Patrick,



Quitting the sport will not stop further fatalities (Except possibly
your own from flying. I can assure you that life itself is fatal.). We
are going to continue this sport whether you continue in it or not.
What will change is that you no longer have the contact with one of the
most diverse and interesting groups around. We will still be flying,
soaring, laughing, lying about our accomplishments over a beer, having
the adventures of a retrieve, seeing firsthand the grandeur of nature
and weather, experiencing the satisfaction of launching into the skies
and returning home, making new friends .... and, yes, possibly losing a
few of them along the way.



How dangerous is soaring? My primary instructor would answer the
question, "Soaring is bloody dangerous! Anytime you get more than about
3 feet off the ground (whether on a ladder, airplane, rooftop) or travel
more than about 15 miles per hour (whether in a car, bicycle, skis, or
airplane), you are taking your life in your own hands."



Let's be diligent about our safety with procedures, better equipment,
etc. But at the end of the day, it is still going to be more dangerous
than not flying.



I want to live to see what my great-grandchildren become. But when they
ask what I did with my life, I don't want to say "Well, I worked 40
years and then I retired." I want to tell them about the time that I
thermalled with a bald eagle, or the time I saw a corn stalk flying in
the thermal over Uvalde, or the grandeur of the mountains and lakes in
the western US, or the magic of seeing my "glory" on a cloud below me.



Is it worth it? Each person has to answer it for themselves.



For me, absolutely.





Larry Goddard

01 "zero one" USA






"
wrote in message
ups.com:

When I started soaring on mid 80's, everybody said that soaring is the
safest aviation sport, almost safer than most 'real' sports. You can't
brake your leg while flying Only when you hit the ground

Though on a first year 4 pilots that I knew got killed with glider.
Not a good start. And during the years I have counted over 20
fatalities where I can say they either they were my friends or I knew
them well. Plus all the other fatalities. Almost every week on this
group, we get another sad message informing yet another fatality. And
most of the cases, pilots has been extremely experiensed. We know that
they haven't done any stupid moves, they just lost the control of the
plane on wrong situation or the plane has failed on them. I personally
feel that I am on the edge to quit this sport because of that. I don't
want to see not even one more friend passing away. I want to push that
off my mind.

Soaring is the greatest sport I can imagine. No other sport can give
me the feeling, same view, same fellowship etc etc. But is it worth
it???

PS