many brave glider pilots drop troops and equipment behind enemy lines during a variety of invasions, including Normandy.
Following
the War, the AGCSC immediately contacted the City and renewed the lease for
the gliderport. U. S. Army surplus gliders were available an inexpensive rates,
and this combination resulted in a eager group of pilots utilizing the lift
at Torrey Pines for soaring. Launches were made by using Army surplus winching
equipment capable lifting the gliders high into the air like a giant kite real.
This winch system is still in use by the AGCSC. During this post-war revival
of soaring, the AGCSC established the Pacific Coast Midwinter Soaring Championships
which eventually became the longest running, annual soaring competition in the
United States. Events included distance soaring, duration, spot landing, bomb
drop (actually a sack of flour or sand), aerobatics, etc. The contest emphasized
fun rather than competition and was a hit with many of the best pilots from
around the 
country.
Famous sailplane pilots such as John Robinson, Bill Ivans, Paul MacCready, Paul
Bikle, Richard Johnson, and others, competed in these events and helped make
Torrey Pines a hot-spot for soaring. After the University of California was awarded half of the gliderport property by popular vote of the citizens of San Diego, members of the AGCSC worked with the University administration to establish the Univeristy of California, San Diego Glider Club (UCSDGC). Eventually, many students became UCSDGC members, gaining their glider rating...some staying with the AGCSC...others using this as a stepping stone to powered flight. By the 1980s, however, increases in the number of beach goers and other silent flight traffic at the gliderport (hang gliders and radio controlled models) precluded the AGCSC from using the site year-round. Instead, the AGCSC uses the gliderport only during the windiest months of the year (January through April) on an annual basis. During these periods when the airport is fully operational, vehicles are not allowed to drive to the northwest corner of the Torrey Pines City Park following safety restrictions imposed by CalTrans and the Federal Aviation Administration. However, pedestrian access to the beach is still open, but any pedestrians are asked to follow marked trails and respect the barricades so as to avoid the heavy steel winch cable and any launching/landing sailplane traffic.
More information on the AGCSC can be found at [www.agcsc.org]. Members of the AGCSC currently fly at Torrey Pines in the winter, Ocotillo Dry Lake in the spring, Lake Elsinore and Warner Springs year around, and even make road trips to the Owens Valley near Lone Pine in the summer. Instruction can be given through the club for those that are interested in attaining their glider rating.