When somewhat younger I got impatient & did the Narromine course to get around the slow rate of progresss at club level but there is another aspect to this that is difficult to deny ( at least in our clubs manner of operation ). While I was away for 20 yrs doing the uni, business, kids bit the OFITTH's kept the club going, bankrolled gliders and all the other things that I didn't have the time, focus or money to support. As a consequence I did have a glass ship to hop back into when life permitted & was eternally grateful as a result.
The Gliding Movement's retention problems are rooted in changes in the gliding movement: Namely, many of the movers and shakers in the gliding movement who used to be adventurous go-getters having a great time and setting a brilliant example for everyone else are now OFITTH's who seem to exist almost exclusively to serve as road-blocks which prevent people who still have colour in their hair from having fun.
I must admit that a few years ago while moving I had to have a sacrificial burning of the TTH ( even young people were allowed to wear them in the 70's, along with purple platforms ) when sorting out piles of gear not seen in a few decades. Even more scary is that I am starting to understand some of the things that they are on about ( eek shoot me! )
An earlier comment addressed the communities attitude toward flying. I agree that this has changed markedly over the years. When I started work at Archerfield Airport in the 70's, there was a tarmac full of light aircraft and the local flight schools were churning out pilots by the squillion. The guns at DDSC were turning over competition ships and feeding the second hand sailplane market. Light aircraft were accessible to mere mortals. Now most peoples connection to aviation is a cheap seat to Brissie for the weekend on Virgin ( probably not for much longer now that Patrick have a hold of it) and light aviation seems to be getting hammered out of existence by regulation and escalating cost. Now that you just about need to get a certified rectal inspection, and a badge to prove it, just to be allowed on the tarmac it can only get better...
Some of the newer low end glass ultralight/homebuilts might help pull some people back although the advent of better hang gliders and para gliders would have taken a fair few candidates, particularly given the active social scene of the latter two. The paras have a very limited operating range in terms of conditions , but they fit in the back of the family sedan and are easy on the wallet to purchase. The family usually gets to go somewhere nice for the day as well. Marvelous until you wind up in conditions where being strapped into a glass cocoon with 3 axis controls and a wheel with suspension just kind of feels 'right'.
Mikes decision to fit the jets should have significant impact if the regulatory overhead doesn't price the exercise out of existence as this appears to allow independent operation without the significant airframe mods necessary to support a 2 stroke while it is madly trying to flail itself to death on top of a long post. The elimination of the tug or winch crew would help invigorate mid week ventures not to mention turn around when cable breaks and retrieves are taken out of the equation (assuming that they aren't replaced by something else).
Cheers
Don Ingram
_______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
