I think pilots can get the same things from soaring on their
own as from the Badge program, but I am grateful it was there for
me. And man am I grateful for thebadgelady.

Thats part of it Mark.
At the end of the day you fly for your own satisfaction.
If getting badges is your bag baby then so be it.
Mine is just the shear fun excitement and fear involved in long distance
flying with a bit of Acro thrown in for fun.
Al

There are some other motivations for me than own satisfaction.

I'd like to fly in competitions and Silver plus gold distance is
required (For me this also means Diamond goal. I've
thought about this so much I almost think they're the same.)
Is there a way to fly in a regional without this?

I like publicizing my home gliderport. Badge and record flights
seem to be an accepted way to generate publicity. Sure I
like having a record or badge, but getting more people
to come out and soar is even better.

I think it is a concise way of explaining experience.
And it provides a focus for discussion about aspects of gliding.
When I talk about these badges, each element is
interesting to newcomers.

Lastly, for me it provides structure to continue developing
my pilot skills, and select courses and tasks that are
reasonable. I've come to realize that flying the PW-5
great distances is pretty hard (although William Snead
might disagree). So I'm being pulled into interesting
tasks and ideas. Without the Gold altitude, I wouldn't
have tried to max out a thermal a few weeks ago. The Diamond
goal has really got me thinking about routes over good
thermalling terrain.

Anyway, this IS my bag, baby. Yeahhh!
Thanks to all you cool cats who've put
your mummblies out there to make this a swinging
sport. Yeahhh! Smashing!

P.S.

I don't use the word "fear." I call it
a "moment of great concern."

And it isn't a "cloud,"
it's an "area of limited visibility."

It isn't "expensive dental work" it's a
"firm landing."

I don't say "he brought
most of the field back with him in the gear well,"
I say he "landed out."


Mark


"Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes."