Important message for SSA members

Oops. ...learning by example...

Leaning by example is usually caused by too many beers
after flying, or when checking a new EGT with an instructor...

At 00:42 08 September 2006, Bob C wrote:
Sorry Bill. Reading about contest flying is about
as exciting as watching paint dry.

I will admit that the OLC has opened up some avenues
for leaning by example, though.



At 23:06 07 September 2006, Bill Daniels wrote:

'5-BG' wrote in message
...
Joe in Georgia wrote 'I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane
handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any
interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.'

That MAY BE BREAD AND BUTTER to the contest pilot
set, but it is of
absolutly no interest to a significant number of recreational
pilots who
soar just to be flying and who have no interest whatsoever
in
contests,badges etc. A great deal of SSA resources
are spent each month on a
glossy magazine which is devoted in large part ( altho
I do acknowledge the
recent attempts to broaden its scope) to contests and
to the 'elite ' of the
sport. I wonder just how many of the 16,000 members
actually care about the
contest circuit.

It is my opinion that the focus on contests as a
measure of whether or not
someone is having fun has not only lef to a split in
the ranks of the SSA,
but has also had a very bad impact on the business
of building gliders
suitable for the general flying population. I saw this
same thing 30 years
ago in ocean sailboat racing. The concept of daysailing,
cruising and just
having a good time was replaced by an emphasis on competition.
From the
individual yatch club level to the world cup. Boats
got much faster AND way
more expensive. They became more fragile and were outdated
after a couple of
seasons.
I believe that the glorification of competition is
OK and that it satisfies
the ego needs of a significant portion of the pilots
who own sailplanes.
HOWEVER to say that it is the bread and butter of the
SSA is just plain
wrong.

we wonder why kids are not coming into a sport that
takes a $100,000 hot
rod to be competitive. The attitude that if you don't
have the latest
glass ship that dominated the nationals last month
you are somhow a lesser
pilot is fostered by this bread and butter attitude.
What ever happened to
just jumping in a sailplane and losing oneself in the
sky for several hours
of solitude? Whatever happened to the concept of just
trying to improve or
develop skills just for personal satisfaction? These
concepts are the bread
and butter of soaring.
Not only have the finances of SSA been mismanaged,
but i believe that the
society has become irrevelant to a significant portion
of its recreational
for fun pilots.
5bg


This is bulls**t - give it a rest. I've heard it
since I started flying
gliders in 1960. It seems to come from people who don't
care to make an
effort to be good enough pilots to compete and whose
egos can't stand
hearing about those who can and do. All good pilots
want to get better and
reading about the accomplishments or others is an excellent
incentive.

It's like saying that kids who play ball don't care
about the World Cup.
Or the readers of Road & Track don't care about auto
racing's Grand Prix
Circuits. Most people who fly gliders want to read
about competition
whether it be just badges or the new Grand Prix Racing
curcuit. This is one
of the things the SSA has always done right.

Bill Daniels

All that is needed is for anyone to take down any 5 issues of Soaring and take notes---How much space is devoted to competition, how much to the adventure of soaring, how much to congratulate first solos, how much to safety, etc etc etc.

The SSA is our National Aero Club --representative to the FAI at this time. It is the repository of Badges and Records data. If you are a "We don't need no steenking badges" type--all well and good, there's still plenty in "Soaring" for you. If you do want a yardstick to measure your improvement, competition is there.

An old saying from the days when MG and Jaguar dominated sports car racing was "Racing improves the breed". This is true for gliders too.. As to price---well, if you adjust the 1970 prices for inflation, todays prices ain't so bad after all. Furthermore the venerable 201B Libelle is still competitive in Sports Class and so is the Ka-6. So there is a "trickle down" that those who fly on more limited budgets can benefit from. Same is true of instruments. Today you can hardly give a S-Nav away. Before they came out, a hotshot pilot would have given his left testicle to get the very first one. It is still a very capable computer.

As to being outdated--that happens less now than in the '70s. The ASW27 and V2 are early 90s designs. Same for the Nimbus 4 and the Discus 2

The techniques of soaring have changed considerably since 1965, mainly due to competitiion. Your "just jumping in the plane and flying a few hours while improving performance" is a direct beneficiary of these changes.

