On Jul 2, 10:45*pm, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:42:38 -0700, Cats wrote:
I'm not sure what the state of play in the US is, but at my club and I
suspect all others in the UK, we have to have our Bronze badge plus XC
endorsement before flying other than locally (e.g. attempting Silver
distance).

That's certainly true in my club. Usually a newly minted Bronze XC
Endorsed pilot would attempt Silver distance as their first XC on
a day okayed by an instructor and after a thorough briefing.

Once that's accomplished the next target is the 100 km diploma - again
only after its been sanctioned by an instructor.

It seems to work for us - unless the day suddenly turns to worms most
pilots get Silver on their first attempt.

I guess we get a lot of worms north of the border! Some of the Silver
Distance flights are downwind dashes from wave rather than a thermal
XC, but I'm not sure of the ratio. Naturally most of the good days
(wave & thermal) are during the week so us younger (e.g. working)
pilots can have to wait for quite some time for getting a decent day
at the weekend.


Before you ask, we're
scrupulous about not permitting lead & follow or similar cheating
for these flights and we much prefer Silver distance to be flown in a
Junior rather than anything with better performance. New XC pilots may not
get the speed leg of the 100 km diploma on their first attempt but they're
likely to complete the task.

Of the last few Silver Distance flights I know of some but not all
have been in the Juniors.


Of course an outlanding is still a possibility but they
don't happen often and there is a body of knowledge about where the best
fields are (given the state of the crops) which can and should be tapped.

Those without the XC Endorsement are expected to avoid landing out. If
they get it wrong and end up aux vaches there would likely be a discussion
with an instructor about deficient judgment.

True, but it has happened (and will continue to happen), and the
people it has happened that I know of to are still flying. None of
them broke anything in the cases I know about, and I suspect they were
all learning experiences.