Just to add a bit to what Eric said:Â* I've had two successful
partnerships in gliders which allowed me to fly way more glider than I
could afford.Â* Choose your partner wisely and put everything in
writing.Â* I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

On 12/14/2019 1:51 PM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
wrote on 12/14/2019 10:27 AM:
Yes Nick its a sad state of affairs and with the preponderance of
self launch
sailplanes, its gonna get worse. As for. club
participation/formation, its
completely dependant upon the mentality/atmosphere engendered . Some
clubs are
flourishing, many of which are not located in premier soaring
locations. But
they have a friendly, all inclusive atmosphere which helps them not only
maintain but grow.

I think self-launching sailplanes are a symptom of the problem, not
the cause.
Lots of motorglider pilots remain active in the SSA and in clubs as
officials,
workers, tow pilots, and instructors. They get a motorglider for
various reasons,
but a big one is they can't get tows when they want them. It sucks to
tow everyone
up, then be sitting on the ground because there isn't another towpilot
to launch
you, or sitting on the ground during the week when you could fly
because you
aren't busy doing tows or instruction, but - no tow pilots.

As you pointed out, there used to be 3X as many glider pilots at
Minden. What
happened to them? Obviously, 2X of them didn't get motorgliders, or
there would
still be 3X as many glider pilots at Minden. They drifted away, the
replacements
dwindled, and here we are.

I think motorgliders could help increase, or at least stop the loss of
pilots, if
more of them were owned by partnerships. Gliders like the Silent
Electro and
miniLAK FES offer good performance, easy operation, and relatively low
cost if you
had 2 or 3 person partnerships. The motor gives the owners the ability
to fly when
and where it's convenient for them, and more days are available
because the motor
makes poor or unpredictable days usable.

Even you might enjoy being a partner in an FES! And when a tow and
suitable
weather are available, hop into the 1-26 and dash off into the distance.


--
Dan, 5J