Tennessee Tree Toppers

The Tennessee Tree Toppers welcome you to Henson Gap!

Please observe all USHPA and TTT rules and site guidelines.
As a Tree Topper member, you may take advantage of this beautiful site, the clubhouse and facilities.

Direction	320
Elevation MSL	2300 feet
Elevation AGL	1480 feet
Glide to LZ	4:1

Flight Clearance

You must be a Tennessee Tree Topper and a USHPA member before flying. A TTT membership may be obtained from any clearance official or the on-site membership stations.  Please follow instructions on the cover carefully.  A minimum Hang II rating with mountain experience is required to fly this site. Tandem and first mountain flights must be supervised by an approved instructor.

Launching

Do not begin the launch too far back. Go at least to the red line.  This is an acceptable starting point for a launch run even in no wind conditions. All Hang II and first mountain pilots must have someone in the LZ before launching. Use side wiremen in winds over 8 mph, and use a keel person in winds over 12 mph. In these conditions, it is especially important to launch from forward of the red line.  Print out the TTT Board of Directors page for a ready directory of wire crew who may be close and available if you ask real nice.  Your chances of successfully rounding up a wire crew will be much higher among the "949" prefixes.

Landing

Land in the field north of Davis Loop and south of Henson Gap Road. The first photo below is the view approaching from the direction of launch. This field slopes upward toward launch in its southern corner, illustrated by a downhill white arrow across two parallel yellow bands in the second photo (view from directly above). It is fairly level in its western corner bordered by large electric transmission lines (NW) and Davis Loop (SW). This is the primary target area, illustrated by the green band. From here the field slopes down to the north, along a fall line that divides the field (yellow band with white downhill arrows), to a big flat bottom comprising the majority of area. Although the narrow green band will be used by many pilots in a strong north cross, the wide flat bottom area may be easier to negotiate in these conditions. Mr. Woerner also allows use of his bowl field across Davis Loop, offering another good option in this direction.

Again, the yellow band indicates a sloping area of the field and white arrows point downhill. Please take your trash with you, and keep your speed down to 15 mph when driving past the homes surrounding the LZ.

Cross Country Tips

Excellent for ridge running, great for out and returns. Flights to Lookout Mountain may be accomplished by following the ridge to Powells Crossroads and jumping over the back (second deviation from southern XC route from Henson's in picture). Be careful. This is a very challenging route. Directly over the back will put you in Chattanooga and very close to controlled air space.

Another recently preferable route narrowly avoids Lovell Field's airspace.  It follows the ridge line all the way to Inman Point then across the Tennessee River at Nickajack Lake to the area where I-24 cuts through Walden's Ridge/Sand Mountain at the Haletown exit (Big Daddy's).

It is the southerly most route to Lookout on the topo map at left. There are acceptable fields along the river here and at Haletown if you sink out, but you must make it across the river. Once across you'll notice a southeasterly string of nice fields leading across this narrow area of the platea directly into the Lookout Valley. These appear as white patches along a line between Nickajack Lake, New Home, and New England on the topographical map you can view at TopoZone. Look for Covenant College, Burkhalter Gap, and the LMFP shop buildings on Lookout for landmarks. If you follow the fields to leave Sand Mountain in the area of a small cove where large power lines ascend the mountain, Lookout Mountain Flight Park is right across the valley.

Do not get caught too far back in the gaps on westerly days, unless you are sure you can make it to a safe LZ.

Directions to launch from Dunlap
Proceed north on Hwy 127 through Dunlap. Turn right onto Hwy 111 South (toward Chattanooga) north of Dunlap. Proceed past East Valley Road exit (which may be taken to LZ: right after exit, left at Davis Chapel/East Valley Baptist Church) and up the mountain. Notice beautiful view on right. Exit right onto Lewis Chapel Road. Take first right. Left at T onto Poe Road/Henson Gap Road (unmarked). Take first right onto Window Rock Road (Bowman Road) and proceed about 1.7 miles to TTT entrance on right marked by painted rock. If you don't know the combination to the lock, contact a neighbor.

Directions to launch from Chattanooga
Take Hwy 27 north. After paralleling Walden's Ridge (the other side of which Henson's is on), passing the Hwy 153/Chickamauga Dam Exit, the town of Soddy Daisy, the Sequoyah Exit, and crossing part of the lake, exit left onto Hwy 111 North toward Dunlap. Climb mountain. Notice beautiful view on right. Proceed across plateau. Exit right then turn left onto Lewis Chapel Road. Follow "Directions to launch from Dunlap" from this point (Lewis Chapel Road).

Directions to LZ from launch
After leaving TTT driveway, turn left. Go to the end of Window Rock Road and turn left. Follow Henson's Gap Road about down the mountain and look for Davis Loop on left immediately at the bottom. Follow around until you reach the LZ. Please consider the locals and drive slowly past their houses. To proceed to the TTT LZ Shady Bottom Breakdown area, continue past Davis Loop until you see the pull-out on the left just past the sweetgum thicket. It is directly across Henson Gap Road from Graham Road on the right. Park in the grassy area behind the brush line and ditch. The TTT Rock Bottom creekside picnic area is also accessible from here.