So there are functions the SSA does for us that we need to have done. Not that the SSA is the only way, but if not SSA, then who has the knowlege and experience and interest in doing this? AOPA--not likely. EAA, maybe, but don't count on it

--
Hartley Falbaum
DG800B 15/18m "KF" USA


"5-BG" 5-bghatesspam @ fake.com wrote in message ...
Joe in Georgia wrote "I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter."

That MAY BE BREAD AND BUTTER to the contest pilot set, but it is of absolutly no interest to a significant number of recreational pilots who soar just to be flying and who have no interest whatsoever in contests,badges etc. A great deal of SSA resources are spent each month on a glossy magazine which is devoted in large part ( altho I do acknowledge the recent attempts to broaden its scope) to contests and to the "elite " of the sport. I wonder just how many of the 16,000 members actually care about the contest circuit.

It is my opinion that the focus on contests as a measure of whether or not someone is having fun has not only lef to a split in the ranks of the SSA, but has also had a very bad impact on the business of building gliders suitable for the general flying population. I saw this same thing 30 years ago in ocean sailboat racing. The concept of daysailing, cruising and just having a good time was replaced by an emphasis on competition. From the individual yatch club level to the world cup. Boats got much faster AND way more expensive. They became more fragile and were outdated after a couple of seasons.
I believe that the glorification of competition is OK and that it satisfies the ego needs of a significant portion of the pilots who own sailplanes. HOWEVER to say that it is the bread and butter of the SSA is just plain wrong.

we wonder why kids are not coming into a sport that takes a $100,000 hot rod to be competitive. The attitude that if you don't have the latest glass ship that dominated the nationals last month you are somhow a lesser pilot is fostered by this bread and butter attitude. What ever happened to just jumping in a sailplane and losing oneself in the sky for several hours of solitude? Whatever happened to the concept of just trying to improve or develop skills just for personal satisfaction? These concepts are the bread and butter of soaring.
Not only have the finances of SSA been mismanaged, but i believe that the society has become irrevelant to a significant portion of its recreational for fun pilots.
5bg


wrote in message ups.com...
Well,
We have to consider really what SSA does for us- everyone mentions
the big stuff like plane insurance and lobbying, and the clout of AOPA
or EAA would be good there. I just think that these organizations
already have their own inertia to deal with. I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.

No, you are the one who don't get it. How does one pilot flying in a
contest, or doing a badge or whatever, prevent another pilot from
getting his kicks twirlybirding around the sky? The ATTITUDE divide
that supposedly interferes with your enjoyment of the sport exists in
YOUR head, not mine or anyone elses. YOU are the one who looks at a
magazine article about Striedeck or Ittner or whoever and imagines that
they and all their friends are looking down upon you.


5-BG wrote:
fadoodle

you wrote "You've hit the nail on the head here. I think this is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news

YOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the "2 pages" , which are actually quite a bit more than 2 pages.. but about the ATTITUDE that divides the membership. To the extent that everything is about performance and winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old and WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck Yeager on TV the other night flying a glider... with a safety pilot no less.. are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger because he was just having fun in the air.. with CHOKE.. a safety pilot along for the ride.. No I would have given a bunch to be that other pilot and to simply have had the privlege of flying just for fun with gen Yeager.
There are many "for fun" pilots who have very expansive "ego walls" filled with decorations and rememberances of past exploits that make a soaring badge or second place finish at the nationals seem almost laughable. These pilots have left behind, long ago, the need for constant ego stroking.
Perhaps the current situation will provide an excuse for the ssa to reevaluate its core values and thrust of its operations.

wrote in message oups.com...

Bill Daniels wrote:

"It seems to come from people who don't care to make an
effort to be good enough pilots to compete and whose egos can't stand
hearing about those who can and do. "

You've hit the nail on the head here. I think this is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news.

