"Muscle flyers"? It's been quite a long time, but I recall the 2-33
being quite light on the controls. Maybe because I was younger then...

And needing X hours before flying a glass ship? How about being told
that I would need 10 dual flights before I could fly solo off "The Hill"
in Elmira? This after 10 years of flying solo at some pretty
spectacular places in the Rockies. No wonder I never went back.

Clubs need to cater to the needs of their members. Those that do will
thrive regardless of the type of equipment they fly. Those that don't
will stagnate pretty quickly. I salute the guys starting a new club and
wish them well. I hope they encourage flying rather than spend all
their time thinking up reasons not to.

And how much time to carry passengers? Shouldn't that be a competency
and judgment thing rather than an hours thing? My insurance company
(not the one most SSAers use) demanded I have fully one hour of solo
time in my Stemme before I could carry passengers.

It's not winter yet, but the monsoon is upon us here in New Mexico.
It'll soon pass and we can get back to enjoying our wonderful sport.

On 7/27/2016 3:37 AM, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 10:56:28 AM UTC+12, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
Ever wondered why "basic learners" dropped out of soaring because they, "learned in glass" but didn't want to move to something they could afford or felt like they made a "back step"?
Hmmmmmmm?
No, in fact I've never observed that.

The largest cost in any beginner's gliding is the aerotows. The glider which gives you the most time in the air is better value even if it cost a little more. And that's glass in all but the most benign CUs-popping-everywhere windless flat land conditions.

Why I've seen people drop out is inability to do anything but float around the home field, and gliders with decent performance existing in the club but not available until you've done a gazillion hours despite them NOT ACTUALLY BEING ANY MORE DIFFICULT TO FLY (just a little different).

When I learned to fly, I literally dropped out for a number of years because of a requirement to accumulate I think 30 hours solo in the over-booked Blaniks before progressing to a single seater.

Now, with the club training in DG1000, people are let lose in a glass single seater after five solo flights and five hours -- which come up very easily.

I visited a busy field in the US in 2004 wanting to fly. All the 2-33's were busy so I suggested taking one of the half dozen Grobs that were tied down -- and in which I'd been passenger rated for a decade in NZ. I was told it was impossible because none of the ten INSTRUCTORS present on the field was rated in the Grob. WTF. Also I wanted to overfly another town about 20 km away, but was told "We don't do cross country on rides".

Luckily there was another operation nearby which was happy to take my money for a flight in an ASK21. First thermal off tow took us to 11000 ft and we cruised over to my desired photo destination and back without taking another turn.

--
Dan, 5J