Thanks for all the view's. If I am going to quit, I am definately not
going to spend my life on bed There are lot of other ways to have
great time too. Though soaring is extremely the best rush I can get. I
like to polish the rock, beat the **** out of the skiers and so on.
Who wouldn't Like John said, there is nothing better than have that
100mile final glide back home after 500 miles behind you. But still I
don't know if it is worth it any more. Though one reason can be that I
have experienced it all already. Flown 20 years, about 4000hrs. But my
main consern still is that people dies. Of course you can die
anywhere, doing anything. But none of my tennis friends hasn't died on
tennis court. None of my icehockey friends hasn't died on ice rink.
None of my sailing friends hasn't died while sailing and so on... But
I've lost and wittnessed way too many fatalities. It totally changes
your view when you are first person on an fatal accident site. Done
that 4 times. Sure there has been stupid errors, but still. You can't
rig your tennis racket wrong...


On 31 loka, 00:27, Rick Culbertson wrote:
Soaring is the greatest sport I can imagine. No other sport can give
me the feeling, same view, same fellowship etc etc. But is it worth
it???

Hi Patrick,

For myself the answer is a firm Yes. This subject is near and dear to
all of us, as has been repeated by the replies here every pilot mus
personally address the question. Your question is valid and
appropriate as Soaring is an "all in sport"and not for everyone, if
after serious reflection the answer is other than a true Yes... then it
certainly would be time to hang it up and OK to do so.

Back in 1999 I asked myself that same "is it worth it"question about
flying Hang Gliders, after 23 years of flying HGs I became a bit
complacent so my answer was "No". The main reason and simple answer is
because I wasn't "all in" and that's a recipe for big trouble. So I
shifted to Sailplanes because I still love soaring where the interest
and passion to fly returned 10 fold. I too have lost close friend in
both sports, some very reciently but I've lost many more friends and
family to cancer and traffic accidents. A few years ago my sister fell
off a ladder while hanging a bird feeder in a tree, she is now a
quadrapalegic, what can you say, you never know how long you may have
as the risks in life are many. For all the reasons and more mentioned
in the other replies posted here I say yes because speaking only for
myself it's what makes me tick, helps to keep me firmly engaged in
living a full life with a an grin and a twinkle in the eye. it's one
of the great reasons to be alive.

Rick - 21
Colorado, USA