On Feb 24, 2:07*pm, bildan wrote:
On Feb 24, 12:39*pm, Tony wrote:





On Feb 24, 11:00*am, bildan wrote:

Further, the brilliant idea of requiring advanced badges for CFIGs is
sheer stupidity. *The soaring community is already woefully short of
instructors--the very men and women who do the most to grow the
sport. *The very idea that you can't teach soaring without a diamond
badge beggars belief. *How will reducing the instructor corps to a
mere handful improve safety, much less improve the sport? *Astonishing
arrogance.

So, how much good are crappy instructors for the sport? *I know of
many 'instructors' whose only interest is "free flying". *A lot of
accidents can be traced back to them.

We are not short of instructors - we actually have a surplus.
However, many pilots holding instructor certificates are not willing
to instruct which says something about working conditions. *A lot of
them are no longer willing to spend time in ragged old trainers. *Buy
a new trainer and instructors will come out of the woodwork.

In a lifetime of observation and instructing, it's clear to me the
best instructors always hold advanced badges and the worst never do.
While it's not quite black and white, there's a very strong
relationship between soaring accomplishment and ability as an
instructor.

I don't ask for FAR Part 61 instructor experience requirements be
changed to include FAI badges but I strongly suggest students seek out
instructors with them. *I also tell any instructor seeking some
respect to get their Diamond.

I think you'd lose a lot of experienced and effective instructors.
Seeking advanced badges and advanced knowledge is certainly a good
trait in an instructor but not the be all and end all. *Not all of us
live and work and play at a "Diamond Mine" location. *Some instructors
seek advancement in other ways than badge flights. *I've only got a
lousy Silver Badge but I certainly think I'm a decent CFIG, at least
my students and their DPE's seem to think so. *As far as I know none
of the CFIG's I have taken training from have above a Silver Badge.
But I still feel that I received top notch instruction. *I also feel
that I get plenty of respect from my fellow glider pilots even though
I don't have the coveted Diamonds.

If any of the racing pilots in the country came to me for a spring
checkout or a flight review I wouldn't be able to teach them a damn
thing about going fast or winning races, but that is not what a flight
review or spring checkout is about. *We'd have a fun time reviewing
tow signals, tow failures, abnormal patterns, spot landings, sim off
field landings, and other things that are the real killers.

And I'm still young enough to think of an afternoon crammed in the
back of a 2-XX rotating through 3 or 4 students as a good time.
Hopefully I don't get too old for that for a long time.

If badges were required for instructors, I think most of the
'effective' instructors would just go get them - even if it took a
trip. *I would suspect the motivation and commitment of who couldn't
be bothered.

I recall an incident where a 'professional' instructor was offered an
LS-4, crew and a tow - all free of charge - to get Gold Distance on a
booming 10 knot, 18,000' cloud,base day. *All he had to do was fly out
95 miles and come back - it would probably have taken less than 4
thermals yet he began sweating profusely and declined. *I had
previously heard him denigrating cross country pilots as "crazy
people" when speaking to his students. *He was terrified of getting
out of gliding range of the home airport. *Unfortunately, this isn't
uncommon.

We have known for decades that pilots who take up cross country flying
tend to stay with the sport longer than those who don't. *Instructors
set an example. *If they instill a fear of XC flying, it hurts the
sport.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I agree that encouraging cross country flying is a very good thing.

When I got my CFIG I had a hard enough time affording to do the add on
training, let alone take a couple weeks off in the summer to go to a
diamond mine, join a club or get checked out in a commercial
operation, learn a new to me glider, and then get to the point where I
was ready to fly it cross country. And then complete gold or diamond
badge flights with it. Hell even right now, I am in a dual income no
kids no college debt no car payment and pretty low rent situation and
I don't think I'd be too interested in taking a week in Boulder or
Minden. I'd probably spend enough in a week of glider rental and tow
costs not to mention gas to get there and hotels and food to pay for a
season's worth of tows at home. Or I could just use that money to buy
another Cherokee II!

So no, if gold or higher were required for CFIG, the "effective"
instructors would not just go get them. Only the ones who could get
the time off work and who could afford the associated costs with
getting the badge would do it.