Launch Order

On May 30, 3:28*pm, bildan wrote:
On May 30, 10:19*am, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.









wrote:
Just curious as to how it's done elsewhere. *I fly at a commercial
operation and the priority for launch always goes to the school
gliders....this makes sense...the student has scheduled for a specific
time days in advance.... Next come the renal ships and glider rides and
they too have been scheduled for a specific time. * If a private ship is
pointed down the runway, meaning they are ready for tow and a school
plane needs to launch, they take precedence. *I do a lot of hook up, not
an employee just another glider pilot trying to be helpful but
occasionally one of the "glassholes" gets their panties in a wad. *Every
one gets launched but perhaps as quickly as they might like.

The students, glider rides and rentals keep the operation open and pay
the bills to a greater degree than a private ship paying for a tow and a
place for their trailer. * *Any suggestions on this procedure?

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

You've pretty much described how our local commercial operation does
it. *Most of the time it works as planned but a problem arises when
the natural rhythm of soaring gets out of sync with the schedule.
It's tough to make gliders work to a schedule. *If some people have
expectations otherwise, they can get irritated. *Schedules just set
people up to be disappointed.

IMVHO, a better solution is a simple start queue operated on a first
come, first served basis. *School gliders, rides, private ships get
just in line and launch in that order. *A queue is easy to
understand. *The rules are simple too. *If a pilot isn't ready when
the tug is, he gets pushed out of line and goes to the rear. *Don't
get in the queue unless you're ready to fly. *Most of all, don't
'crash' the line.

XC types who want a noon launch can finesse the queue by entering it
at a time calculated to bring them to the front at noon. * The queue
will be filled with XC gliders around mid-day but that's OK if it fits
everyone's expectations. *Training and rides work better in the
smoother air of early morning and late afternoon anyway.

our club launches on a first come first served basis too and it works
out fine. we rarely have more than about 2 or 3 waiting at a time
though.