On May 19, 6:57*pm, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
'Fox Two[_2_ Wrote:









;814907']On Saturday, May 19, 2012 2:44:35 PM UTC+2, Walt Connelly
wrote:--

Always good to know how the French do things......what's next?
*Telling
us to go to England to get our teeth fixed? *Once again American
Culture
taking it on the chin.

Walt
A lowly American glider pilot sheep looking for a shepherd.
--

Walt,

I m sorry if I ve offended your nationalistic pride or your personal
ego; that was not my intention. * The fact is that new, low-time pilots
need guidance, and that guidance isn t available at the typical American
club. *Yes, accidents transcend all skill and experience levels, and
certainly all nationalities, but higher quality training is unarguably
the best solution to preventing accidents and improving pilots skills.

My favorite quote from my British winch instructor at Lasham Field was
how he described low-experience pilots: he called them unconsciously
incompetent; they simply don t know what they don t know. * The German
instructor at the Schempp-Hirth factory directly attributed the safety
and success of German glider pilots to that country s comprehensive
training program. *And my French mountain instructor here at Fayence
opined that there is so much to learn that it would take many lifetimes
to learn without guidance; we simply don t have that much time. *Whether
the subject is launches & landings or MacCready theory, a new pilot is
simply oblivious to the countless risks and nuances of our sport. *We as
Americans should embrace the successful training techniques of others,
and not be quick to dismiss them simply because of our nationalistic
pride or personal ego.

I ll be the first to acknowledge that it is unrealistic to change the
American system of training glider pilots. *As an instructor, after
congratulating my students on a successful check-ride, I did my best to
delicately explain that they had only achieved the MINIMUM requirements
to be a certified pilot; a lifetime of learning awaited them. *I, for
one, practice what I preach.

I wish I was soaring too!

Chris Fleming
F2

Chris, *my nationalist pride is intact, I am an American..'nuff said.
We, like every other country in the world have changes to make and I am
confident that we will make them come November. *Good luck to the French
with their newly elected Socialist leader. *My ego is fine, I keep it in
check especially when I am flying. *To do otherwise is to invite
calamity and I avoid calamity at every coordinated turn.

I agree with much of what you say but I look to examples other than the
French most of the time. *I've had many encounters with the French, none
of them good. The Spanish, Italians, Germans, Brits, Swedes, Japanese,
Vietnamese, Koreans and others have sustained my faith in humanity
otherwise.

Lets face it though, the two Air France pilots who collided with a tow
plane of late did not do your cause any good. *While learning to fly
cross country is an admirable accomplishment....learning to fly with
your head on a swivel and outside the cockpit is equally important.
This is a dangerous sport considering the number of accidents per number
of participants. *We should be doing a better job of identifying the
cause of these accidents in a more timely manner and insuring that those
who wish to be kept informed have access to the why, what and how.

Soar on my friend and try to understand that the French amuse me and
keeping me amused is a good thing.

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

Walt,

Your smirking and borderline hateful attitude toward the French is
unfortunately common in this country. Maybe the fact that they have
avowed Socialists in their midst and even allow them to elected office
is a factor. Dont' know how old you are but try and open your mind to
be surprised by the French culture, history, contributions to
aviation, science and art. During my many visits to that country I
have never experienced prejudice of the kind you are indicating in
your posts. As a German who speaks French well I always felt welcome
to share their true love of soaring in beautiful Provence (I miss
those trips).

Herb Kilian