From what I've observed, shared ownership of gliders in the US has been rather rare, though it is a bit more common in my club today than it's been in the past 20 years. Splitting the cost and expenses four ways certainly should make several gliders attractive.

Frank Whiteley

Shared ownership was the norm when I was growing up at what is now Caesar Creek Soaring Club in the mid 1960s. Typically 2 but up to 8 partners. My dad had a partner who flew only on Sundays; we went to church so my dad flew on Saturdays and at contests. I started out with a 1/8 share of a 1-26 (one specific weekend day a month) but flew as much as I wanted because so few of my partners did.

What changed? Lifestyles. I'm not wealthy but earlier in my career I had more money than time regarding gliders so I own my glider outright. I never knew when I'd have a weekend day free and wanted to fly without having to coordinate with a partner. I fly contests and didn't want conflicts there, either.

Shared ownership is less expensive. But cost is only part of the problem. Club gliders and shared ownership gliders often sit on the ground even on good weekend soaring days. Soaring takes a lot of time and is tough on families (although we tried to make it fun for my daughters growing up, with some success). It's tough and frustrating to learn how. It's completely weather dependent so you can't plan ahead. There's a lot more ground time than flying time. Without a motorglider, you're dependent on others for launching and retrieves. You can spend hours waiting for both the former and the latter. Etc.

It's never going to be widely popular, either for participants or spectators. And I'd argue those two aren't that related anyway.

From a purely selfish perspective (the shame of it!), I just hope soaring survives long enough for me to continue enjoying it for a while longer and then sell my glider.

Chip Bearden