On Thu, 05 Nov 2020 14:36:56 -0800, waremark wrote:

" I logged 8 hours at the airport for every 1 hour flown."

Given that it takes several people on the ground to service an aircraft
with a single student onboard, and that there is probably a 1hr 30
minimum time from opening the hangar doors to first take-off, with
similar at the end of the day, that might be a typical scenario at a
volunteer operated club (winch driver, wing tip person, signaller, cable
retrieve driver). What would you think was a reasonable proportion for a
student at a volunteer operated club?

At my club, we require students to be present for a minimum half day -
for which they may get less than an hours flying, depending on
conditions. On weekdays when there are fewer around it is normal for
students and those flying club gliders to be present for the full day.

Once you become an experienced pilot flying cross country, on a day when
you fly cross country your flying time can enormously exceed your time
on the ground - but typically the experienced pilots are also the
volunteer instructors and tug pilots, and maybe also the committee
members who work hard to keep the club running.

If you don't enjoy the things you have to do at the airfield when you
are not flying, perhaps gliding at a volunteer club is not for you.

Same set of roles to fill at my club, though we roster one less role at
the winch launch point and add a tug pilot and, in summer, a BI (ride
pilot in USAian: we get enough trial flights to justify this rostered
task) - thats six rostered jobs, assigned as half-day duties, at weekends
and four or five all-day people on weekdays.

We also use a booking system for club gliders and instructors, so
typically two pre-solo students share an instructor and glider for a
morning or afternoon.

Solo pilots needing a checkride will typically be fitted in at either end
of the day, leaving thermal flights for the students. Like most UK clubs,
we have fairly strict currency requirements, so I would expect to take a
checkride if I haven't flown for a month or more, despite having been a
solo pilot for 20 years/620 hours.


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Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org