On Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 11:09:43 AM UTC-4, Sean Fidler wrote:
From another thread recently, thought it might be a good topic to paw around with everyone...

For me, soaring is great fun. I've been doing it consistently for about 5 years now. I've met a bunch of amazing, great, kind people and have learned a tremendous amount about the sport (light years left to go). Thru and thru, as a group, soaring pilots, their friends and family are among the nicest, smartest most interesting people I have ever met. I am attracted to this immensely.

Part of the reason I have devoted time and energy to the sport is that am truly inspired by what competition/cross country pilots are capable of doing in gliders. I am still fascinated by it and want to be a part of it. This, for me, was huge. Glider pilots are amazing pilots, PERIOD.

I probably never would have truly learned of the sport (and what it really is at the highest levels), or been so attracted to it if my dad was not involved. Having a family member with a high performance glider, flying it regularly and promoting how amazing the sport could be all the time was key.. Having access to a high performance glider and a group of local friends who could mentor me and take me out on cross country flights shortly after I got my license was the key moment. Would I have got my license if the motivation was just flying around the airport? Probably not.

Those experiences flying with the Ionio boys on short, mentored cross country's "set the hook" for me and eventually led to me buying a glider so that I could fly with everyone rather than leave my dad back at the airport whenever I was flying. Of course once I bought my first glider so I could fly with this gang regularly, the learning curve grew dramatically. The hook set deeper. And so on.

Flying clubs are important to US soaring "health" I suppose but they also seem to lack in areas. They often don't have much to offer in terms of even moderate performance gliders. They often don't promote or in some cases even allow cross country.

It seems that European clubs are more into cross country which is more challenging and more rewarding than local flight, which I think gets old after a year or so. If some inspirational figure is not actively encouraging and facilitating cross country glider flight (the whole point of the sport I think) at that key moment in a glider pilots career, I think they come to the conclusion that they have checked the box and move on.

Obviously without glider clubs more focused on taking pilots into cross country levels, one has to have the financial means to do it on their own. I dont see that as a real problem as numerous 40:1 gliders are available for the same price as a small sailboat or powerboat, which almost everybody seems to have these days (jet skis, snowmobiles, etc). It's a matter of priority. Gliders I suppose are for one person (usually) where a boat (or other rec toy) is for the whole family.

But Europe seems to have an entirely different dynamic with respect to soaring. More youth, larger numbers, etc. U.S. numbers have been steadily declining for 25 years.

One thing I learned in business school. It's often better to adopt successful competitors methods even if at first you don't fully understand them yet. Our clubs (and the SSA) should be talking to European clubs and picking their brains for advise. I wonder how many have actually done that. Perhaps take a trip to Europe on summer and spend a few weeks with a successful club, talk to the people, etc.

Oddly, my flying is at a location that actually IDs itself as IONIA NON CLUB. They don't like the politics. :-).

The rules is a small thing overall but debating the rules is an important thing in terms of competition pilots. My suggestions usually would make getting into competition soaring simpler for the new pilot. I do think our rules are too complicated, but the rule makers are all GREAT PEOPLE, working hard and want nothing but the best for our sport.

Sean
7T

How do you motivate pilots to fly X-C? You don't. Such a desire has to be innate. For us who think cross country flying is a sport too good for kings, it is hard to understand why it has no appeal to others, especially others who do, in fact like to fly. But that's the way it is, and you aren't going to change it. When instructing, I have always included X-C instruction to some degree in every flight, even if it was merely to point out where NOT to go or why this particular day wasn't good for leaving the area. I have always tried to go as far away from the airport as possible and still remain within gliding distance of a normal pattern.
Our BRSS has several club ships with good X-C performance, and many club pilots with the requisite skills to leave the airport. It doesn't happen.
This year we set up a X-C OLC to encourage club pilots to leave the nest. Here are the rules:

BRSS OLC Annual Award
This award will be presented at the BRSS AGM to the club member with the highest OLC score (above minumum) for the OLC period ending at the close of the OLC year . (mid Sept-mid Sept is currently the OLC year.) The minumum score for the award is a total of 300km.
A club member may only win the award once in a three year period.

This award is open to all club members who have never had an SSA competition ranking of 50 or greater. In a two-place glider, neither occupant may have ever had a ranking of 50 or higher. Distance in a two-place glider scores for only the PIC. In other words, only one pilot may claim the distance..

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We got two Nano3's for club use. We laid out short, ultrasafe circuits that would still give enough distance to score on OLC. We held a X-C lecture taylored to those who we thought might be interested.

So how has our program worked? It hasn't. To date, not one taker, not one X-C flight.
I wish that I could share X-C experience with more of my club members. It gets lonely flying all by myself all the time. But that's the way it is, and I don't see any change. But checking OLC in the evening after my flights, I see that there really are a lot of you out there flying X-C too, and it gives a sense of fellowship and comraderie.

And for the guys who are thrilled just to lull around for hours over New Castle - well, you couldn't pick a prettier place. I wish I could be so content.