Mentoring the Kids

Young Jonathan Aronoff worked for me at "Miami Gliders" starting at
age 11.
Worked Hard. Learned to Fly.
Soloed my Blanik glider on his 14th birthday, February 14, 2001.
Soloed my Cessna 150 airplane at Marfa, Texas on July 5, 2004.

Eight years after that first solo, 2nd LT Jonathan Aronoff graduated
from the US Air Force Academy on May 27, 2009.

I'm mighty proud.

I have attempted to mentor hundreds of youngsters over the past 42
years of flying gliders. Most never follow through no matter how hard
you try. Too many distractions these days. But when you find the
ONE, that kid is GOLDEN, so look for those (few) motivated kids, the
ones with the "please teach me to fly" look in their eyes. Recognize
that look, then give them work to do at the gliderport -- wash the
towplane, help with maintenance, wrangle gliders and ropes. Make them
work for it but make sure they fly every day. Help them absorb the
knowledge and skills over time, and they will be our next generation
of soaring pilots.

Burt
Marfa, Texas USA
www.flygliders.com

Burt Compton - Marfa wrote:
Young Jonathan Aronoff worked for me at "Miami Gliders" starting at
age 11.
Worked Hard. Learned to Fly.
Soloed my Blanik glider on his 14th birthday, February 14, 2001.
Soloed my Cessna 150 airplane at Marfa, Texas on July 5, 2004.

Eight years after that first solo, 2nd LT Jonathan Aronoff graduated
from the US Air Force Academy on May 27, 2009.

I'm mighty proud.

I have attempted to mentor hundreds of youngsters over the past 42
years of flying gliders. Most never follow through no matter how hard
you try. Too many distractions these days. But when you find the
ONE, that kid is GOLDEN, so look for those (few) motivated kids, the
ones with the "please teach me to fly" look in their eyes. Recognize
that look, then give them work to do at the gliderport -- wash the
towplane, help with maintenance, wrangle gliders and ropes. Make them
work for it but make sure they fly every day. Help them absorb the
knowledge and skills over time, and they will be our next generation
of soaring pilots.

Burt
Marfa, Texas USA
www.flygliders.com

Brings a tear to my eye! Where were you when I was 14? I can't
complain, though...I started to fly at age 15 and soloed our Cessna 140
at age 16. I discovered gliders in England and hope to add my glider
rating one of these summers...maybe THIS summer. Who knows how many
"summers" I have left

You sound like on helluva guy, Burt! Hope to meet you in person one of
these days...

Scott
Bloomer, WI

We have had a successful and growing youth program at my club near
Toronto (www.yorksoaring.com) since about 2001. Last season, we had
20 youth on our ‘Bursary’ program. Under this initiative, the young
pilots, most chosen from the ranks of the post-solo Royal Canadian Air
Cadet program, pay $50 for a club membership, and $5 for each flight.
Youth Flight Canada (www.youthflight.ca) pays another $50 to the club
for the membership, and pays the difference between the $5 and the
cost the club would charge a member for the tow and the glider rental,
- typically about $30. Each flight they take obligates them to an
hour of assigned volunteer tasks for the benefit of the club (clean
kitchen, washroom, towplanes, etc).

Youth Flight Canada is the Canadian equivalent of a 501 3(c) in the
USA, and issues tax receipts for donations. We also operate the
Freedom’s Wings program in Canada, in partnership with clubs in
Vancouver, Vernon BC, Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa, as well as
Toronto.

I have a letter before me from one of our previous Bursary recipients,
Boris Wong, now a 2nd Officer on a Cathay Pacific A 340, and a photo
of him posing inside the engine cowling in his uniform. He wrote:

“I want to thank you for rewarding me with the YFC Soaring Bursary. I
was both surprised and honored to receive the bursary.

I am grateful for your confidence in me and willingness to invest in
the development of both my flying skills and myself as a person.
Without doubt, this bursary has helped me greatly in achieving my
dream of being an airline pilot….

The bursary had enabled me to continue to develop my flying skills and
sense of responsibility, especially when given the chance to attend
the instructor’s course. Many of those skills are transferable to
professional aviation. In addition to the bursary, the directors of
YFC went beyond their duties in supporting my pursuit of an aviation
career. Mr. Petersen offered transportation to the gliding club and
Captain Fraser offered advice on the airline industry. An important
aspect of the bursary is its relief in the costs of tuition, living
expenses, and additionally, flying can be very daunting.

