T o d d P a t t i s t wrote in
:

"nate_fl" wrote:

I'm a newbie here, and this is my first post, so please be patient.

As a self proclaimed "newbie," do you mind a few questions?

How important do you consider the performance/appearance of
the glider you train in? Is the Super Blanik a negative,
given fiberglass trainers? Would an older Blanik L-13 or
even a 2-33 have been a big negative? Would you have paid
more for better equipment?

How did the people at the glider field treat you the first
few times? Did you think they were snobbish and elitist or
inclusive and friendly?

As another newbie, approaching 50 and not yet near
solo standard after 10 flights...

Appearance: yes the glass planes are undoubtedly more
sexy than the wooden planes. Do I care? Only very
slightly, since I want to use whatever is best for me.
OTOH, the DG1000 did do what I wanted it to, unlike
the K13

I do think it beneficial for there to be a mixture of
grunt learning on K13s, with the occasional flight in
a modern plane to see what we can look forward to. OTOH,
one of the more memorable flights was in a K13 where
I was acting as ballast for an hour:
- the P1 kept up a running commentary of what
he was doing and why
- he knew how to fly the thing; it was a very
pleasant surprise to stay up for an hour
when the competitors in the regional
competition couldn't be bothered to fly
because the max thermal gave 2-3knots upwards

I've been to four fields; the smaller fields were
definitely more actively welcoming, but that tends
to true of any smaller community. I haven't
encountered any snobbishness or eliteism, but
I wouldn't have expected to run into it in the time
I've spent there. Ask me again in a year

tom gardner