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DIVFONT face=Arialyou wrote "/FONTFONT face="Times New Roman"You've hit
the nail on the head here.  I think this is the true sourceBRof all the
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DIV /DIV
DIVFONT face=ArialYOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the "2 pages" ,
which are actually quite a bit more than 2 pages.. but about the ATTITUDE that
divides the membership. To the extent that everything is about performance and
winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old and WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck
Yeager on TV the other night flying a glider... with a safety pilot no less..
are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger because he was just
having fun in the air.. with CHOKE.. a safety pilot along for the ride.. No I
would have given a bunch to be that other pilot and to simply have had the
privlege of flying just for fun  with gen Yeager. /FONT/DIV
DIVFONT face=Arial  There are many "for fun" pilots who have very
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can't standBR hearing about those who can and do. "BRBRYou've hit
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------=_NextPart_000_0088_01C6D28A.556AF2F0--

I would suspect that being under the EAA umbrella could be a BIG benefit.
It would permit the SSA to focus on Soaring, and offload taxes, financial
reporting, membership accounting, insurance, etc. on an existing,
professional, infrastructure. The remaining downsized SSA can focus on what
is really important to the sport, both for competitive and non-competitive
pilots. In addition, we would have the clout of the EAA to help in lobbying
efforts, development of low cost / light weight transponders, etc.....

Mike Schumann

wrote in message
ups.com...
Well,
We have to consider really what SSA does for us- everyone mentions
the big stuff like plane insurance and lobbying, and the clout of AOPA
or EAA would be good there. I just think that these organizations
already have their own inertia to deal with. I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.
I have been thru some corporate mergers and the sum is rarely as
effective as the parts were beforehand. Technically, it seems marrying
these groups would create something better- unfortunately, we are
dealing with folks that can't even get our books straight. Could we
trust them to keep SSA's identity and unique needs seperate and
healthy? I doubt it.
We already have an organization that does this other stuff fairly
well. We need to change the organization to make it more accountable
and less incestuous. Smaller can be better, it just has to be done
right. There is enough in SSA to save, and we don't have to do it all
tomorrow.

Just curious- How long have our dues been 55 clams? Might be time for
Mo' Money anyway. For some reason we expect to get out of a money jam
without raising taxes. Sometimes ya gotta do it.

Joe in Georgia USA
CN Open Cirrus #105


wrote:
If SSA were to merge with a larger organization, EAA would be better
suited than AOPA. The EAA already has a number of Divisions &
Affiliates under its umbrella, including:

International Aerobatic Club
http://www.iac.org/

Vintage Aircraft Association
http://www.vintageaircraft.org/

War Birds of America
http://www.warbirds-eaa.org/

National Association of Flight Instructors
http://www.nafinet.org/

EAA Ultralights
http://www.eaa.org/ultralights/index.html

Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft Assoc.
http://www.sportpilot.org/

Young Eagles
http://www.youngeagles.org/

and there are more....... Each of these groups has its own magazine
and identity.

EAA promotes and fully supports each and every one of these
organizations. Makes sense that a soaring division of EAA would fit
nicely with these other groups.

In my opinion, SSA is just too small to efficiently manage itself
logistically and financially.

Jon B.
GA



Stan - VA wrote:
I think it is pretty clear that if the SSA survives this latest bout of
mismanagment that our dues will mainly go to debt payment, and not to
services for members.

Several of us at our club have considered the pros and cons of the AOPA
idea. It definitely is worth discussing.

The AOPA has some real lobbying power. If the SSA ever had any, it
won't now. The amount of $ SSA had, has, or will have to spend on
lobbying efforts probably won't even open the door for us with anyone
in Washington. AOPA's clout is another matter.

I don't know that the AOPA would be interested, but 16,000 pilots would
be a healthy addition to their membership, if that is what the SSA
membership is. Of course, some SSA are already AOPA members.

A couple of pages monthly in the AOPA magizine would probably do
soaring a world of good. Most of the potential pilots for our sport
are already power pilots.

AIG, the insurer who underwrites the policies that come from
Costello's, already has a relationship with the AOPA. Probably
Costello's has a relationship with the AOPA too. Hopefully, we
maintain our insurance in its present form.

Let's face the reality of the situation. We may soon have no national
soaring umbrella organization. We will need to deal with that in some
fashion. Better to think about the alternatives now.

Stan Scott - VA

Tony Verhulst wrote:
Nyal Williams wrote:
We have always wanted to be more like the BGA. Do you
believe that, comprising 1% of the pilot population,
we would receive any notice inside AOPA? Maybe one
page near the back of the magazine -- occasionally.

