(glen beckham) wrote in message . com...
Thank you all for your helpful insight to the ASA.The members of ASA
seem like a great group of people and contrary to one posters
statement, am not trying to pick a fight. Racing would be great if I
were at that level,though the intention of my post was to understand
why there is not a more affordable way to enjoy the sport(fly more
often).As an example, a 3000' agl tow came out to $55, can't do that
too many times.At "tucson soaring" a 3000' tow is $20 and at "prescott
soaring" a 2000' winch is $4 . This was my concern and I know some
will say if you can't afford that then get out.That might be why many
don't continue after earning the license. One more thing,what will
happen to turf when housing subdivisions are next door.Thank you.

$55 is pretty steep for a tow, no question. One solution is not to
tow so high. With a glass ship and some experience it is usually
possible to get away from a 1500-2000' tow in most places. That
should get you down to the $30 or so range. The other thing is to fly
longer. Spreading the cost of the tow over a three hour flight makes
it more tolerable.

Realistically, if you join the ASA for $500 per year, fly 50+ hours
per year at 3+ hours per flight average, you're only paying around
$20-30/hour including tows.

The other alternative is to drive to where it's cheaper. How many
hours are you willing to drive to save $20?