wrote in message
...

Hand on spoiler shoud be for all flights....ballast or not....

NO! In general, you should not have your fingers wrapped around the spoiler
handle on launch, any more than you should have your hand around the release
handle. A bump or a startle could cause you to anadvertantly open the spoilers.
The ergomatics of gliders differ, but I generally prefer to put a fist behind
the spoiler lever. This assures the spoilers stay closed and (incidently)
anchors my hand in the general vicinity of the release.

Radio now requires additional training and practice to learn the
established "standards": of radio use....

....Which any glider pilot should be easily capable of learning...The normal
method that humans use to communicate is the human voice. Nothing is simpler or
more natural for us to process.

Radio requires new layers of complexity to the system....such as
chargers....ground personel etc...

Sorry, that's just nonsense. Radios are cheap, simple to use and reliable.
Further, they are necessary because we share the sky with airplanes, virtually
all of which are radio equipped. It's perfectly reasonable for them to expect
that we have them too. Would you have us eliminate everything from our cockpits
that the Wright Broothers wouldn't recognize?


Vaughn