Would we receive any notice inside AOPA? No! Not even inside EAA nor
even NAFI. Case in point, I used to be a NAFI (National Association
of
Flight Instructors) member. In one of their monthly (mailed)
newsletters
(2002), they warned us that the PTS (practical Test Standard)was
changing and to make sure that we trained our students to the new
standards. When I researched the matter I discovered that ONLY the
*airplane* PTS was changing - not glider, not helicopter, ... you get
the picture. I wrote a nice letter to the organization president and
editor explaining the situation and requested a public clarification.
I
got nowhere - not even a clarification in their online newsletter
which
would have cost them nothing to distribute. After several polite
email
exchanges, I realized that unless you were an airplane instructor you
were nothing and that there was no point in me being a member. I
resigned in protest.

Expect similar treatment if we become part of AOPA.

Tony V. CFIG
http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING

OK, Guys, let's not forget that Soaring contains articles
submitted, presumably, by members. Its slant, if it
has one, is likely caused by the kinds of submissions
it gets. If your area of interest is shortchanged,
write something up and send it in.


At 01:36 08 September 2006, wrote:
No, you are the one who don't get it. How does one
pilot flying in a
contest, or doing a badge or whatever, prevent another
pilot from
getting his kicks twirlybirding around the sky? The
ATTITUDE divide
that supposedly interferes with your enjoyment of the
sport exists in
YOUR head, not mine or anyone elses. YOU are the one
who looks at a
magazine article about Striedeck or Ittner or whoever
and imagines that
they and all their friends are looking down upon you.


5-BG wrote:
fadoodle

you wrote 'You've hit the nail on the head here.
I think this is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three
pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news

YOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the '2
pages' , which are actually quite a bit more than 2
pages.. but about the ATTITUDE that divides the membership.
To the extent that everything is about performance
and winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old
and WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck Yeager on TV the other
night flying a glider... with a safety pilot no less..
are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger
because he was just having fun in the air.. with CHOKE..
a safety pilot along for the ride.. No I would have
given a bunch to be that other pilot and to simply
have had the privlege of flying just for fun with
gen Yeager.
There are many 'for fun' pilots who have very expansive
'ego walls' filled with decorations and rememberances
of past exploits that make a soaring badge or second
place finish at the nationals seem almost laughable.
These pilots have left behind, long ago, the need
for constant ego stroking.
Perhaps the current situation will provide an
excuse for the ssa to reevaluate its core values and
thrust of its operations.

wrote in message
glegroups.com...

Bill Daniels wrote:

'It seems to come from people who don't care to
make an
effort to be good enough pilots to compete and
whose egos can't stand
hearing about those who can and do. '

You've hit the nail on the head here. I think this
is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three
pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news.

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fadoodle

you wrote 'You've hit
the nail on the head here. I think this is the true
sourceof all the
whining you hear about the two or three pages of Soaringtypically
devoted to
contest related news

YOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the '2
pages' ,
which are actually quite a bit more than 2 pages..
but about the ATTITUDE that
divides the membership. To the extent that everything
is about performance and
winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old and
WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck
Yeager on TV the other night flying a glider... with
a safety pilot no less..
are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger
because he was just
having fun in the air.. with CHOKE.. a safety pilot
along for the ride.. No I
would have given a bunch to be that other pilot and
to simply have had the
privlege of flying just for fun with gen Yeager.

There are many 'for fun' pilots who have very
expansive 'ego walls' filled with decorations and
rememberances of past exploits
that make a soaring badge or second place finish
at the
nationals seem almost laughable. These pilots have
left behind, long
ago, the need for constant ego stroking.
Perhaps the current situation will
provide an excuse for the ssa to reevaluate its core
values and thrust of its
operations.

style='PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT:
5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px'
wrote
in message
ooglegroups.com'news:1157673698.112904.130680@ m73g2000cwd.googlegr
oups.com...Bill
Daniels wrote: 'It seems to come from people who
don't care to
make an effort to be good enough pilots to compete
and whose egos
can't stand hearing about those who can and do.
'You've hit
the nail on the head here. I think this is the
true sourceof all the
whining you hear about the two or three pages of
Soaringtypically devoted
to contest related news.

------=_NextPart_000_0088_01C6D28A.556AF2F0--

Let's not forget that Soaring contains only articles
submitted by members. If you feel your interests are
not represented why not write something. Those interested
in contest flying are at least interested enough to
write about them. (I am not a contest pilot; too expensive.)


