Here is my two bobs worth. The only difference between the gliding movement or even bowling clubs, and 9/11 is that they won't burn, but they are certainly crashing. We know the problem, declining membership, and age creep is going to accelerate the trend. Look no further than the stats produced by GFA on membership and Clubs. I do not subscribe to the demise being related cost. RA is going gangbusters at training rates of $175 per hour (Locally). Ian Mcphee has highlighted the need for convenience. Younger membership is also essential. The data collected on costs of training comparing winch vs aerotow showed little variation in total hourly costs to solo when travel and club membership are factored into the equation. The big difference is in time to solo, one pilot soloed in a week at a commercial site compared with an average of 9 months at a typical winch club. Aero tow could result in solo within a 3 month short tem membership given a reasonably competent student When did you last see a Gliding club advertise a holiday gliding course? The most significant article in the recent Gliding Australia was that on Lake Keepit G C. I am encouraged; someone has obviously hit the right notes.
Perhaps we could encourage GFA to arrange other Club's management to visit and receive a briefing, or, if distance and travel cost are a barrier, produce a training video to highlight the policies and practices which contribute to their success. Are there any other clubs out there who can match Keepit and would act as a similar role model. Advertising may provide a short term boost, but we need to ensure the product offering is what the customer wants! R Colin C On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Jim Staniforth <[email protected]>wrote: > Some foreign observations for reference or the bin: > Annual SSA dues are currently less than 25% of GFA dues, but it would > have been about 50% if the US dollar was worth the paper it's printed on. > No pile of paperwork needs to be purchased for an Annual Inspection for > Standard registration or a Condition Inspection if the glider is > Experimental. > But FAA, not SSA is responsible for airman and aircraft > licence/registration/airworthiness. > An Annual on a glider shouldn't take days. For example I've flown 500k on > the same day as a start-to-finish Condition Inspection on an LS-6. > As Mike pointed out, pure gliders are pretty basic aircraft! > Flight reviews are conducted every two years. A BFR or added rating in a > glider counts as a BFR for airplane, and vice versa. > No fees are payable to SSA or FAA for joy flights, instructional flights, > etc. But the SSA are going broke - mostly thanks to an embezzler a few > years ago. > After that debacle, SSA are hesitant to increase the annual subscription, > fearing a mass exodus. > The SSA group insurance program is a reasonable deal, and they offer a 5% > AOPA member discount. > From my experience, the cost of Nimbus 3 insurance (outside the SSA > program) was a little less than when it was VH registered, even considering > the exchange rate of a few years ago. This may be due to my FAA licence > being "Commercial - Glider, Private - Single Engine" and at the time my GFA > rating seemed essentially to be "Solo Student". > For pilots in the USA who aren't SSA members, insurance is available > from a couple of other agencies. > Jim > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Mike Borgelt <[email protected]> > *To:* Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. < > [email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, September 8, 2011 8:03 PM > *Subject:* Re: [Aus-soaring] Aging Glider Fleet article > > Ask our friends in the USA. > > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring >
_______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
