Aksehir is an ancient town in Konya province in central Anatolia. It is situated on a highland plateau about 1 km above sea level beneath the peaks of Sultan Daglari mountain range on the northern edge of Turkish lake district. The landscape combination of flat mountain valley with the 80 km mountain ridge, which peaks exceed 2500 meters, and rather dry climate produce intensive but not rough thermal activity.
Summer is considered to be the best flying season in Aksehir. Though it is possible to fly almost all year round there. The difference is in length and flight quality. While in summer due to long sunny days thermal activity is fine not only at noon but also in the evening, in spring and especially in autumn and winter it finishes rather early.
In summer the cloudbase is usually 2000-3000 meters. Best flying conditions are in July and August. Thermal activity in Aksehir begins at about 11:00 o’clock but cycles start relatively late around 13:00 o’clock. Average thermal strength is 2,5-3 m/s. On a good summer day it can be higher even exceeding 6 m/s.
One can enjoy soft evening thermal activity from the beginning of March till the end September. In Askehir evening thermals work perfectly, you can expect them after 16:00 o’clock on most of the days. The flat land usually has good thermal activity till 17.00 o’clock in summer.
In spring the thermals are generally soft and easy to soar but the flat land doesn’t produce them too long. In autumn thermals end early too. Average thermal strength is less than 2 m/s. So it is very difficult to make long XC-flights in other seasons but summer.
There are a lot of fields around Aksehir and there is a big lake NW of the town. Small groups of trees are scattered here and there but still there is a great variety of landing places. There are electric lines going down the mountain’s slope and one must be attentive to keep high enough to fly over them.
Aksehir is famous for its instructional courses. Pilots usually come there for training to make short 10 km flights. The longest flight made from Aksehir take off was 51,7 km. Nevertheless Aksehir is a paragliding sports ground. It has hosted XC paragliding events already two times. Anatolian Clubs Championship and Turkish National Championship were held there in 2006. Both competitions were race to goal.
Aksehir is also a well-known historic and tourist place. This town was first mentioned in Greek chronicles in the 3d century B.C. Its name is connected with the lives of such famous people like Cicero, Bayazit I, Friedrich I Barbarossa, Seygit Mahmut and Hoca Nasreddin.


Aksehir take-off:
1550 m ASL GPS 38°19'45" (38.3293)N; 31°25'18" (31.4219)E.
Winds: N, NE and NW. Start ground size is large (50 x 60 m) and it allows lying about 20 gliders at the same time. Top landing is possible. The slope of the mountain is about 40 degrees. The ground has a good road connection. It’s possible to come right to take off spot by car. It takes only 20 minutes to get there from Aksehir downtown.


Aksehir flying site video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZ7qBgBq0k
http://www.izlesene.com/video/aksehir-take-off/6634722