At 01:36 08 September 2006, wrote:
No, you are the one who don't get it. How does one
pilot flying in a
contest, or doing a badge or whatever, prevent another
pilot from
getting his kicks twirlybirding around the sky? The
ATTITUDE divide
that supposedly interferes with your enjoyment of the
sport exists in
YOUR head, not mine or anyone elses. YOU are the one
who looks at a
magazine article about Striedeck or Ittner or whoever
and imagines that
they and all their friends are looking down upon you.


5-BG wrote:
fadoodle

you wrote 'You've hit the nail on the head here.
I think this is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three
pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news

YOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the '2
pages' , which are actually quite a bit more than 2
pages.. but about the ATTITUDE that divides the membership.
To the extent that everything is about performance
and winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old
and WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck Yeager on TV the other
night flying a glider... with a safety pilot no less..
are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger
because he was just having fun in the air.. with CHOKE..
a safety pilot along for the ride.. No I would have
given a bunch to be that other pilot and to simply
have had the privlege of flying just for fun with
gen Yeager.
There are many 'for fun' pilots who have very expansive
'ego walls' filled with decorations and rememberances
of past exploits that make a soaring badge or second
place finish at the nationals seem almost laughable.
These pilots have left behind, long ago, the need
for constant ego stroking.
Perhaps the current situation will provide an
excuse for the ssa to reevaluate its core values and
thrust of its operations.

wrote in message
glegroups.com...

Bill Daniels wrote:

'It seems to come from people who don't care to
make an
effort to be good enough pilots to compete and
whose egos can't stand
hearing about those who can and do. '

You've hit the nail on the head here. I think this
is the true source
of all the whining you hear about the two or three
pages of Soaring
typically devoted to contest related news.

------=_NextPart_000_0088_01C6D28A.556AF2F0
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X-Google-AttachSize: 2909








fadoodle

you wrote 'You've hit
the nail on the head here. I think this is the true
sourceof all the
whining you hear about the two or three pages of Soaringtypically
devoted to
contest related news

YOU DON'T GET IT EITHER!!!.. its not about the '2
pages' ,
which are actually quite a bit more than 2 pages..
but about the ATTITUDE that
divides the membership. To the extent that everything
is about performance and
winning, the sport is leaving behind many, old and
WOULD BE pilots. I saw Chuck
Yeager on TV the other night flying a glider... with
a safety pilot no less..
are you seriously suggesting that his ego is in danger
because he was just
having fun in the air.. with CHOKE.. a safety pilot
along for the ride.. No I
would have given a bunch to be that other pilot and
to simply have had the
privlege of flying just for fun with gen Yeager.

There are many 'for fun' pilots who have very
expansive 'ego walls' filled with decorations and
rememberances of past exploits
that make a soaring badge or second place finish
at the
nationals seem almost laughable. These pilots have
left behind, long
ago, the need for constant ego stroking.
Perhaps the current situation will
provide an excuse for the ssa to reevaluate its core
values and thrust of its
operations.

style='PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT:
5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px'
wrote
in message
ooglegroups.com'news:1157673698.112904.130680@ m73g2000cwd.googlegr
oups.com...Bill
Daniels wrote: 'It seems to come from people who
don't care to
make an effort to be good enough pilots to compete
and whose egos
can't stand hearing about those who can and do.
'You've hit
the nail on the head here. I think this is the
true sourceof all the
whining you hear about the two or three pages of
Soaringtypically devoted
to contest related news.

