The SSA-OLC

I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

Excellent points, KM.
I saw a comment from the originator of the olc, Mr. Reiner, that he
"find this development (meaning the fact that the SSA has changed the
rules in this respect)
also very sad".
Yes, you can post under any country and club you wish and bypass the
SSA-OLC. Some of us considering doing it, some already are.
Also you can post any length of flight, there are many who post local
flights as well. And 200-300 miles is not a short flight...

Ramy


KM wrote:
I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

KM wrote:
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?

Absolutely NOT!

Look at various club statistics (I'm in the Black Forest Soaring
Society) and you'll see a complete spectrum of flight claims. ALL are
welcome. Even flights of less than 50 points, which don't count for
club totals are encouraged, as some clubs may use these for creating
internal contests, etc.

And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?

I'll answer the gist of your post here...

The SSA has NOT hijacked the OLC. If the SSA description of the OLC is
missing the entertainment and educational angle, then that is an
unfortunate omission. The intent of the OLC as I understand it is that
it can and does fit many types of pilots. Some are out to score the
most points, while others are out to document their (sometimes
fantastic, but generally modest) flights in a public online forum.

Since this is an open forum, and the SSA is providing some sponsorship,
it just makes sense that it must also, at some level, take
responsibility for its content. It is hoped, and generally does
happen, that individual posters will analyze their flights prior to
submission, and if there is any appearance of impropriety (paticularly
FAR related), then the flight will not be posted. If the pilot wants
to teach a lesson, or expose some personal error, then perhaps the
flight can be posted with appropriate comments and a request of the
sponsor to not include it in overall scoring.

Some sailplane pilots have landed at an airport, and an FAA inspector
just happened to be there, and decided to do a "ramp check". At Hobbs
this year a pilot was reprimanded for not having the required dataplate
nor a copy of the SSA's exemption letter. The next day, copies of this
letter were handed out to a large percentage of the competitors who
knew nothing about this requirement. There wasn't a rush among those
of in compliance to report the others to the FAA. We just made sure
they were now legal.

The current "angst" on RAS has been fueled mostly by a tiny handful of
pilots who feel that ignorance of the regulations is a license to post
and claim flights that break them. These individuals feel that "the
big, bad SSA" is out the "get them". This is not true. They feel that
the SSA must post every FAR, and how it will be interpreted. Hey,
we're all adults here, can read, are generally law abiding, so it's ON
US to be aware if OUR flight is legal or not. If you're not sure, ASK
SOMEONE!

The partner check program is set up in the OLC (worldwide) to allow
fellow pilots to quietly report claims that may need a closer look.
Again, most of the "noise" on other threads has been the result of a
warning posted to RAS about an FAR that some of us don't fully
understand (flying after sunset - which many of us have done in the
past), but because of the presentation in the IGC file, is extremely
easy to validate.

I think your interpretation of the SSA's position regarding enforcement
actions is also misguided. The intent here is that if the IGC file
indicates a FAR violation, and the pilot refuses to withdraw it, and if
the FAA somehow gets involved, "the SSA" will most likely help the FAA
in evaluating the log, and assessing the circumstances of the purported
violation.

Long ago I used to participate in a monthly auto "rally" that took
place on a Friday night. The objective was to maintain a predetermined
speed over various course segments, all typically on residential
streets and within city limits. This average was ALWAYS below the
posted speed limits. However, if one got lost between checkpoints, it
could be necessary to exceed the speed limit. If we would have had GPS
recorders, then these competitors would no longer be able to "cheat" in
this way. Not so long ago, we only had a barograph and camera. There
was no mechanical means of proving what time of day the flight took
place. Now there is, and we just have to live with that.

-Tom

OK. I just can't resist this one.

You seem to be twisting things, not just a little, but a lot.

My guess is that the statement by Mr. Reiner (if it is true) that the
"recent developments are sad" was probably because he was very surprised to
see that any glider pilot would post a flight on a public forum that could
make all the rest of us glider pilots look bad. Most glider pilots would
hope that such a pilot would remove his flight when someone questioned it.
Most glider pilots would. My guess is that your addition of the
"paraphrase" "(meaning that the SSA has changed the rules in this respect)"
is putting incorrect words into his mouth.

Paul Remde


"Ramy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Excellent points, KM.
I saw a comment from the originator of the olc, Mr. Reiner, that he
"find this development (meaning the fact that the SSA has changed the
rules in this respect)
also very sad".
Yes, you can post under any country and club you wish and bypass the
SSA-OLC. Some of us considering doing it, some already are.
Also you can post any length of flight, there are many who post local
flights as well. And 200-300 miles is not a short flight...

Ramy


KM wrote:
I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

"KM" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?

