All that is needed is for anyone to take down any 5 issues of Soaring and take notes---How much space is devoted to competition, how much to the adventure of soaring, how much to congratulate first solos, how much to safety, etc etc etc.

The SSA is our National Aero Club --representative to the FAI at this time. It is the repository of Badges and Records data. If you are a "We don't need no steenking badges" type--all well and good, there's still plenty in "Soaring" for you. If you do want a yardstick to measure your improvement, competition is there.

An old saying from the days when MG and Jaguar dominated sports car racing was "Racing improves the breed". This is true for gliders too.. As to price---well, if you adjust the 1970 prices for inflation, todays prices ain't so bad after all. Furthermore the venerable 201B Libelle is still competitive in Sports Class and so is the Ka-6. So there is a "trickle down" that those who fly on more limited budgets can benefit from. Same is true of instruments. Today you can hardly give a S-Nav away. Before they came out, a hotshot pilot would have given his left testicle to get the very first one. It is still a very capable computer.

As to being outdated--that happens less now than in the '70s. The ASW27 and V2 are early 90s designs. Same for the Nimbus 4 and the Discus 2

The techniques of soaring have changed considerably since 1965, mainly due to competitiion. Your "just jumping in the plane and flying a few hours while improving performance" is a direct beneficiary of these changes.

So there are functions the SSA does for us that we need to have done. Not that the SSA is the only way, but if not SSA, then who has the knowlege and experience and interest in doing this? AOPA--not likely. EAA, maybe, but don't count on it

--
Hartley Falbaum
DG800B 15/18m "KF" USA


"5-BG" 5-bghatesspam @ fake.com wrote in message ...
Joe in Georgia wrote "I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter."

That MAY BE BREAD AND BUTTER to the contest pilot set, but it is of absolutly no interest to a significant number of recreational pilots who soar just to be flying and who have no interest whatsoever in contests,badges etc. A great deal of SSA resources are spent each month on a glossy magazine which is devoted in large part ( altho I do acknowledge the recent attempts to broaden its scope) to contests and to the "elite " of the sport. I wonder just how many of the 16,000 members actually care about the contest circuit.

It is my opinion that the focus on contests as a measure of whether or not someone is having fun has not only lef to a split in the ranks of the SSA, but has also had a very bad impact on the business of building gliders suitable for the general flying population. I saw this same thing 30 years ago in ocean sailboat racing. The concept of daysailing, cruising and just having a good time was replaced by an emphasis on competition. From the individual yatch club level to the world cup. Boats got much faster AND way more expensive. They became more fragile and were outdated after a couple of seasons.
I believe that the glorification of competition is OK and that it satisfies the ego needs of a significant portion of the pilots who own sailplanes. HOWEVER to say that it is the bread and butter of the SSA is just plain wrong.

we wonder why kids are not coming into a sport that takes a $100,000 hot rod to be competitive. The attitude that if you don't have the latest glass ship that dominated the nationals last month you are somhow a lesser pilot is fostered by this bread and butter attitude. What ever happened to just jumping in a sailplane and losing oneself in the sky for several hours of solitude? Whatever happened to the concept of just trying to improve or develop skills just for personal satisfaction? These concepts are the bread and butter of soaring.
Not only have the finances of SSA been mismanaged, but i believe that the society has become irrevelant to a significant portion of its recreational for fun pilots.
5bg


wrote in message ups.com...
Well,
We have to consider really what SSA does for us- everyone mentions
the big stuff like plane insurance and lobbying, and the clout of AOPA
or EAA would be good there. I just think that these organizations
already have their own inertia to deal with. I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.