------=_NextPart_000_0088_01C6D28A.556AF2F0--

Interestingly,
I find myself firmly in your camp only in that I am a recreational
pilot- I own a 1971 Open Cirrus with a really horrible handicap. I do
some sports class racing but really only as an opportunity to learn
more about XC, which it has been instrumental at.
It is fine you have no interest in what for now I call the bread
and butter- badges, contests, etc- but why berate those with an
interest in it? Soaring Magazine, while modest, is our only venue to
read about what is possible in our sport. Honestly, could you read a
magazine devoted to 3 hour local flights? The badges and records, while
obviously a measure against your peers, are also really a baseline for
you to set your own goals. Mine is an out and return 500k. That is how
I want to do my diamond distance. In fact, I was delighted to read
about some of my local peers adventure in Marfa several months ago. A
recreational trip, one I happened to do with them the following year.
(Go to Marfa, it rocks)
But really, you only demean my point which was really to say that
SSA does stuff for us that AOPA and EAA can't. Can you at least admit
that those B & B items are important functions for a large part of our
membership? And if not for that bread and butter, what exactly does the
SSA do for you and if nothing, why are you a member?
Lighten up. The reason we don't have modest performance new gliders
at a medium price is because building a plane is expensive, no matter
what, so not much is being built at all. There is lots of decent glass
out there to be had at a reasonable price, but it is old glass. It is
the glass that was once at the leading edge- We all benefit from the
quick advances in technology and the need by many to stay current.
Keep an eye on what our peers are doing at the leading edge of
our sport- it is inspirational and keeps people motivated. It is great
that people are competing at the top levels of our sport. And guess
what, to compete in anything at the top levels is expensive. Try to get
into road racing, or Formula one? If you think about it, that is really
what our national competitions are about- racing best against the best,
and you are are exactly right it is expensive. Being the best usually
is- in money, time, etc. Some have it, some don't. Oh well. I have my
Cirrus.
Likely in no other sport can recreational pilots get as close to
the "elite" as in our soaring community. Some of the US team are local
to our area, and they have been nothing but an inspiration. If there
is a divide, it is fabricated, and intolerance like yours is part of
the problem. I more often see it from the bitter bottom looking up,
than the top looking down.

Joe in Georgia
Open Cirrus #105


5-BG wrote:
Joe in Georgia wrote "I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter."

That MAY BE BREAD AND BUTTER to the contest pilot set, but it is of absolutly no interest to a significant number of recreational pilots who soar just to be flying and who have no interest whatsoever in contests,badges etc. A great deal of SSA resources are spent each month on a glossy magazine which is devoted in large part ( altho I do acknowledge the recent attempts to broaden its scope) to contests and to the "elite " of the sport. I wonder just how many of the 16,000 members actually care about the contest circuit.

It is my opinion that the focus on contests as a measure of whether or not someone is having fun has not only lef to a split in the ranks of the SSA, but has also had a very bad impact on the business of building gliders suitable for the general flying population. I saw this same thing 30 years ago in ocean sailboat racing. The concept of daysailing, cruising and just having a good time was replaced by an emphasis on competition. From the individual yatch club level to the world cup. Boats got much faster AND way more expensive. They became more fragile and were outdated after a couple of seasons.
I believe that the glorification of competition is OK and that it satisfies the ego needs of a significant portion of the pilots who own sailplanes. HOWEVER to say that it is the bread and butter of the SSA is just plain wrong.

we wonder why kids are not coming into a sport that takes a $100,000 hot rod to be competitive. The attitude that if you don't have the latest glass ship that dominated the nationals last month you are somhow a lesser pilot is fostered by this bread and butter attitude. What ever happened to just jumping in a sailplane and losing oneself in the sky for several hours of solitude? Whatever happened to the concept of just trying to improve or develop skills just for personal satisfaction? These concepts are the bread and butter of soaring.
Not only have the finances of SSA been mismanaged, but i believe that the society has become irrevelant to a significant portion of its recreational for fun pilots.
5bg


wrote in message ups.com...
Well,
We have to consider really what SSA does for us- everyone mentions
the big stuff like plane insurance and lobbying, and the clout of AOPA
or EAA would be good there. I just think that these organizations
already have their own inertia to deal with. I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.
I have been thru some corporate mergers and the sum is rarely as
effective as the parts were beforehand. Technically, it seems marrying
these groups would create something better- unfortunately, we are
dealing with folks that can't even get our books straight. Could we
trust them to keep SSA's identity and unique needs seperate and
healthy? I doubt it.
We already have an organization that does this other stuff fairly
well. We need to change the organization to make it more accountable
and less incestuous. Smaller can be better, it just has to be done
right. There is enough in SSA to save, and we don't have to do it all
tomorrow.

Just curious- How long have our dues been 55 clams? Might be time for
Mo' Money anyway. For some reason we expect to get out of a money jam
without raising taxes. Sometimes ya gotta do it.

Joe in Georgia USA
CN Open Cirrus #105

Brian Glick wrote:
Anyone that would be stupid enough to post this message on rec.aviation
should be blackballed and thrown out of SSA as an abuser of his membership
privilidges. Mr. Zawodny, you sir, are a jerk!


Takes one to know one Brian.Do you not think that a potential SSA
member on rec soaring has the right to know what would happen with his
dues $$$$.This is the beauty of the internet.The only thing Mr. Z did
was post it first.If anything your anger should be directed at the SSA
management.
Al