Shirl:
I'm not trying to paint gliders negatively -- I agree that they're
great, and they *do* enhance power flying. But realistically, not
everyone has even ONE sailport within a reasonable drive from
their home

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
That's been our dilemma. We wanted Joe (and now Becca) to do
gliders at age 14, in (relatively) nearby Muscatine, IA, which has a
small glider operation -- but getting there is a 45 minute drive,
minimum. We simply don't have 90 minutes in our day to waste
sitting in a car.

Not to mention, with current fuel costs and the number of times you'd
have to go out there and back for them to get their foundation in
gliders, how much that drive would add to the expense.

Curious ... is the sailport in Muscatine run as a club? The one of three
sailports here that was run as a club requires members to each take
their turn "working" in various slots at the facility. It's great in the
respect that everyone is contributing, there is a "community" spirit
there (there were *60* people in attendance at a safety meeting!), and
with various people having specific jobs, the place runs like a Swiss
watch. BUT, again, not everyone has that kind of time to donate in
exchange for reduced rates, and at some point, that exchange becomes a
wash (taking into consideration the time and costs just getting there
and back).

Mary and I experienced soaring over in Ames, IA, and had a wonderful time --
but that's so far away that we had to fly to get there. Kinda makes soaring
less-than-cost-effective...

Exactly. I learned to fly in gliders, and at the time, I *had* time to
make the drive and gas was half what it is now. But it was just under an
hour drive each way. I have never added up how much it cost me to get my
private pilot license in gliders -- part of me doesn't want to know! But
even without adding it up, I can say that while I appreciate the things
I learned that I could bring with me to power flight, it was hardly
"inexpensive".

No, buying an old Ercoupe is a great solution for affordable LSA flying.
Fuel efficient, burns car gas, has a canopy you can hang your arm out of in
flight. Low, slow, and we can park in the "Antique/Classic" section, if we
want to...

My glider instructor is a huge Ercoupe fan and a LS instructor and
examiner. We fly once/week in my Varga, and whenever we see an Ercoupe,
he goes crazy!

We'll see how negotiations go. Here are some pix we took of it in April, if
you're interested: http://www.alexisparkinn.com/ercoupe_n2572h.htm

I see you have the panel off ... you going to redo the whole panel? I
just did that with my Varga while it was down for the engine overhaul.
It had that old "Ford Torino" wood-grain panel that I changed to
military power-coated gray. Big improvement (IMO).

It would sure be pretty if the guy hadn't let bird crap sit on the bare
aluminum for so many years. Now, the only solution is to paint it...

A friend recently painted his formerly polished aluminum plane. It was
beautiful as polished aluminum, but REALLY labor intensive, to the point
where he blamed his rotator cuff on that continuous maintenance! Pretty
as the polished aluminum is, it would drive me crazy to have to worry
about every little fingerprint and follow people around with a cloth
whenever anyone is near the plane. Besides, it would be fun to be able
to CHOOSE a paint scheme. Any ideas?

Shirl