In the States it seems that you pay everyone from the
instructors and tow pilots down to the guy who runs
with your wingtip. This makes gliding there rather
expensive.

Have you considered the 'mutual self help' system we
have in the UK, where the vast majority of these tasks
are carried out by suitably qualified club members
who don't get paid? Professional instructors, tug pilots
and winch drivers are very much in the minority, except
at the biggest clubs who run a seven-day-a-week operation.


A self launching capacity seems to add about £20k to
the cost of a new glider, and also makes it more expensive
to insure and maintain. You will also need to qualify
for an additional licence. It's also not quite the
same thing as a pure glider. Having said that, if I
won the National Lottery I would probably buy a self
launcher.

Del Copeland


At 04:12 31 December 2007, wrote:


I am all for Winch Launching, I started that way too.
I could see some
large commercially operated training sites, winch operated,
offering
reasonable training,.sprinkled across the country,
but soaring made
easy, would be a self launcher at your closest GA -airport,
that you
can reach on that bicycle!... Remeber, all the other
launch methods
need additional man power, which really is a $ (money)
item. The tow
pilot, the wing runner, winch operator.

I think in the distant future the the self launch will
have to change
in the way that they can easily taxi, move on the ground
unassisted.
The expensive ones will most likely do that first and
out of that
insight there might be evolving a self launch V-Sailplane,
that almost
anybody can play with? In the not so distant future
not much change,
unless some people make some huge efforts.

Soarski
Gliders Of Aspen (geezer)
..