If you want to learn what happened in the air, or with the air, you need the
book work.

Most people depending on the "aviator skills" can complete the required
training in the week. Many pilots do not possess the level of aviator skills
that they had when they completed their last rating and need to be built
back up to that level. There are articles in recent soaring magazines to
attest to this fact, they completed their "simple add on rating in a week",
but they spent more time on the ground and in the books then they "needed"
in the air.

As a CFIG I have flown with many different levels of pilot qualification in
hours and ratings. Surprisingly, but maybe not so surprisingly, I have found
that the 14 year old kid that has never touched MS FlightSim does better at
aircraft control than the 2000hr fighter jet jock that has no idea what his
feet are for. Or that "accomplished" Comm ASEL AMSEL ASES IFR pilot that
always talks about his accomplishments in the air (ratings in his pocket),
but cannot fly a simple glider with out the nose hunting left and right in
straight and level flight, even on tow. He's always one half of the sine
wave behind the airplane. And this guy expects to be able to land a Grob on
his fist flight or accomplish an add on rating in a week? Don't think so.

I did not mean to imply the "waiting on the ground". I simply stated that
you would be flying at every opportunity and when you are not flying you had
best be in the books. Can you build and understand a Skew-T diagram fro raw
data as it relates to soaring conditions? Can you look at a 24-36hr prog
chart and forecast the potential soaring conditions for the next 2 days? Do
you really understand the mechanics of thermal generation, wind effects on
the thermals, inversion, or ridge, slope or wave lift? Rotor's do kill.

BT

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...
Its odd that you seem to associate the quality of the rating with the
number of days it takes rather than the number of hours you get to fly.
I'm looking for something where I spend more time in the air and less
time on the ground. Unless I'm missunderstanding you, you seem to claim
that waiting around on the ground will make me a better glider pilot
than actually flying.

-Robert