Why is Soaring declining

Well, I think also thermal soaring is not for everyone.
Flying in a tight circle for a while is "interesting"
even on my tummy, and I've been doing it a while.

I fly the sightseeing flights at sunset with a high tow for
newbies, lest they get sick. A great thermal day
doesn't seem like the best "first ride" day. If my
wife came with me on a typical "good soaring day" for
me, she'd blow guts, especially with my waggly rusty
rudder skills ;(

The hang glider and parachute and experienced pilot
guys, on the other hand, get right into it with nary
a whimper. The younguns also seem to do better than
the 40+ crowd on the first flight. I keep the
"Qyat Earp" bags handy...

We had a guy getting a power license who'd
toss cookies after every one of his first dozen flights,
and that was a Cezzna 152. About 100 circles in a
sailplane woulda been interesting :PPPP....

Gliding is easy to teach, easy to solo, mildly interesting
(mostly the tow) and not too expensive to get to license. Soaring is
quite different: nuances of weather, a lot of technique
to get it right, lots of decisions in flight, and L/D
does make a difference. And thermal soaring can have
a pretty bumpy tow and tight circles after release.

I dunno if I'd have gotten into the sport if the Hawaii
shoreline wasn't so pretty and if it wasn't for the smooth
ridge soaring...I still envy you guys with nice long
consistent ridgelines...personally I hate circling and
having to work for lift...I'd rather just float around all
day in peace at less than 15 degrees of bank...

Yep, it is a sport and a hobby. And just like freezing
my butt off in a catamaran vs. champagne and strawberries
on a 70 foot "sailboat", soaring vs. gliding/power has some
challenges that can involve a tad bit of suffering...
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Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA