Shawn Curry wrote:
tango4 wrote:

One of my first instructors would whistle and hum to himself if you were
doing well. When the whistling stopped, look out, the next thing was
usually
him stretching forward to beat you around the ears with his hat.

In answer to his heavily German accented 'where are your wings?', usually
meant to inquire about the diversion of the string from the straight back
position, I once replied 'well there's one there and one there' nodding
first left then right. At that point I think he unscrewed the stick
from the
rear seat of the bergfalke and hit me with that because it certainly
wasn't
a cap that he hit me with! I reckon that smart alec comment delayed my
solo
by months!

Fond memories!


Fond? How many people did this prick drive out of the sport? If he did
this to me he'd have a black eye before he got off the runway. If my
kid were flying with someone who behaved this way, I would end his
flying career in an instant.
Where's my Ativan, gotta calm down.

Shawn
This chap introduced me to gliding 22 years ago. One of the gentlest and nicest
people you could hope to meet.
An excellent if slightly eccentric teacher, he taught generations to fly long
white wings - for next to nothing but the joy of it. The only thing that
reliably got a student a lecture, was a lax attitude - particularly to safety.
Over all he brought many into the sport, I don't know of any he drove away. I do
know many who hold him in the highest respect.

I wonder how many scare themselves witless, or kill themselves being sloppy
because their instruction did not include some robust criticism. Or even the
occasional good natured slap with a gliding hat - hardly a weapon of mass
destruction