On Tue, 18 Aug 2015 12:19:16 -0700, pstrzel wrote:

flying cross-country solo requires years of experience.

All due respect, but this is quite wrong given a suitable club culture.

A very high proportion of new solo pilots at my UK club will be flying XC
within 18 months of their first solo. Thats why the club owns two SZD
Juniors. It also owns three good standard class gliders, which are
intended for XC use by anybody with a Silver C who hasn't yet bought
their own glider.

Do prospective students know that or do they expect instant
gratification coming into it?

Instant gratification is the real problem. It is adversely affecting any
and all hobbys and sports, in short, anything that requires any more
learned skills than watching TV, texting or cracking another beer can.

Employable skills as well: why should your average numpty strain his
brain learning a profession when he 'knows' he can slide through school
and get loadsa money and as many girls as he can handle by kicking a
ball, joining a boy band or winning some reality stupid TV show? He knows
this because all the meeja and celebs say so and they can't possibly be
wrong or they wouldn't be so rich and famous.

The pursuit of mastery isn't always fun.

I'd disagree: putting in the time, thought and practise to hone a complex
skill, such as soaring, can be very pleasurable. But, maybe I'm just
weird.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |