On Aug 15, 5:00 pm, bagmaker
wrote:
There is no blanket fix, nor club style that suits all.
I advocate the new, shiny style of glider for all operations because
that is what appeals to me.
I am mid 40s and have been gliding for 20 years, my own club is large
and fairly all-encompassing in its approach to new members.
We have a duo, Blanik and 3 IS-28s for training/ checks and split the
combination between sites.
The Lark is a much better proposition for attracting visitors than the
Blanik, the duo puts them both to shame but seldom gets a run for new
pilots or AEFs due to costs mentioned in other posts. I personally
prefer to fly a Blanik over a club lark ( I am told the private ones
are much nicer) however if someone told me they had turned all of them
into scrap-metal for the cost of the aluminium I would hardly lose
sleep.

All of the above aircraft are a vast improvement over a 2-33, but dont
confuse my arguments with my dislike for the 2-33 OR its ilk. There is
nothing wrong with old Vauxhalls or Buicks either, you just cant sell
them to kids.

My argument (check some of my previos posts on this) is for CHANGE,
this in itself is uncomfortable for many people. Gliding is in decline
yet we continue with what we do. Thats crazy!
People, we have to change, embrace it. For some folks any change is a
bitter pill, but please, look further than what suits your own needs,
at your own location.

I believe part of that change is for shiny ships, embracing GP NZ style
coverage of events and fast, glitzy promo ads such as are found made by
the juniors in Australia and Britian. Search for loch-smoker on
you-tube - THAT is an enticing video for potential young pilots.
Compare it to the recent SSA vid. - good work but not for me.

Along with Bill Daniels I endorse more world-wide winching.
If you havent gone up a wire this will be hard to understand, it is a
blast! Cheap and easy, the only way to teach gliding in my opinion. I
have never met a person who didnt get hooked after a winch launch. $7
space shuttle imitation.

I do, however, understand that winching is the current most dangerous
aspect of worldwide gliding, with some 50% of deaths attributed to
winch-related accidents. (this figure is not mine, the statement comes
from a world champion and I am just using it - I assume it is a correct
figure). Better winches, technology in rope, more training, more
experience may improve this figure.
More aerotowing will only see us broke. Sure there is a place for it,
but not outside competition, early starting cross-country launches and
retreives, aero-towing must be a second option to getting us into the
sky. Just too damned expensive, noisy and in-efficient.

Ultimately, self launching gliders may be the only viable option to us,
lets hope I am still doing a sport that is recognised as mainstream at
that time everyone is self-launching. Because unless we change our
ways, my generation of kids may be the worlds last glider pilots.

Are we understanding that fully? 1, maybe 2 generations to go, then no
more gliding. Period.

The less voices we have, the less wallets buy the gliders, the less
airspace we get, the less airfeilds remain, the more newbies fear the
unknown, no-one fixes pawnees for tugs anymore nor builds new styles
with a hook, - a flat spin developes into a spiral to our sad end.

Now before some of the old gin-swillers out there completely cover
their white moustaches in spittle as they read this, scoffing, please
get it into your heads that change will NOT mean you are NOT doing the
odd flight at the field every year, and 20 more even longer, faster
flights at the bar in your clubs all over the world.
AS one of you, in the future, I just want some kids to help pay for the
priveledge of listening.

bagger

diving for cover

--
bagmaker

WAW!!!! Let me know where do you live....for that statement I will
send you a fat bottle of good old "Makers Mark".....and don't dive for
cover, I used to but not anymore.

Jacek
Pasco, WA