On May 31, 5:49*pm, Tom Claffey wrote:

Thermalling should be taught from first lesson! Basic crosscountry theory
and short flights before solo!!
Tom

At the risk of sounding bitter: This can only be done if your club's
instructors know HOW to go cross-country, care about doing so, and if
they've practiced thermalling within recent history. In my club out of
about 12 instructors on the roster there are only 2 that I know of
who've done even a single cross-country flight or any extended soaring
(i.e. thermalling) in the last 3+ years.

*sigh*

--Noel
P.S. I'm not implying that they're bad instructors (I actually quite
like most of them); they're just all to the point where teaching stick-
and-rudder basics is all they seem to have the energy for anymore...