Aoshima

Aoshima is a coastal ridge on the 'devil's washboard' shoreline south of Miyazaki, and among pilots in Kyushu it has a reputation as the finest soaring site on the island. The ridge is small — a couple of kilometres long and around 150 m high, with takeoff barely 45 m above the sea — but the setting does the rest: the Pacific breaking on the rock shelves directly below, palms along the coast road, and several kilometres of ridge to work to the south. Small scale should not be read as forgiving. The margins here are set by the wind rather than the terrain, and they close quickly in both directions: too much wind and landing becomes nearly impossible, too little and a pilot at the far end of the ridge has nowhere to go. Local pilots watch the conditions closely and pass advice by radio, and it is worth having someone to listen to.

Launch & conditions

Takeoff sits about 45 m above sea level on the coast, with the ridge running south. Top landing is the normal option; the alternative is a narrow strip of lawn below, hemmed in between the hillside and the sea wall.

Getting there & local rules

About twenty minutes south of Miyazaki city, on the coast.

Local rules & hazards

There are no formal restrictions, but this is a site for skilled pilots only and the local advice is worth taking seriously. If the wind strengthens even slightly beyond the working range, landing becomes close to impossible with nowhere else to go, and whitecaps appearing offshore are the signal to land immediately. If the wind drops while you are at the far end of the ridge you will not get back, and the washboard rocks below are not a survivable landing for most pilots; both happen regularly and without much warning.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Aoshima, read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open Aoshima with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.