The Decline of Soaring Awards

hang it up, and has not had much interest in teaching cross-country flying, at least in part due to the club not having appropriate aircraft for training students to do this. While the Lark is perfectly capable of flying cross-country, it is still not regarded by club members as a good glider to learn this in.

At the recent SSA convention, some of the club officers were discussing the dilemma with other folks from other small clubs, and again and again they encountered the same problem--aging out CFIGs and club gliders not up to the task of learning cross-country flying in.

Most of the loudest voices we hear here on RAS seem to be indifferent to the plight of smaller clubs. These people are typically close to large metropolitan areas with a very large (and wealthy) population base to draw from, and are members of large, well-established, and well-funded clubs. But the reality is that there are many small clubs that don't have a CFIG that will teach cross-country or they don't have a club trainer they can teach it in, and they don't have a membership base that can support/afford a $50-75K glass two-seater capable of cross-country training, let alone a motor glider that could be used to practice going through the motions of off-field selection and setting up an approach. Why? Because they can't afford it.

So, in order to save the sport, get more more young people flying, and make it more accessible to people other than retired old men who are sitting on a nest egg large enough afford a new JS3 or Arcus M, what can we do? How can we make it more affordable?

For the most part I agree with Mr Foster and the plight of small soaring clubs. However, I do take major exception with his last remark regarding "retired old men who are sitting on a nest egg large enough (to) afford a new JS3 or Arcus M" - First but not foremost I am an old man 77 years of age and I passionately love aviation, particularly soaring. I have been blessed to have owned an older 2-33 and a used LS3a for too brief a time - Secondly, I have never been able to "sit on a nest egg" With luck my current nest egg (COVID19 aside)just might enable me to buy a high time 1-26. So John I am asking that if you know of anyone including yourself that would be willing to underwrite a small loan so I could die a happy man and fly an Arcus before I croak. Written with some humor.