The bursary was essential in helping me achieve what I have today.
Currently, I am eagerly awaiting to further my training and career as
a Junior First officer, which should happen in a year’s time. I hope
the YFC bursary can continue to support young adults in aviation.
Thank you for your generosity”

Another of our former recipients is today an aerospace engineer, and
is assisting in the design and approvals for hand controls in a couple
more gliders. As Burt said, they don’t all stick, but many do, and we
take pride in their success. We feel that there are several factors
critical to the success of a program like ours:
- a sufficient number of other younger pilots so that they don’t feel
out of place in a membership of graybeards
- well chosen candidates to begin with (hence the focus on choosing
graduates of the Air Cadet program which filters those inclined to
succeed.
- Transportation and/or accommodation at the airfield (almost always
remote from where people live. We have a bunkhouse trailer that
houses 10 and a campground, showers, kitchen, etc.
- A club membership committed to welcoming and mentoring

Our club has become a more energetic and vital place with the broader
demographics youth has brought. I hope someone reading this will be
inspired to emulate such a program where they fly. It is so
worthwhile.

Charles Petersen

Brings a tear to my eye! *Where were you when I was 14? *I can't
complain, though...I started to fly at age 15 and soloed our Cessna 140
at age 16. *I discovered gliders in England and hope to add my glider
rating one of these summers...maybe THIS summer. *Who knows how many
"summers" I have left

You sound like on helluva guy, Burt! *Hope to meet you in person one of
these days...

Scott
Bloomer, WI

There are lots of "helluva" guys and gals in soaring. I try to meet
them all, listen and learn.

I'm around . . . I never miss a SSA Convention. Find me at Little
Rock, AR January 27 - 30, 2010. See www.ssa.org for more info. I
also one of the guys that will travel around the USA for the Soaring
Safety Foundation doing free, confidential "Site Surveys" by
invitation of the SSA clubs and chapters. See www.soaringsafety.org
for details on the SSF Site Survey program.

I'll be taking my restored Schleicher ASK-13 to Harris / Elmira, NY
for the International Vintage Sailplane Meet to give rides from that
historic site June 27 to July 4. The IVSM is a wonderful gathering of
vintage sailplanes (and pilots!). See www.soaringmuseum.org for more
details. Many years ago, the Harris Hill Soaring Club developed an
excellent youth soaring program, producing many soaring pilots who
went on to military, airline and professional CFI careers.

Consistent one-on-one mentoring, a training syllabus / job description
starting with basic maintenance and line crew duties to develop a
strong work ethic are essential elements in a successful youth
program. Just make sure they fly every day after they work.

Growing up on our family gliderport in Miami got me into the work
part. Lots of mowing to be done in Florida! Dad did most of the
difficult aircraft maintenance as I was told to simply "hand me that
tool, hold it steady, don't look at the flame!"

But we always went flyin' in our J-3 Cub at the end of the work day.
Dad was smart about keeping me interested, in spite of me growing up
playing sixties rock music, discovering girls and cruisin' Miami Beach
in my 1956 VW bug. A photo tribute to the late Fritz Compton is on my
website at www.flygliders.com Good images of our Cub and the LK-10A
sailplane, circa 1959.

I still enjoy mowing the grass. Yes, I have grass to mow around my
hangar at Marfa, Texas! Bermuda grows well here.

Burt
Marfa Gliders, west Texas USA

USA:

For more information on the SSA Youth Program and Committee, chaired
by John Campbell of Colorado, go to the SSA website at www.ssa.org
On the left column, click on "The SSA" to navigate to the page.

Good guidance on mentoring, scholarships, camps and more!

On May 29, 10:21*am, wrote:
USA:

For more information on the SSA Youth Program and Committee, chaired
by John Campbell of Colorado, go to the SSA website atwww.ssa.org
On the left column, click on "The SSA" to navigate to the page.

Good guidance on mentoring, scholarships, camps and more!

Youth are where you find them. Set their hair on fire!

There are some CAP glider orientations rides going on in Lander,
Wyoming this weekend, and hopefully in other regions also. That said,
I heard from one lapsed SSA member that a state wing discontinued the
glider program locally, so he didn't renew his SSA membership.

I attended the USAFA G-Wings ceremony a week ago Monday. Had a chance
to mingle with some of the cadets instructor pilots as they passed the
torch between classes. Great speaker, great comradery. Invited them
to continue soaring beyond their AF experience.

Scout troop camp out at my club in a few weeks, with winch launched
flights. Youth love it. Gives us a chance to show them some of the
best in soaring media.

June 30th deadline for SSA Cadet Youth Scholarship applications
approaches.
http://www.coloradosoaring.org/ssa/ssay/cyfs.htm
Combine this with the SSA Introductory Membership (90 days free, one
time good deal) and a similar membership within your club/chapter, and
help a youth with a step up towarding becoming a pilot. We actually
had a young lady solo on one of these with a commercial operator in
Missouri a few years ago (I think he provided some free instruction or
glider use). There are too few submissions each year.

Let's Go Flying!

Frank Whiteley