UH....I know that you have spent countless hours doing your part to promote
soaring and racing but from my perspective it is a real shame that we are
not only being held hostage by the "safety" issue but now the "liability"
issue.

I actually agree with your views re the liability risk. For anyone to think
that the possibility of having to defend themselves in court as former
instructors is absurd shows lack of knowledge of what has happened in the
powered end of flying. The medical industry has long ago been witness to
the fact that consent forms (our "waivers") aren't worth the paper that they
are written on in court with only the slightest objection on the grounds of
duress at the time of signing. And there are "physicians" who will line up
to testify for plantiffs in even the most absurd cases in order to pad their
own pockets knowing full well that their opinion is counter to the standard
of care. I would bet that this occurs in the flying arena as well.

In AZ we have even had a retired attorney resign from our local club board
due to concerns that he could be held responsible for someone getting
involved in an driving accident on the way home from the airport after
drinking a beer from the keg in our clubhouse.

Having said all this though I refuse to be held hostage by the US legal
system. Now that's easy for me to say since I am not an FAA certified
instructor but would be happy to teach new racing pilots as I've done here
in AZ. To do otherwise is a slippery slope and as with the safety
arguement, the liability arguement can stop any well meaning project dead in
its tracks. It would also mean an end to racing as we know it if organizers
become increasingly concerned about the risk. What a shame it will all be.

Casey Lenox
KC
Phoenix