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I can't believe that the documentation for the Silver flight made you leave
Soaring. A barograph trace or a picture of the field as you circled it would have proven the flight. The flight back with it's challenges is what keeps people in Soaring, they want the challenge and it is different on every day. I know a lot of people that fly alot and never got their badges, but they still enjoy the beauty and the challenge of using energy from Mother Nature to sustain a flight. In my personal opinion, cross country experience should be required of any CFIG so that you can prepare the students for all phases of Soaring, just my 2 cents worth. Next time you are droning across the sky in the rented power plane, keep looking at the clouds and wondering if I was in a glider could I get from here to there. Fly safely, Fred "Michael" wrote in message om... Pete Brown wrote Let's keep a bit of perspective. These badges are primarily a record of personal achievement, very little more. Well, not quite. For one thing, they are used as a prerequisite for entering contests. For another, lots of people seem determined to prevent 'dilution' of the accomplishment, for whatever reason. Some mention insurance, but I've never had an insurer inquire about my badges. I don't have a Silver badge. I suppose that had I been more concerned with documenting rather than flying I might. I didn't own a logger, or a barograph for that matter, but my club had barographs and I'm certain that had I asked, I could have borrowed one. I know, because I remember seeing a pilot trying to get a barograph to work and filling in paperwork while I was getting ready to make a flight. It didn't look like fun. See, that's what flying is about for me - having fun. I flew to a nearby (60 km) field, but that didn't seem like much of a challenge. At that point I was glad I hadn't bothered with a barograph, because I decided to turn around and come home. I knew there was a way to make the flight count anyway, with a turnpoint camera and a barograph, but the last time someone tried to explain how that worked to me, my eyes glazed over. I guess I wasn't up to the challenge. Getting home, fighting a 30kt headwind in a metal ship, almost landing out - THAT was a challenge. I'm really glad I made that flight - it taught me things about soaring that no book can teach. I wrote about that flight for this newsgroup when it happened. Soon thereafter, I heard there was going to be a local contest. I knew I had no chance of winning, but I considered entering anyway, just for the experience. I was thinking about getting my glider instructor rating, and I felt that flying in a contest was something I ought to experience. Certainly participating in a skydiving competition is required to become a skydiving instructor, and I always thought the requirement was a good one. Turned out I needed a Silver badge. It was kind of amusing, because another pilot was dead set on entering the contest. Like me, he had already flown a qualifying flight, and unlike me he actually attempted to document it - but something had gone wrong with the documentation and he needed to redo it. The day was marginal, but he declared the flight, saying that he would either get his Silver that day or land out. He landed out. I believe he eventually got the SSA to accept his original documentation and entered the contest. He was persistent. I guess I wasn't. I never did enter a contest. I eventually got my glider instructor rating and taught some. I still fly a great deal, but mostly in power. Less hassle, more fun. I still teach too, but also mostly in power. I just finished teaching a glider pilot to fly instruments. He also doesn't have a Silver badge, even though he has made more than one qualifying flight. He doesn't fly gliders anymore either. But hey, I'm sure keeping guys like us out is a small price to pay for maintaining the integrity of the badge system. After all, if we were truly serious, we would have overcome the obstacles. I'm sure soaring is better off without us. Michael |
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