Juggling a bunch of things right now, so adding thoughts in dribs-and-drabs.. One of the things that's remarkable to me is the wide variation in the percentage of pilots who go cross country in different clubs from the same area. In Region 2, for example, the largest club with the best (all glass) fleet which owns its own airport and clubhouse has almost no XC activity. With over 100 members, there are maybe a half-dozen who participate in the OLC or contests. On the other hand, two of the smaller operations that share public use airports generate the same or more XC flights with maybe 1/3 the number of pilots. In other words, in the largest club, less than 10% (probably dloser to 5%) participate in XC. In a couple of medium-sized clubs, the percentage is closer to 20%. In Aero Club Albatross (which has a very long history of encouraging XC) we have about 25 pilots actively contributing flights to the OLC with maybe 60 active members. So, at least 40% of the members actively go XC. Many of those flights are in 1-26s and our 1-34.

That tells me that it's more about the environment/operation/culture and less about either great conditions, facilities, or equipment. In ACA, there is a critical mass which I think makes XC culture somewhat self-sustaining. There are dozens of field retrieves every year, so most members are used to it. It's not viewed as a hassle so much as a badge of honor. When you land, the question isn't "how long were you up" so much as "how far did you go"? We try for records, add up OLC points, and go to competitions.

I think what's missing in many clubs is one or two sparkplugs who are willing to commit to changing the culture and encouraging more XC. Think of it as a grass-roots issue rather than a systemic one. We've certainly proven that more people will go XC given a supportive environment. I think it would be very interesting if more clubs measured the "health" of their operation in terms of the percentage of people who actively participate in XC.. It's my hunch that those operations would end up being more stable, active, and vibrant than those with fewer XC pilots.

Erik Mann (P3)