- The SSA and the SSA-OLC committee has never helped the FAA come after
anyone. The SSA-OLC committee has had reports sent to us of flights ending
after dark or at altitudes that break FARs. The pilots that made the
reports thought the flights were not very sporting, not fair competition,
and worse, could make all other glider pilots look bad. The SSA-OLC
committee then did its job and asked the pilots to remove the flights from
this public forum. The SSA-OLC committee (I'm on it) would prefer to never
have to do that.

I think this forum is interesting because, in my opinion, the many pilots
that would never submit a flight that includes an obvious FAR breach are not
speaking up. They are tired of hearing the few outspoken pilots the seem to
be OK with pilots submitting flights that breach FARs. The silent majority
is hesitant to post their thoughts because they fear that the outspoken ones
will rip them appart for their opinon.

I for one am a big fan of the OLC. I am OK with the SSA-OLC committee
asking pilots to remove flights that break FARs. So should every glider
pilot that wants to keep the priveledge of using US airspace. The SSA-OLC
committee shoudn't need to ask the pilots to remove the flight logs that
break FARs, but if necessary, they will. The SSA-OLC committee does NOT go
looking for flights like that. They only look at flights that are brought
to their attention.

I hope most glider pilots will continue to post their flights to the OLC. I
also hope that pilots that break FARs will NOT post their flights on the
OLC.

The bad guys in this are the pilots that submitted flights that break FARs.
Worse yet are the pilots that would not remove them when asked. They are
the ones taking the fun out of the OLC, not the SSA-OLC committee. They are
trying to make the SSA-OLC committee into the bad guys here. They are
shouting loudly and trying to mis-direct everyone. It makes me sick how
they are ruining such a great thing.

Silent majority, please speak up. If you agree that flights that break FARs
should not be on the OLC, please say so here.

Paul Remde

Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

Paul, you are absolutly wrong, again.
I will privately email you the source of the statement (since it was a
private email) and you will draw your own conclusion. I hope you will
reply to the forum with your conclusion if I twisted things or not!

Ramy

Paul Remde wrote:
OK. I just can't resist this one.

You seem to be twisting things, not just a little, but a lot.

My guess is that the statement by Mr. Reiner (if it is true) that the
"recent developments are sad" was probably because he was very surprised to
see that any glider pilot would post a flight on a public forum that could
make all the rest of us glider pilots look bad. Most glider pilots would
hope that such a pilot would remove his flight when someone questioned it.
Most glider pilots would. My guess is that your addition of the
"paraphrase" "(meaning that the SSA has changed the rules in this respect)"
is putting incorrect words into his mouth.

Paul Remde


"Ramy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Excellent points, KM.
I saw a comment from the originator of the olc, Mr. Reiner, that he
"find this development (meaning the fact that the SSA has changed the
rules in this respect)
also very sad".
Yes, you can post under any country and club you wish and bypass the
SSA-OLC. Some of us considering doing it, some already are.
Also you can post any length of flight, there are many who post local
flights as well. And 200-300 miles is not a short flight...

Ramy


KM wrote:
I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

KM wrote:
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?


KM,

I am one of those guys that posts everything over 50 km. I have never had
any negative feedback. I will never be the top point earning pilot;
however, the few point I earn do become part of the Seattle Glider Council
totals.

The SSA-OLC does indeed foster cross-country soaring and the SSA is correct
in not awarding points for flights that violate FAA regulations. Though my
flights are not spectacular the SSA-OLC does also provide me a venue for a
little "show-and-tell." It is a great asset to the sport of soaring. I
really don't understand why a person would have a problem with the SSA
excluding flights that violate FARs. This whole thread seems to be about a
few rebels who think they are above the law and should be rewarded for it.

Respectfully,

Wayne
HP-14 "6F"
http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/N990_Near_Arco.jpg

Paul Remde wrote:
I hope most glider pilots will continue to post their flights to the OLC. I
also hope that pilots that break FARs will NOT post their flights on the
OLC.

I think you probably mean that you hope pilots with FAR violations
detectable in the flight log will not post to OLC. It's more about the
appearance of being violation free than actually being violation free.

If I understand the SAA rules for scrutiny of OLC logs a pilot that
flys 1000k in the blue and lands 10 seconds after sunset, an infraction
that would draw no attention from FAA, would be asked to withdraw the
flight. Another pilot that flew 1000k in streeting conditions, and
used the clouds to their best advantage, and landed 10 seconds before
sunset would get full credit for the flight.

The difference between the flights is that SSA can determine sunset
time and landing time to one second accuracy but SSA has no means to
detect proximity to cloud base.

How many people on this group that actually fly long cross countries
believe one of these flights is worth zero points? If so which one?

I am on record at my local club for speaking out about landing long
after sunset but remain a vocal opponent of discarding OLC flights
because of sunset time infractions since neither the means of
determining sunset time at the place of landing, nor the allowable
tolerance between sunset time and landing time, is defined.

