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I’m just catching up on a few older topics. I’ll attempt to answer a question:
SNIP -It’s all very well to want a commercial operation to fit in with the time pressures you have Mark, but how much would you be willing to pay for that convenience? - SNIP
I have flown at two commercial gliding operations in the USA. Years ago I flew at Caracole Soaring in California (http://www.caracolesoaring.com/) and I currently fly at Southwest Soaring in Caddo Mills Texas (http://www.southwestsoaring.com/). Both web sites list their rates and, as a note of comparison, there is a club slightly closer to me (http://www.texassoaring.org) so you can see how much extra people pay for the convenience.
You obviously pay more for aerotows and hourly charges than a club situation but that is offset by not having to pay an annual membership fee. The extra convenience is important to me since I have a 90 mile drive to Caddo Mills which would make for an extremely long day if I had to help get things ready in the morning and stay until the equipment was safely packed away at the end of the day. You book a time slot, turn up, the glider is ready to go, go flying and leave the glider for somebody to put away. You only pay for the launch and flying time so even if the weather is unsuitable for flying, you don’t have to pay anything. To be perfectly honest, I don’t see how Southwest Soaring makes a profit because their utilisation seems fairly low for the prices they charge and the money they have invested in their fleet.
As a convenient alternative, I think that microturbine powered trainers may revolutionise gliding training. If you had something like this Blanik (http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/dg1000t-e.html#Jet-Propulsion), you could book a training time despite lack of lift and not require many crew to look after the operation. I don’t know how much the modification and fuel costs would be, but I am interested in doing this when I return to Australia next year so I would appreciate any information that people can offer. As a suggestion to improve the fuel efficiency of the microturbine, has anybody developed a microturbofan that would be more efficient at lower speeds?
For the airsickness topic, since some people mentioned specific medications, I know some people that have taken a drug STUGERON for flying and boating and swear by them as they supposedly don’t make you drowsy. I believe that they aren’t available in Australia but there are over the counter medications in the UK. I am not a medical expert so if any pharmacists or doctors know more about this drug and any possible dangers for flying, please enlighten us.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everybody on the list,
Patrick Barfield
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