On Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 9:55:44 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
Congrats to Steve!* From line boy to CFIG in just 5 years. Well
done!

I had the pleasure of taking a field checkout at Harris Hill from (then) 18 year old CFI-G Noah Reitter last May.

I like the idea of developing young pilots into CPL 'glider ride' wage-earning pilots. That makes for a viable path forward for the young people and for the sport. Some old timer CPLs might turn over their positions to younger pilots. The young pilots will probably move to new locations as their lives unfold, but at least the next generation is established.

For similar reasons, I support developing young pilots into CFI-G and I think the glider community should start paying our CFI-Gs at clubs to make that a more viable path for young people. Take part of the lesson fee and fund flying stipends for line crew, so younger kids can continue to learn to fly at affordable rates. Older folks who want to take glider flying lessons, can pony up, maybe cut back on their potato chip expenditures to pay for lessons.

My club's line crew program and summer camps produce a steady stream of under-20 PPL-Glider pilots. Some club members have started talking about developing a couple of them into the next generation of CPLs and CFI-Gs. They will 'move away', so for this long term strategy to work, other clubs need to step up.

Think about it. How many of today's CFI-Gs are getting close to retiring? Where are their replacements?