John, > So as the burden of club > obligations interferes with my enjoyment of a sport I love, I find I am > casting about looking for alternatives to Gliding Club operations to enjoy > the thrill of flying.
You've put your finger on what I see as a problem (challange?) facing gliding clubs. After a while, running ropes and driving winches just becomes like hard labour. Especially when much of that labour is being given to students of whom a large proportion will not continue on in the sport. As clubs generally try to keep fees as low as possible to encourage new blood, the end result of all this activity is little or no financial benefit to the club, little or no new blood and a burnt out longer term membership. Clubs need to identify those individuals that are in if for the long term and eliminate the "got the t-shirt" brigade. How? Buggered if I know, but here are some ideas. And for those critics in the wings, please remember that I'm not suggesting that all clubs should adopt these ideas, but that some clubs might be able to make a go of it, where they are currently failing. Also, whilst my rantings on this list might lead many to believe that I'm "anti-club" that is not in fact true. Clubs need to exist because (most) individuals simply can't afford to run their own airfield, and to a lesser extent, their own aircraft. However, the politics that invariably comes with the club scene becomes destructive, and in todays recreational market, where individual freedom rates highly, clubs are a major problem for aviation and gliding in particular because it relies on clubs the most. . Initial training in motor gliders allows the student to get lots of circuits and aerial work without the need for anyone else on the field (except the instructor of course). The instructor can also focus on the student, and flight bookings are practical so that todays time harried recreator can realistically fit in some flying without being charged with family neglect. Downsides, cost, motor gliders are either new and expensive or old and rare. Possibility of the motor glider as the club tug on Sundays might help. Alternatively some training could be conducted in Ulight's, same benefits as a motorglider but possibly less expensive capital purchase. A common licencing system would help in this regard. Student might be put off by the engine bit, after all they wanted to take up gliding, but then others who enjoy all types of flying could see it as a bonus. The hourly rate might seem higher, but two half hour flights with aero-tows, 2 x $25 + $45/hr = $95. In the motor glider you'd get a whole lot more circuits in your hour and end up paying around the same amount with no pushing of gliders running of ropes, obligation to stay and help the next student. . Clubs have non-student days. Means that all the students turn up on their day and thus they run ropes etc for the other students when not flying, rather than one or two students turning up each flying day. Those that enjoy teaching have their time in the sun on those days leaving the solo pilots to have their day as well. Again, a licence/rating that allowed for operation without L2 instructor would make it a lot easier for a club to do this. . Clubs that don't train at all. At the moment, the GFA system means each and every club is required to have a training operation. The end result is that only the larger clubs have good training resources, the smaller clubs are stretched to provide the necessary equipment and personel, and it's central place in the club operation is off putting to qualified pilots. If clubs (and I'm thinking smaller clubs in particular) could operate without a training system, and send their students to other clubs/schools to be trained, then they might be able to focus on providing quality gliding hours to solo pilots, whilst the training club/schools might be more economically viable because of the increase in students (as a result of the student population not being stretched across 90 clubs in Aus). Also the increased viability of the schools means that pilots that belong to non-training clubs have somewhere to go to get checks done. A single check flight might be pricing event for these pilots but it's a once a year. Again requires a licencing system that allows a club to exist *without* an instructors panel. rgds Pete -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
