Would you rather fly a Sailplane?

Discussion from the paragliding forum. See:
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=p307763

Seems to be a large group of very talented soaring people that the SSA
and BGA doesn't reach well. Many of the boomers who started jumping
off hills in the 1970's are getting tired of climbing the hills
carrying a big bag.

We do get a large and frequent number of paraglider types thanks to
Chris Santacroce in Salt Lake City (and other's) references. Lots of
folk lore out there regarding sailplanes (or maybe we deserve it) -

Certain comments re-surface over and over about glider club
environments, costs and misconceptions about "90% social, 10% flying",
"takes a year to get your license", "mostly racing glass", etc, etc.

If you know a hang glider or para glider pilot to share a sailplane
flight with they can explain quite a bit about the physics and
structure of a thermal they explore at 25 km/hr with a tight, tight
turn radius. My husband and teen daughter traded winch sailplane rides
for two pay-out winch paraglider flights to 3,000 AGL. Daughter loved
it. Husband didn't care for the aerobatics on a "piece of cloth", but
very rewarding to watch these people do a save and back to altitude
from half a pattern altitude.

KAREN

On Apr 25, 2:54*pm, Karen wrote:
Discussion from the paragliding forum. See:http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=p307763

Seems to be a large group of very talented soaring people that the SSA
and BGA doesn't reach well. Many of the boomers who started jumping
off hills in the 1970's are getting tired of climbing the hills
carrying a big bag.

We do get a large and frequent number of paraglider types thanks to
Chris Santacroce in Salt Lake City (and other's) references. Lots of
folk lore out there regarding sailplanes (or maybe we deserve it) -

Certain comments re-surface over and over about glider club
environments, costs and misconceptions about "90% social, 10% flying",
"takes a year to get your license", "mostly racing glass", etc, etc.

If you know a hang glider or para glider pilot to share a sailplane
flight with they can explain quite a bit about the physics and
structure of a thermal they explore at 25 km/hr with a tight, tight
turn radius. My husband and teen daughter traded winch sailplane rides
for two pay-out winch paraglider flights to 3,000 AGL. Daughter loved
it. Husband didn't care for the aerobatics on a "piece of cloth", but
very rewarding to watch these people do a save and back to altitude
from half a pattern altitude.

KAREN


Hang glider pilots have been a large source of new SSA members for a
decade or more. At some point, their knees send a strong message that
landing on a wheel is a better idea. I've been told that the cost of
replacing "kites" every few years makes hang gliding more expensive
which is another reason for migration to sailplanes. Hang glider
pilots and model airplane types vie with each other as a the leading
recruitment source. The SSA is actively recruiting both.

As for the "greying" of the SSA, the current average age of members is
54 which is younger than it was in 1960. Surprising, at least to me,
is that roughly 15 percent are younger than 22.

Yes, hang glider can make long flights - the record is 700km. But
then the sailplane record is 3000km which is a fair measure of their
relative capabilities.

Education is the key to recruiting. Tell them what we do and let them
decide.

On Tuesday, June 5, 2012 1:22:11 PM UTC-4, Bill D wrote:

As for the "greying" of the SSA, the current average age of members is
54 which is younger than it was in 1960. Surprising, at least to me,
is that roughly 15 percent are younger than 22.

Interesting demographics. Are the rest of the numbers available to SSA members?

On Jun 5, 11:50*am, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Tuesday, June 5, 2012 1:22:11 PM UTC-4, Bill D wrote:
As for the "greying" of the SSA, the current average age of members is
54 which is younger than it was in 1960. *Surprising, at least to me,
is that roughly 15 percent are younger than 22.

Interesting demographics. *Are the rest of the numbers available to SSA members?

Everything is available for the asking. The EXCOM and Growth and
Development Committee keep these numbers in mind. Probably make a
good Soaring article.

The average member age was a huge topic at the 1960 SSA annual meeting
as it has been at every one since. It seems to stay at around the
same age but it would be nice to see it a bit younger.

As for the "greying" of the SSA,...

The funny thing is that the hang glider folks have the same issues
with greying of the membership. So do the sailboat racers.

The paraglider's seem to be a bit more youth oriented, not sure why.

On Jun 5, 2:51*pm, toad wrote:
As for the "greying" of the SSA,...

The funny thing is that the hang glider folks have the same issues
with greying of the membership. So do the sailboat racers.

The paraglider's seem to be a bit more youth oriented, not sure why.

You can convert most paraglider pilots to sailplanes by giving them a
winch launch.

If you want to attract large numbers of young people, winch launch is
the key. It's so much more fun and so much less expensive than aero
tow, they can see themselves becoming glider pilots.

On Jun 5, 11:35*pm, Bill D wrote:
If you want to attract large numbers of young people, winch launch is
the key. *It's so much more fun and so much less expensive than aero
tow, they can see themselves becoming glider pilots.

That was quite explicitly true for my daughter (aerotow was OK, but
winch later the same day hooked her), and it appears to have been
true
for other youngsters at my club.

There is a certain demographic in American soaring clubs that will
keep winches from prospering. The towing for fun crowd. I know it is
a thankless job, and many do it just because there is a need, but
there are some where towing is what they do for fun and they won't
willingly be replaced by a kite string winding machine. Have we moved
from gliding dying to gliding going extinct yet?
On Jun 5, 7:01*pm, Tom Gardner wrote:
On Jun 5, 11:35*pm, Bill D wrote:

If you want to attract large numbers of young people, winch launch is
the key. *It's so much more fun and so much less expensive than aero
tow, they can see themselves becoming glider pilots.

That was quite explicitly true for my daughter (aerotow was OK, but
winch later the same day hooked her), and it appears to have been
true
for other youngsters at my club.

On 6/06/2012 06:51, toad wrote:
As for the "greying" of the SSA,...

The funny thing is that the hang glider folks have the same issues
with greying of the membership. So do the sailboat racers.

The paraglider's seem to be a bit more youth oriented, not sure why.

It's very simple. There were no old men there who already 'owned' it.

The late middle-aged men who own hang gliding (and put young ones off
joining) are the young men who began it.

Soaring is even older and is just about ripe for a new generation to
snatch it from our feeble fingers and re-vitalise it. They'll break
away from the SSA, start new comps and new clubs and make it their own.

That's how life is.

GC

On Saturday, April 28, 2012 12:54:01 AM UTC-5, gotovkotzepkoi wrote:
Forget trying to recruit paraglider pilots. It's too much fun. And when
you are young and full of **** and vinegar you'd rather run off
mountains with the wind in your face than sit in a bubble....Older ones?
Hauling a paraglider up a hill is no more strenuous than pushing a
sailplane onto take off position.

Fun is relative. I like being in a quiet, hi-tech bubble, with my neat electronics, cruising at 100 knots at cloudbase over the Grand Canyon. Or doing 80 mile final glides finishing with a low pass after a 5 hour flight into the mountains and back. Or flying on a windy day, looking for wave. I think sitting in a chair going back and forth over the trees might be fun for a while, but then I'd get bored of being SLOW!!!

Just like there are lots of power pilots who think gliding is stupid - they enjoy (?) the precision of instrument flight and couldn't care less what is outside the window until at decision height.

And BS about the effort involved. With good rigging and towout gear, there is very little effort needed to rig and launch a glider - a LOT less than is needed to hike up a mountain! So from the physical aspect, paraglider pilots may be interested in transitioning to gliding as they age, or move somewhere where it is less practicable to paraglide (Try Phoenix, AZ, in the summer, for example!).

Kirk
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