How do we inspire pilots to truly take up cross country soaring ?

On Sunday, 30 August 2015 12:01:25 UTC-6, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Sorry if this has already been covered as I am late to this party. How about having more xc camps with structured learning and someone to follow around a course. I know when I started to fly xc I was frustrated by the lack of any structured learning. I asked several xc pilots where I was flying if they could take me around a course and teach me a few things, every one said I have to keep up with them. I searched away from my glider port to find instructors who would take me xc. I flew a Grob 109 on a simulated course then found an instructor in the Sierras who took me on a long flight in a Janus. Then I started out on my own usually not getting more than 50 to 75 miles away finally I started doing the long flights. I had to seek out training from three different glider operations to get all the training and skill I thought I needed to be safe and competent to fly xc far from home base. Believe it or not Bill Bartel actually took several days off work to show me around the flying in Arizona. I had been flying xc for about a year or two already, still so much to learn. I still remember Bill opening his airbrakes to come back down to my height in the thermal to thermal up again with me.

We have many sanctioned contests and much emphasis on this news group and in Soaring Magazine is about racing. In addition to having a race committee how about having a pilot development committee. Hold multiple sanctioned youth, women, family day and xc flying meets with activities for all and a training syllabus. Just a thought

Jonathan, make it happen. DO not just talk about it with a keyboard make it happen. Remember that we are they