If, and when, SSA decides to define these be sure to also specify the
maximum allowable logger interval for SSA OLC flights as well. I
currently run at 2 second interval but that obviously exposes me to far
more scrutiny than if I ran at the slowest allowable rate.

Andy

KM wrote:
I am new to the R.A.S. and I am an aspiraring contest pilot who flys XC
every chance I get,but I have never persued a badge or a contest.I read
with some interest and amusement the thread about the OLC sunset
warning.This inspired me to look up all of the OLC information on the
SSA website.I also looked up the German OLC site.I had heard about OLC
in the past, and had a bit of a clue what it was about, But I never
thought about participating.In my state, we have a active Yahoo group
where pilots post flights during the season.This is not a contest, just
a way to report on the local happenings.I drew alot of insperation from
these flight reports on Yahoo, and I thought it would be of benefit to
some of the local pilots if I posted on OLC.What I found that was
interesting is that the German OLC website states that the OLC exists
for this purpose and to encorage more cross country flights, but the
SSA website made almost no mention of this.And judging by the gist of
most of the comments on the "Sunset" thread the SSA OLC is not for
educational purposes, but much more of a hard core contest.According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC? How did the SSA get a
monopoly on the OLC in the US, and why did they change its intent?
Another thing I found during my research on the SSA website was a memo
regarding FARs.It started out with "The SSA is not out to interpret or
enforce FARs" and yet it ends with a statement that the SSA will
partner with the FAA to go after any pilot who violates the regs.This
same kind of mentality is expressed on the "OLC Sunset Warning"
elsewhere on the site.Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?Bizarre
I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.
So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?
And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?
Thanks,
K. Urban

Clarification:
The SSA policy which I will simplify slightly says " It is the policy
of the SSA that all FAR's will be observed". Basically that is it. It
is intended to provide strong incentive to pilots NOT to post flights
having FAR violations which could be used against them by the FAA if it
so chooses. If a pilot posts such a flight, he is providing evidence
against himself. It would seem obvious that encouraging withdrawal of
such a flight is a favor to the pilot. It also avoids building a file
of flights with violations which would imply that SSA sanctions such
activity. The same thing is done in contest flying with the exception
that the pilot gets a serious point penalty.
As to whether you should post your flights HECK YES- go for it.
Have fun
UH

KM wrote:
According to
pilots like Eric G and Paul M, the posting of "Look what I did" flights
is discouraged.

Not so! I encourage pilots to post their flights. Perhaps this comment I
made was the one that mislead you:

"It's called the OnLine Contest, not the "What-I-did forum" where you
post whatever you like,"

The key part is the "where you post whatever you like"; i.e., there are
some rules about what can be posted. You can, and I hope you will, post
any flight that meets those few rules.

So this begs the question that if a pilot is not out to
win, why even post a flight on the SSA-OLC?

I'm not out to win, but I do enjoy seeing how well other pilots are
doing around the country and the world, and the handicap system makes it
easier to see that. It's not perfect, of course, because weather
differences aren't adjusted for, but it's good enough to be interesting.

Now let me state that I fly for a living, and I
have every motivation BOTH from a monitary standpoint and a safety
standpoint to follow the regs, but lets say my flight recorder does
something stupid and now I have the same outfit that I pay dues to
HELPING the FAA come after me?

This won't happen for several reasons: you won't send in a flight with
'something stupid' on it caused by the flight recorder (you do look at
the flight before you'd send it in, right?), and if you did, the SSA is
smart enough to recognize that, and help you fix the problem, and if the
FAA still got ahold of it, the SSA has the expertise with flight
recorder interperation to help you convince the FAA nothing bad was done.

I have a backround as a check airman and safety inspector, and we
looked at rules violations from a standpoint of education and
prevention, not the punitive standpoint the SSA has.

Punitive? There are no penalities, just a private request to remove a
flight that doesn't meet the rules. If the pilot refuses, then the
flight might be removed anyway. Is that "punitive"? To the pilots
abiding by the rules, that doesn't seem like punishment, just fair play,
because the flight should never have been submitted.

So in conclusion, I was hoping the list members could field a couple of
questions, First, if a pilot were to post an ocasional short flight,
say 2 to 3 hundred miles about once a week, is he gonna get laughed at?

Heck no! Even if you are flying a Nimbus 4 - no laughter!

And two, is there a way to bypass the SSA-OLC (and forgo all the
politics and flaming), and just post to the OLC in Germany?

I've posted over 80 flights on the SSA-OLC with no politics and no
flaming - just help (on request) from the OLC and SSA-OLC when
occasional problems arose. You plan to fly in an entirely legal manner,
so no one will question your flights, either. Inspect your flights for
obvious problems before posting, then post them on the SSA-OLC, where
the rest of the USA can enjoy them.

--
Note: email address new as of 9/4/2006
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org