Important message for SSA members

Oops. ...learning by example...

Leaning by example is usually caused by too many beers
after flying, or when checking a new EGT with an instructor...

At 00:42 08 September 2006, Bob C wrote:
Sorry Bill. Reading about contest flying is about
as exciting as watching paint dry.

I will admit that the OLC has opened up some avenues
for leaning by example, though.



At 23:06 07 September 2006, Bill Daniels wrote:

'5-BG' wrote in message
...
Joe in Georgia wrote 'I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane
handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any
interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.'

That MAY BE BREAD AND BUTTER to the contest pilot
set, but it is of
absolutly no interest to a significant number of recreational
pilots who
soar just to be flying and who have no interest whatsoever
in
contests,badges etc. A great deal of SSA resources
are spent each month on a
glossy magazine which is devoted in large part ( altho
I do acknowledge the
recent attempts to broaden its scope) to contests and
to the 'elite ' of the
sport. I wonder just how many of the 16,000 members
actually care about the
contest circuit.

It is my opinion that the focus on contests as a
measure of whether or not
someone is having fun has not only lef to a split in
the ranks of the SSA,
but has also had a very bad impact on the business
of building gliders
suitable for the general flying population. I saw this
same thing 30 years
ago in ocean sailboat racing. The concept of daysailing,
cruising and just
having a good time was replaced by an emphasis on competition.
From the
individual yatch club level to the world cup. Boats
got much faster AND way
more expensive. They became more fragile and were outdated
after a couple of
seasons.
I believe that the glorification of competition is
OK and that it satisfies
the ego needs of a significant portion of the pilots
who own sailplanes.
HOWEVER to say that it is the bread and butter of the
SSA is just plain
wrong.

we wonder why kids are not coming into a sport that
takes a $100,000 hot
rod to be competitive. The attitude that if you don't
have the latest
glass ship that dominated the nationals last month
you are somhow a lesser
pilot is fostered by this bread and butter attitude.
What ever happened to
just jumping in a sailplane and losing oneself in the
sky for several hours
of solitude? Whatever happened to the concept of just
trying to improve or
develop skills just for personal satisfaction? These
concepts are the bread
and butter of soaring.
Not only have the finances of SSA been mismanaged,
but i believe that the
society has become irrevelant to a significant portion
of its recreational
for fun pilots.
5bg


This is bulls**t - give it a rest. I've heard it
since I started flying
gliders in 1960. It seems to come from people who don't
care to make an
effort to be good enough pilots to compete and whose
egos can't stand
hearing about those who can and do. All good pilots
want to get better and
reading about the accomplishments or others is an excellent
incentive.

It's like saying that kids who play ball don't care
about the World Cup.
Or the readers of Road & Track don't care about auto
racing's Grand Prix
Circuits. Most people who fly gliders want to read
about competition
whether it be just badges or the new Grand Prix Racing
curcuit. This is one
of the things the SSA has always done right.

Bill Daniels