Narrative:

We were approaching trk from the east in VMC daylight conditions. The wind was blowing out the southwest at approximately 15 knots. We had decided on runway 28 for a visual landing and pilot flying had briefed the arrival. Due to the terrain and the arrival from the east we were going to enter the left traffic pattern for runway 28 straight into the upwind leg and then fly upwind; crosswind; downwind; base and final in a fairly tight pattern. We had just been switched over to unicom/CTAF frequency but had not canceled IFR. No other traffic had reported on the frequency as we were announcing our position and intentions. About 5 NM east of the airport while entering the upwind leg for 28 we received a TCAS TA quickly followed by RA. Immediate evasive action was taken and at the same time we discovered the other traffic: 2 gliders; one below and to the left; another above and to the right. We had inadvertently flown right through an area of dense glider traffic. The next problem was trying to flying a stable left VFR traffic pattern. Due to the strong wind from the southwest and the rising terrain dictating a very tight pattern; I overshot the final and approached the runway at a 20 degree right angle before straightening up over the threshold. A right traffic pattern for runway 28 would probably be safer because of the wind and terrain; but that area was occupied by multiple gliders. Standard left traffic pattern was also the officially published. The nos charts does not contain any information about glider activity or recommended VFR procedures for the airport. The electronic jeppesen chart which we were referring to did contain the note 'high volume of glider operations on and in vicinity of airport' but no specific details. The FAA airport facility directory (which my carrier does not provide and is not carried aboard any my carrier's aircraft) has the notes: 'sailplanes ops northeast of arpt may-sep. High volume of glider opr on and invof arpt.'. It does not specify how close to the airport the sailplane ops northeast are. Again: the af/D is not aboard the aircraft and therefore that information is not readily available to the pilot. My carrier leaves it up to the pilot to search online for pertinent af/D information before departure. The nos charts are really supposed to be used in conjunction with the af/D and by not providing the af/D pilots don't have all the information they are supposed to have. I recommend that my carrier provide each aircraft with a set of af/D books. That way pilots will always; even in cases of diversion to a different destination; have pertinent FAA information about visual procedures; nonstandard traffic patterns and altitudes and much more. Another problem at trk is that useful information is not disseminated through proper government channels. We discovered that local pilots and airport management have developed extensive procedures: there is a local 'glider training area' depicted on a map at the airport/FBO office but not on the FAA charts. The local pilots know about this; but visitors can't find that information through official channels. We were horrified to discover that we had flown right through the middle of this glider area. Other charts posted at the FBO depicted recommended noise abatement tracks developed by a private company called 'whispertrack' and used by local pilots. These charts are available on their website http://whispertrack.com/airports/trk. One of these procedures is a 'lake tahoe visual arrival' to runway 28; complete with waypoints and recommended altitudes and speeds. Although primarily for noise abatement; this procedure would have been much safer than the standard left traffic pattern. It would have allowed for a stable approach and kept us well clear of the glider traffic. Local pilots know and follow these procedures but transient pilots wouldn't know. I recommend that the local airport management work more with the FAA to disseminate information through official channels: perhaps depict an 'alert area' where the local glider traffic is concentrated. I recommend that company in their list of special mountain airport procedures refer to the whispertrack website for recommended VMC procedures.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An Air Taxi Captain on approach to CTAF TRK received a TCAS RA from sail planes and did not know about the intense glider activity at this airport May through September because his Company does not provide Government Airport publications which describe the activity.

Narrative: We were approaching TRK from the east in VMC daylight conditions. The wind was blowing out the southwest at approximately 15 knots. We had decided on Runway 28 for a visual landing and Pilot Flying had briefed the arrival. Due to the terrain and the arrival from the east we were going to enter the left traffic pattern for Runway 28 straight into the upwind leg and then fly upwind; crosswind; downwind; base and final in a fairly tight pattern. We had just been switched over to Unicom/CTAF frequency but had not canceled IFR. No other traffic had reported on the frequency as we were announcing our position and intentions. About 5 NM east of the airport while entering the upwind leg for 28 we received a TCAS TA quickly followed by RA. Immediate evasive action was taken and at the same time we discovered the other traffic: 2 gliders; one below and to the left; another above and to the right. We had inadvertently flown right through an area of dense glider traffic. The next problem was trying to flying a stable left VFR traffic pattern. Due to the strong wind from the southwest and the rising terrain dictating a very tight pattern; I overshot the final and approached the Runway at a 20 degree right angle before straightening up over the threshold. A right traffic pattern for Runway 28 would probably be safer because of the wind and terrain; but that area was occupied by multiple gliders. Standard left traffic pattern was also the officially published. The NOS charts does not contain any information about glider activity or recommended VFR procedures for the airport. The electronic Jeppesen chart which we were referring to did contain the note 'HIGH VOLUME OF GLIDER OPERATIONS ON AND IN VICINITY OF AIRPORT' but no specific details. The FAA Airport Facility Directory (which my Carrier does not provide and is not carried aboard any my Carrier's aircraft) has the notes: 'Sailplanes ops NE of arpt May-Sep. High volume of glider opr on and invof arpt.'. It does not specify how close to the airport the sailplane ops NE are. Again: the AF/D is NOT aboard the aircraft and therefore that information is not readily available to the pilot. My Carrier leaves it up to the pilot to search online for pertinent AF/D information before departure. The NOS charts are really supposed to be used in conjunction with the AF/D and by not providing the AF/D pilots don't have all the information they are supposed to have. I recommend that my Carrier provide each aircraft with a set of AF/D books. That way pilots will always; even in cases of diversion to a different destination; have pertinent FAA information about visual procedures; nonstandard traffic patterns and altitudes and much more. Another problem at TRK is that useful information is not disseminated through proper government channels. We discovered that local pilots and airport management have developed extensive procedures: There is a local 'Glider Training Area' depicted on a map at the airport/FBO office but not on the FAA charts. The local pilots know about this; but visitors can't find that information through official channels. We were horrified to discover that we had flown right through the middle of this glider area. Other charts posted at the FBO depicted recommended noise abatement tracks developed by a private company called 'Whispertrack' and used by local pilots. These charts are available on their website http://whispertrack.com/airports/TRK. One of these procedures is a 'Lake Tahoe Visual Arrival' to Runway 28; complete with waypoints and recommended altitudes and speeds. Although primarily for noise abatement; this procedure would have been MUCH SAFER than the standard left traffic pattern. It would have allowed for a stable approach and kept us well clear of the glider traffic. Local pilots know and follow these procedures but transient pilots wouldn't know. I recommend that the local airport management work more with the FAA to disseminate information through official channels: Perhaps depict an 'alert area' where the local glider traffic is concentrated. I recommend that Company in their list of special mountain airport procedures refer to the Whispertrack website for recommended VMC procedures.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.