On 07/09/2011 02:32, RAS56 wrote:
As a relative newcomer to the sport, my 2 cents on why there's a general
decline in participation in contest soaring is that there is a general
lack of a structure and interest of "passing XC knowledge" along in the
soaring community to new guys. Folks just want to go to the gliderport
on Saturday, assemble and fly, and I can't necessarily blame them.

Frank Paynter detailed many of these problems very precisely in the
latest issue of Soaring Magazine in the Condor column. Go read it...I've
encountered most of the problems he highlights and in fact have
communicated with him about my experiences and thoughts.

I started a thread about obtaining XC instruction a while back on this
forum in search of info. Sure, it's out there commercially if I want to
drop 3 grand (plus airfare and expenses) for a week's instruction....or
if I want to trailer my rig 1/2 way across country I might be able to
attend some "XC camps"...but why shouldn't we be able to obtain some of
this knowledge "locally" (or regionally) or perhaps by doing some online
training sponsored by the SSA? I don't want to "learn under fire" by
participating in a actual contest without picking up basic skills to
keep me out of trouble first.

You want more contest participation? Get more guys comfortable with
leaving the local area and going XC and I'll bet contest participation
will increase as well.

I'm not anywhere near ready to fly a contest yet...but I want to be!
But, from my perspective, it appears the barriers to "getting there" on
developing good XC skills currently require a level of commitment (in
time and money) that many weekend flyers look at...and walk away from.

Frank's article confirms this and offers some thoughts on fixing it
(Condor)...but that won't solve all the problems. Maybe every Region
should sponsor a Thermal/XC course for newbies (something like the folks
up at Air Sailing put on) before each contest season????? Sounds like a
good idea to me..


RS





There are plenty of very good cross-country courses that one may take,
given the inclination, time and money. However, empirical evidence
suggests that the difficulty of transition of glider pilots to
cross-country is a significant issue to our sport and most probably
negatively influences its development.

From a global perspective, it becomes apparent that every country has
its own training syllabus and path to pilot certification. This is even
true in Europe, where Gliding remains (for the moment) the only
non-standardized pilot certificate across EASA. Some countries have very
extensive and methodical training programs, while others with less
resources in their gliding communities have simpler courses.

What is common across every single country --to my knowledge at least--
is that pilot training stops with the achievement of a pilot
certificate, which while giving cursory attention to things like
thermaling and weather, does not thoroughly address the skills required
for cross-country.

From there, the path to cross country differs. In most cases, while
there may be recommendations at the national level, procedures and
programs rest with the club, i.e. cross-country endorsement to use the
club single seater, or pilot briefing flight to fly your sailplane from
the site. Some countries offer Bronze Badge preparatory programs
followed by a Silver Badge target for the pilot. However, these an not
fully fledged instruction programs but most often just hoops to jump
through in order to be able to take your glider cross-county.

There are basically two paths available in most cases: join a
cross-country course somewhere, or progress on your own. Some people are
lucky enough to be in a club or soaring community which offers
cross-country training, but in my understanding this is a minority.

While some people seek gliding as a primary way to learn to fly and then
progress to other forms of aviation (and this is something to be
encouraged as it is a very rewarding path), I would suggest that the
great majority of people who will stick with gliding for the long term
are those who will later pursue cross-county. Given this, I find little
excuse for not having cross-country training (with full and practical
instruction in cross-country flights) as part of the official training
syllabus for the acquisition of a gliding pilot certificate.

Surely, from a regulatory perspective, instruction in the safe and
effective conduct of the aircraft is the threshold for the acquisition
of a license, but beyond that, the national gliding committees should be
pushing for a training syllabus on cross-country to be incorporated in
the training program. Why stop at the minimum requirement imposed by the
regulator --which is what should be tested for in the CAA examination--
and not also include instruction in the necessary skill for advancement
in the sport which will also enhance the safe operation of the pilot in
the future?


Alexander Georgas