Brings a tear to my eye! *Where were you when I was 14? *I can't
complain, though...I started to fly at age 15 and soloed our Cessna 140
at age 16. *I discovered gliders in England and hope to add my glider
rating one of these summers...maybe THIS summer. *Who knows how many
"summers" I have left

You sound like on helluva guy, Burt! *Hope to meet you in person one of
these days...

Scott
Bloomer, WI

There are lots of "helluva" guys and gals in soaring. I try to meet
them all, listen and learn.

I'm around . . . I never miss a SSA Convention. Find me at Little
Rock, AR January 27 - 30, 2010. See www.ssa.org for more info. I
also one of the guys that will travel around the USA for the Soaring
Safety Foundation doing free, confidential "Site Surveys" by
invitation of the SSA clubs and chapters. See www.soaringsafety.org
for details on the SSF Site Survey program.

I'll be taking my restored Schleicher ASK-13 to Harris / Elmira, NY
for the International Vintage Sailplane Meet to give rides from that
historic site June 27 to July 4. The IVSM is a wonderful gathering of
vintage sailplanes (and pilots!). See www.soaringmuseum.org for more
details. Many years ago, the Harris Hill Soaring Club developed an
excellent youth soaring program, producing many soaring pilots who
went on to military, airline and professional CFI careers.

Consistent one-on-one mentoring, a training syllabus / job description
starting with basic maintenance and line crew duties to develop a
strong work ethic are essential elements in a successful youth
program. Just make sure they fly every day after they work.

Growing up on our family gliderport in Miami got me into the work
part. Lots of mowing to be done in Florida! Dad did most of the
difficult aircraft maintenance as I was told to simply "hand me that
tool, hold it steady, don't look at the flame!"

But we always went flyin' in our J-3 Cub at the end of the work day.
Dad was smart about keeping me interested, in spite of me growing up
playing sixties rock music, discovering girls and cruisin' Miami Beach
in my 1956 VW bug. A photo tribute to the late Fritz Compton is on my
website at www.flygliders.com Good images of our Cub and the LK-10A
sailplane, circa 1959.

I still enjoy mowing the grass. Yes, I have grass to mow around my
hangar at Marfa, Texas! Bermuda grows well here.

Burt
Marfa Gliders, west Texas USA