On Thursday, 29 September 2016 15:00:07 UTC+2, Don Johnstone wrote:
I would agree with you IF gliders, especially 2 seat gliders were always
flown by pilots experience as you and I. Truth is they are not, they are
frequently flown by very inexperienced and sometimes inept pilots, that is
the nature of gliding. The wheel brake on a glider is not a mission
critical item, unlike a powered aircraft the brakes are not tested before
taxiing, in most cases we only find they do not work on landing which is
why I never rely on them.

If a student is inept then he/she should not be sent solo.
I had less than 10 flights to my name and I could already feel when I was over braking and skidding on a grass runway in the clubs G103 without an instructor needing to correct me.

Do you propose that we send students into the air with only half the tools in the bag and then plead ignorance when they decapitate themselves going through a fence during an off field landing because they couldn't stop in time and messed up an attempted ground loop?

I consider brakes mission critical and test them on every pre-flight.
No brakes or inefficient brakes means the glider is grounded.

Sheesh ... just now someone is going to propose that a half functioning elevator is safer for students because it will help reduce PIO's.