Thanks to all for the interesting and varied replies. My apologies to the thread starter, I didn't mean to hijack the topic, but it appears me putting my 2 cents in did just that! I've learned quite a bit just from reading through the responses..

My opinion was based on my experience level as a post-Bronze Pre-Silver badged pilot. Sports Class contests are closed to me, and it seems like there is a scarcity of options towards getting there. Trust me, my club has an active XC soaring community, including some of world renown..and I have spent plenty of time at the club house gleaning nuggets from these sages to use in my flying....but we have no real XC instructors, not much in the way of mentoring and no real program to get guys their Silver. Taking a club ship out of the local area is generally verboten, and although we have some provisions for allowing it to be done, I've never seen it happen.

Once again...my opinion and mine only..."generally" the soaring community makes it harder than it needs to be to get fledgling eagles out of the nest. Paynter recognized it in his article....heck even the SSA/SSF admits there's a problem! Consider the following taken from the "Cross Country Handbook" written back in 2002 which I found on the SSF's website:

http://www.soaringsafety.org/dl/Cros...ryHandbook.pdf


"Dear Cross-Country Student:

The SSA instituted the Master Instructor Cross-Country Program in response to member
demands for better access to cross-country instruction. This Handbook has been
developed as a guide for students attending cross-country camps and other pilots starting
out to fly cross-country. It summarizes the knowledge and skills needed to fly
successfully cross-country. It assumes that you already have acquired (and retain) the
knowledge and skills required to pass the knowledge and practical tests for the FAA
private pilot glider rating.
You will observe that the contents of this Handbook are expressed in the form of ground
and flight instruction. While many successful cross-country pilots have been self-taught,
this is somewhat analogous to jumping in at the deep end and teaching yourself to swim
straight after you discovered you could float and, perhaps, after having read ‘Swimming
for Dummies’. A much better way, both safer and quicker, is to learn with the help of a
qualified instructor.
Many glider pilots who have not flown cross-country, even those who have demonstrated
good local soaring skills, perceive barriers to safe and successful cross-country flight.
Some of these are physical - a lack of the various skills needed to make a safe and
successful cross-country flight; and some of these are psychological - probably
generalized as a fear of not getting to the planned goal, and being forced to endure the
risks and danger of an off-field landing, with no assurance of the safe outcome. These
psychological fears have likely been increased by personal experience, e.g. when pressing
further away from the home field, finding a couple of good looking clouds in succession
but discovering nothing except heavy sink, engendering a lack of confidence in the ability
to stay up. In addition, turning away from the home field, breaking the umbilical cord and
getting beyond gliding distance from it, is the opposite of what all previous flights have
involved, namely getting back safely.
The ground and flight instruction contemplated in this Handbook is intended, in part, to
contribute to a confidence building process to address and break down these
psychological barriers. This includes actually making landings at new fields, and
executing soaring flights which remain within gliding distance of an airport. You should
remember that the underlying logic of safe cross-country flight is based on the premise
that the probability of finding another thermal down the chosen route is just as high as
finding one close to your home field."

Notice in the above how important it is to have a XC instructor as part of your learning matrix and they acknowledge the reluctance most have to "just jump out there and do it!!" and concur with most folks decision to pass on a plan like that.

My plan now consists of continuing to plod along and essentially "self-teach" until/unless I can justify a long-distance trip to get some quality instruction. Fly Condor. Get really good at flying my glider and until I know I can put it where I want, when I want.

Thanks again for all the advice, opinion, and wisdom. It's the mix of those characteristics that draws me back to this forum daily.

Regards,

RAS