Kirk Wrote:
I would love to have a self-launch, as long as I didn't give up any
performance - when I win the lottery I'm buying an Antares! But it
would be in addition to my pure glider - I love the whole routine of
soaring - arriving early, rigging, waiting for the best time to
launch, the tow (or winch launch), getting home or landing out (and
the adventure that ensues), then putting everything away in the
evening. Self launch seems to me to trade convenience for solitude -
I like the company of other gliders! Again, thats a typical US
"lonesome cowboy" attitude (and there is nothing wrong with that!) -
unlike the european social approach to soaring. I've done it both
ways, and much prefer doing it with friends!
Well Kirk,
sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't. For me, self
launch has been amazingly good. I have managed to fly on the average of 140
hours a year since starting flying else launchers. This I've managed 168
hours and I'm not done yet. It has provided me the opportunity to fly when
the weather is okay, good or flat out amazing, as well as to try things when
the weather is poor but you are just curios if there's any way you might
actually be able to get somewhere...I do find that the comraderie issue is
different. While everyone else is driving to get somewhere, I am able to
wait and check Dr. Jacks and then actually see if things do what they are
supposed to, before comitting to spend a few hours on a maybe. What I feel
it really does though, is on those nice mid-week days...when you just look
out the window before lunch and you think..."ya know...I should skip out of
here and go fly..." in the winter it's magic, simply because in most cases
there's simply no other option if you are reliant upon a tow plane. I still
love flying with other sailplanes, and I really enjoy being in a position to
help others coming along try to put the nose out there and go
somewhere...wherever you find self launchers, you will always find a willing
sniffer or a guy who'll be willing to go first in most any endeavor.
I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I am suggesting that if soaring is
to grow again and begin to flourish, I believe it will be in conjunction
with self launching being a substantial role, based in no small part be
simply alleviating hassle on the retrieve side additional to the flexibility
of trying new things without quite the same level of orchestration required
to run a pure soaring operation. My comments were mainly intended to
hopefully stimulate a couple of the guys who are working towards producing
new sailplanes for homebuilders, to consider offering self launchers...
I think perhaps the thing that I see with self launching is basd on my own
experience. I feel that I have been able to accelerate my learning curve, by
using my self launcher to simply gather different experiences and even to
mitigate certain risks and allow myself to move forward to continue learning
and get to where I want to go. There are plenty of people like me, who fly
sailplanes and seldom hang out with clubs. When I had pure sailplanes I had
a towplane as well and one of my buddies would launch me. I know several
people who do just that, there are folks that like to sit and chat and there
are others that like to help, and there are plenty like me...that like to
fly. The mechanism doesn't alter those issues at all in my humble opinion.
I'd guess if/when you get that Antares, you'll find whatever you fly now,
collecting dust. Besides, if you get bored of self launching, you can show
up early...rig...BS...wait in line and take a tow...and be just one of the
guys...
Respectfully,
Steve.
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