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#21
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Chaps...you're missing the point. Gliding is not in
decline because it is expensive, nor is it the British weather. Paragliding in the UK costs £125 a day to learn, and after about 10 days you have your 'club pilot' rating and can fly solo..you then spend about £3,000 on harness, wing, reserve and vario etc, and maybe on average £1000 a year upgrading that kit as it wears out or becomes unfashionable. The costs above are easily in line with gliding. This year, despite the worst weather on record, PG schools are turning new pupils away. There is only one factor which stops gliding being as successful as Paragliding....IMAGE. The image of the average UK gliding club is being full of old people in wooden gliders...the image of paragliding is young, daredevils jumping off hills. Neither image is correct...but it's perception that matters. If you want gliding to prosper (and I would suggest many pilots don't actually want the sport to go through the transformation required) then we need a Red Bull or Nike or Sky Sports to take gliding, tear up the reality and change the image...and then we need clubs to sell that image to the public. Until people grasp this, all the talk of 'better World Class gliders' and 'cheap winch launches' is meaningless. Me? My kids (10, 14 and 18) have no desire to go gliding, it's what their dad does...but wow, do they want to do the stuff they see on TV. Nuff said. Chris At 22:00 03 December 2004, Peter Seddon wrote: 'Kilo Charlie' wrote in message news:yB2sd.19804$KO5.10476@fed1read02... Interesting argument. Also interesting responses some of which have nothing to do with your original post. Must just be the grumpy winter lurkers. Sorry but the origional post said that the lack of cheap gliders was responsible for the decline in gliding. Not so, in the UK the bad flying weather over the past three years has put paid to more of our members than anything else. I agree with you. Soaring has to be 'cool' again in order to have it survive. I'm not sure that reducing the costs somewhat wouldn't help but nevertheless that alone will not save it. Come fly with us, no waiting time to join just pay us £130 for a years membership, £2 /min aerotow and 20p /min hire, how cheap do you want it to be. It is an instant gratification world out there. Why should a kid spend countless hours learning how to do something and paying the dues by watching others do it in front of them when they can get out the X-box or Gameboy and go at it with minimal instruction, cost or delay? I can agree with that!!! But I had great fun throwing my B4 about the sky trying to loose the last 5k feet. You dont get that with an XBox. Peter. |
#22
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On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 13:28:05 -0700, "F.L. Whiteley"
wrote: [snip] Old fart greybeard, with glider on display, jumps out in front of a group of likely looking college undergrad snowboarders, points, and states emphatically, "Soaring will change your life". At least one of that group, after going from ab-initio to switched on glider instructor, has now completed BPT for the USN and is headed for next school and carrier duty. He has never forgotten that day, and soaring has changed his life. How are things going for Dillon? I heard the Navy flight training bases were shut down by hurricanes. rj |
#23
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On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 20:18:36 +0000, Robert Ehrlich
wrote: I think a base ball or basket ball player can't understand what satisfaction or enjoyment comes from that. This is why our sport is declining. It's not about putting a ball into a basket or hitting it with a piece of wood. It's about the girls watching you do that. How many girls watched your low saves and wanted your phone number after you had managed to get home? Bye Andreas |
#24
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"Kilo Charlie" wrote in message news:yB2sd.19804$KO5.10476@fed1read02...
