"Mark Vulfson" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

Please accept my apologies ahead of time for my ignorance.

We are all ignorant, it is just that some of us are ignorant of our
ignorance.

If I am
posting to the wrong group or if the questions have been answered
before, please direct me to the appropriate place.

You are in the right place; welcome!

I would really like to try to sail-plane (is this the right
terminology?) and have really no idea where to start. I was told to
find a club in the area and call them for more information. However,
due lack of general knowledge about the sail planing I was unable to
do so. Can anyone point me in the right direction where I could start?
Preferably some resources in Oregon.

Others have pointed you to the website of our national organization,
the SSA http://www.ssa.org/ where most of the soaring sites are listed by
state. You will find that there are two different types of soaring
operations, commercial and club. The commercial operations tend to be more
businesslike and the club operations tend to be cheaper because they do not
have to turn a profit and they expect to utilize some of your sweat equity
to keep expenses down. Do not expect any of them to operate on a
split-second schedule, there are just too many variables, it is not like the
dentist office, you are there to relax, learn things, do things, and have
fun. Get there early, relax, observe, ask questions, and "go with the
flow".

Choose the closest operation and take a ride or two and then come back
here with your questions. Beware! Soaring is habit forming.

Welcome to soaring;
Vaughn


Any direction is highly appreciated,

Mark