Say Goodbye Lennie

Jeff Dorwart wrote:
Dearest Lennie,
I do not feel it necessary to set my kill file
and I do not need an eigth grader to show me how.
I simply suggested that if you are not happy with soaring
why in the world would you feel it necessary to waste
your valuable time on all those so called elitists
ranting about why you did or did not quit.
Very Humbly



Also very humbly i could say that i agree with part of that Lennie says,
that is soaring is too expensive and takes too much time for a lot of
people who could otherwise enjoy this sport and would very much like to
do it. I think especially to young people to whom this sport is
particularly fit, for a lot of reasons. I had the luck to belong to
clubs with a fair number of young men and girls and this was very nice.
But it seems that the mean age in clubs here is more and more shifting
to the high end. Apparently the Germans have succeeded in keeping prices
low enough so as to attract youngs. This is a very very important
point to keep in mind. Even if you get rich enough to afford to fly
for yourself this doesn't mean you can also pay for your children, etc.
Keeping prices low is an absolut must, i have alraedy ranted far too
much about that.


--

Michel TALON

But it seems that the mean age in clubs here is more and more shifting
to the high end. Apparently the Germans have succeeded in keeping prices
low enough so as to attract youngs.

Michel,

I agree, but it is not only the expense; it is the attitude of the club to
youth and new ideas. A willingness to look at diffrent ways and diffrent needs
and wants of new members

Robert Mudd

Robertmudd1u wrote:
But it seems that the mean age in clubs here is more and more shifting
to the high end. Apparently the Germans have succeeded in keeping prices
low enough so as to attract youngs.

Michel,

I agree, but it is not only the expense; it is the attitude of the club to
youth and new ideas. A willingness to look at diffrent ways and diffrent needs
and wants of new members


Of course, you are perfectly right and i am probably too focalised on a
single point. It is clear that when there is a vast majority of old guys
in a club, it is less attractive to youngs. So this is a bad spiral to
avoid. Now here in France, clubs make an effort and tarifs are
cheaper for youngs. Still you need a fair amount of income to afford
paying these tarifs for all your children, plus yourself, etc!
The net result is that many people come to soaring when they are close
to retirement, hence have more income and more free time. This is not
good, in my opinion.

Robert Mudd

--

Michel TALON

Michel Talon wrote:
...
Now here in France, clubs make an effort and tarifs are
cheaper for youngs. Still you need a fair amount of income to afford
paying these tarifs for all your children, plus yourself, etc!
The net result is that many people come to soaring when they are close
to retirement, hence have more income and more free time. This is not
good, in my opinion.


This is necessary in order to keep cheaper fees for youngs. It doesn't
make any sense to have e.g. 75% of normal costs for youngs under 25
if everybody is under 25. And retired people in many clubs, including
mine, are contributing to lower the costs by spending a lot of time
working on various things in the clubs for free.