Condor Cross-Country Training Available 9/28/11 - 2/23/12

[Frank Paynter[_2_]]

For the second year, I am offering one-on-one cross-country mentoring
sessions using the Condor soaring simulator. As instructor I host a
Condor server on my PC here in Columbus, Ohio, and the student joins
it from wherever they are - all they need is a good internet
connection (i..e DSL or better). A regular telephone connection is
used as an 'open mike' intercom for conversation.

I started this on an experimental basis last year, and it seemed to
work very well. Comments from students/mentees was uniformly
positive. This year I am charging $25/hour with all proceeds going to
the U.S. Soaring Team fund. I have no interest in making money at
this, but I have found that charging a reasonable fee tends to make
everything work a bit better, and besides, the U.S Soaring Team needs
all the help it can get ;-).

I will host 3hr blocks on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 7-10pm
U.S. East coast time, starting on Wednesday September 28, 2011 and
running through Thursday February 23, 2012. You can sign up for a
block by going to a free calendar/appointment package I have set up at
http://condorxc.calendarspots.com.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please
contact me at paynterf[at]gmail.com. Experienced cross-country racers
with an interest in mentoring less experienced pilots are encouraged
to contact me - I will be happy to help you get up to speed in Condor
and start your own Condor cross-country racing 'camp'. Flying in
Condor over the winter months certainly beats looking out the window
and waiting for spring!

Frank

[Bruce Barnard[_2_]]

Frank was kind enough to give me this instruction last winter and it
helped me improve flying both Condor and my real glider. The cost is
well worth it, less than two tows and you'll learn about 20 tows worth
of experience.

The many articles we see about "how to grow the sport" always make me
want to comment, so here goes. The simple (and cheap) answer is to
mentor an existing glider pilot to go cross country. This is what
Frank is doing, and now with Condor it's done long distance and during
winter (perfect!).

We don't need to entice power pilots, or trade with AOPA only to get
stuck with ten pieces of junk mail per week, etc. Glider clubs lose
hundreds of members every year because these guys never get hooked on
the sport. My mentor followed me to the first turn point 35 miles
away while giving instructions what clouds to aim for and when to
cruise or S-turn a cloud (then he ditched me)......I'm now hooked for
life.

Thank you Frank (TA) and Bob (F1) for your help,
Bruce