Interesting argument. Also interesting responses some of which have nothing to do with your original post. Must just be the grumpy winter lurkers. I agree with you. Soaring has to be "cool" again in order to have it survive. I'm not sure that reducing the costs somewhat wouldn't help but nevertheless that alone will not save it. It is an instant gratification world out there. Why should a kid spend countless hours learning how to do something and paying the dues by watching others do it in front of them when they can get out the X-box or Gameboy and go at it with minimal instruction, cost or delay? Soaring is not much of a spectator sport but one small part of the visibility has been taken away in the name of safety (aka liability) in the US by a push to totally abolish low finishes. It is clear with the sold out status of the UK Smokin Vids and the fact that the UK Junior Soaring Team has so much fun with these finishes that it is interesting to young pilots and spectators. I'm not advocating a "Redbull" type of approach to it but the safety/liability issue has grown out of control in the US. For some reason soaring has attracted more than its share of curmudgeons. Sports like hang gliding with their speed courses for example, have taken the step to make themselves more visible to the folks on the ground. Casey Lenox KC Phoenix Mr. Lenox nailed one of the unfortunate aspects of modern American life: The proliferation of trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits. It's a shame that personal liability now factors into every aspect of our lives, including soaring. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for sensible and appropriate safety precautions, just against the "tax" on most goods, services, and leisure activity due to liability lawsuits. As to Soaring attracting curmudgeons, my guess is that probably those very same curmudgeons used to be the younger low-finish pilots. They just got older and more seasoned. Respectfully, |
#25
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"Steve Hill" wrote in message
... I think we ought to concentrate on finding a venue to air our sport on TV...somehow. Anyone know anybody involved with WINGS?? From AOPA ePilot today: DISCOVERY CHANNEL TURNS IN ITS WINGS Discovery Communications will, on January 10, rename its Discovery Wings Channel the Military Channel. Stories will focus on the troops, their equipment, the Iraq war, and a behind-the-scenes look at actual military operations. The channel won't abandon aviation forever, however. It will still cover topics like military jet fighters (a show scheduled for January 28) and the world-famous Blue Angels flight demonstration team (scheduled for March 18). |
#26
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It seems we ought to try to figure out ways to get our sport seen by more
eyeballs...and make sure that what people see...is cool...WAY COOL DUDE!!!! That seems to be a tough nut to crack. How can we get mass-media exposure without buying it? Orgs like SSA certainly don't have the funds to buy air time. Paid ads on popular Internet sites with links to exciting video would probably attract a lot of eyeballs, but I have no idea what that would cost. I do NOT recomend trying to go down the path that parachuting is taking. Have you seen their new competition format - I think it's called "skimming" - where they negotiate a ground-level course just before landing? It seems destined to attract the kind of "extreme sports" spectators that only want to see crashes, and I think that's a terrible image to cultivate for any branch of aviation. Roger |
#27
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"Ralph Jones" wrote in message ... On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 13:28:05 -0700, "F.L. Whiteley" wrote: [snip] Old fart greybeard, with glider on display, jumps out in front of a group of likely looking college undergrad snowboarders, points, and states emphatically, "Soaring will change your life". At least one of that group, after going from ab-initio to switched on glider instructor, has now completed BPT for the USN and is headed for next school and carrier duty. He has never forgotten that day, and soaring has changed his life. How are things going for Dillon? I heard the Navy flight training bases were shut down by hurricanes. rj Graduated 4th (the other CFI-G, Austin 1st) in same class. Headed for E2/C2 school, however, the turboprops are being replaced with jets, so he's likely headed for jet school first. Last I heard there's a good chance he'll be around for a visit before Christmas, then home before returning for the next training phase. In the meantime, they've been flying the ASW-19 out of Refugio Soaring Circle. fw |
#28
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who would be prouder to hear this Joeseph Goebbles or George Orwell?
Brad "Roger Worden" wrote in message .com... "Steve Hill" wrote in message ... I think we ought to concentrate on finding a venue to air our sport on TV...somehow. Anyone know anybody involved with WINGS?? From AOPA ePilot today: DISCOVERY CHANNEL TURNS IN ITS WINGS Discovery Communications will, on January 10, rename its Discovery Wings Channel the Military Channel. Stories will focus on the troops, their equipment, the Iraq war, and a behind-the-scenes look at actual military operations. The channel won't abandon aviation forever, however. It will still cover topics like military jet fighters (a show scheduled for January 28) and the world-famous Blue Angels flight demonstration team (scheduled for March 18). |
#29
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I have a 14 year old daughter who I've taken gliding a few times -- though not for three or four years (and not because I don't offer). I ran a straw poll past her and some friends. The response: "We could learn to fly instead of doing geography? Cooooool!" -- Bruce | 41.1670S | \ spoken | -+- Hoult | 174.8263E | /\ here. | ----------O---------- and what's really cool is that they get to learn some practical geography, mathematics and physics without even realising it! Ian |
#30
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In article ,
"tango4" wrote: I have a 14 year old daughter who I've taken gliding a few times -- though not for three or four years (and not because I don't offer). I ran a straw poll past her and some friends. The response: "We could learn to fly instead of doing geography? Cooooool!" and what's really cool is that they get to learn some practical geography, mathematics and physics without even realising it! Yes indeed :-) -- Bruce | 41.1670S | \ spoken | -+- Hoult | 174.8263E | /\ here. | ----------O---------- |
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