Future Club Training Gliders

On Nov 9, 3:39*pm, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
On Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:41:00 -0800, noel.wade wrote:
I think you have misunderstood my last comment and the comments of
others here. *No one is saying that you have to buy a DG-1000 or a Duo-
Discus or an Arcus in order to conduct training.

No, I'm with you but a lot are arguing that even an G.103 is outrageous
when a 2-33 will do. I spoke up this time because there seemed to be a
hint of 'people who learn on glass will all be flying the latest and
greatest single seaters' and I wanted to see if I'd misread the writer:
seems that I had.

Your example of an
ASK-21 is a sex-machine compared to the Schweizer gliders! *Compa

I don't need to compare them. There's one of the Avenal 2-33s in my log
book. :-)

I like flying our club Juniors in winter or when there's some other
reason I'm not flying my Libelle and, as I've flown an ASK-23, a Ka-8 and
a PW-5, I reckon about there's an unfilled slot in my logbook that is the
same shape as a 1-26. I hear they're fun to fly even if they do penetrate
even worse than a Junior. Can they be winched?

The point is that even someone who knows nothing about airplanes can
tell which one is more modern and capable.

Sure, and I agree that's a no-brainer.

THEY are the exception. *The average
citizen (at least in the USA) is not going to slog through all that, and
their interest-level is certainly going to be affected by how modern (or
at least modern-looking) the aircraft are. *Its just human nature.

I'm probably one of them to some extent: the ASK-21 hooked me where an
ASK-13 couldn't, though to be fair that happened 10+ years after I had
the K-13 ride, I was no longer totally gung-ho about competition free
flight and was probably subconsciously looking for a new challenge.

There's a similarity: my favourite models always have been F1A towline
gliders and now winch launching is my preferred way of getting airborne,
outnumbering aero tows this year by better than 15:1.

--
martin@ * | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org * * * |

I think there is something missed here. To say that one is shallow for
not training up in a primitive old glider isn't valid. If that were
true, then all you guys are the shallow ones, for not buying and
flying a 2-33. When I first showed up to take my glider ride 3 or 4
years ago, I jumped into a DG1000, paid my $200 to the private
operation, came back, and joined the club on the field. (The operation
is unusual because the DG1000 owner is a club CFIG and is towed up by
club towplanes, even for private rides, in direct competition with the
club trial ride program, and there are more advantages than negatives
in the arrangement.) I trained in L23s and the DG1000, with a $60 or
$75 per hour fee to use the DG1000 on top of tow fees. It was clear to
me that in most cases the learning went at exactly the same speed in
either ship, and I jumped into whichever was available.But the goal
was to fly a DG300 at some point, which I now do. In fact I owned it
long before I soloed and could fly it.

If I understand people to be saying "kids to day won't train in a 2-33
or an L23 on their way to flying a slippery ship, the will just give
up if they don't have a DG100 type plane", I think that is wrong. But
they do need to see a path to flying with the big dogs back in the
mountains or way up high at some point, in a nice plane.

Brian