> > > > I find the above quite an amazing statement. While I can understand > > that someone in an "air cadet" or scouting type environment might be > > looking to "tick the boxes" to get a badge then move on to the next > > badge, is it really credible that when someone comes onto an > > airfield and joins a club that they are planning to stay to solo and > > then go away again? I can believe that people get dissillusioned or > > lose interest for any number of reasons (which we need to try and > > identify and address) but why would anyone go to the time and effort > > and expense to join a club intending just to go solo then walk away? > > > > Allan Armistead
And yet I think it becomes true. No one really knows for sure what they want when they first join a gliding club, they are sucked in by the sizzle. After a while, I have noticed, some just doggedly keep at it till solo as an identifiable end point. I also noticed that most new pilots make a decent fist of flying long before they learn to land, so the last bit of training seems to be more circuits and landings. I think my Instructors were marvelous at thinking of new ways to keep me entertained until I did less than two landings per flight. Coming to the end of solo training was a shock, sort of like hitting a wall. During solo training everything is set out like a map. If one mentioned what one did last week, the Instructor knows exactly where one is up to and what is to be done this week. After going solo it feels like all 'structure' is gone. Checks and circuits basically. One does need to grow up and look after one's own training and goals. But it just seemed to come so suddenly. And does it need to be so 'chalk and cheese'? (Apparently bears are like that. One day, when the mummy bear feels the cub is ready, she just whacks it till it gets the message and stops following her. The system appears to work well for bears.) Luckily I was taken on a Xcountry soon after going solo, and it was wonderful. I still treasure memories of every unrepeatable word that erupted from the back seat whenever I lost thermals correcting incipient spins. It was one of the best days. And I think it was good to see with my own eyes that it actually is possible to fly long distances without an engine. There is a concerned and caring little voice inside each new solo pilot that tells him that it isn't really possible. Seeing is believing. The difference between "I have to land back on the airfield" and "I don't have to land to land back on the airfield" says everything that will allow one, or will stop one from flying Xcountry, I feel. It has to be "OK" to land out (OKTLO). OK with the club, OK with your mates, OK with the people who will need to pick one up and OK with the pilot. Just a culture of OKTLOness. Thermal training pre solo? Sure, and post solo too (remember the bears). Outlanding pre solo? I remember the outcry against an Instructor who wanted me to outland (pre solo, with the Instructor) in a nearby paddock at the end of a camp when the gliders were ready to be derigged. "What is the point?" they asked. Looking back I wonder, "why not?". Pre solo it wouldn't matter if it wasn't perfect. Every bit of practice is useful. It might just be the bait that lures the solo pilot to the next phase? If one has to derig anyway, why not do it in a friendly paddock. I think they were just jealous that I would do two outlandings in the one flight ;-) Just my 2cents worth. michael There are no bear clubs. __________________________________________________________________ This electronic message and any attachments may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this message would you please delete the message and any attachments and advise the sender. Western Sydney Area Health Services (WSAHS) uses virus scanning software but excludes any liability for viruses contained in any email or attachment. This email may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressees named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this email is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify WSAHS immediately. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender except where the sender expressly and with authority states them to be the views of WSAHS. _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
