Cheap sailplanes

On Sat, 4 Dec 2004 23:27:30 -0500, "JohnWN in Burke, VA"
wrote:

I think IMAGE is the key.

Soaring is in decline for a lot of reasons, some from without, some
from within. Declining real incomes, unsure futures, so called
"global economy" that looks to me like it might go ashcan, these don't
just effect soaring they effect most leisure actibities. Hobby supply
companies are going under daily, US machinery manufacturing is on the
skids, (Which were a lot of the higher paying jobs) more and more of
the auto industry is not in the US. Not much anyone can do about
those, but when you see very old names in the hobby industry
disappear, it's a pretty good sign that the expendable income isn't
there. Another indicator, when a new company does come up in the
hobby industry, it's almost always "high end", aimed at the limited
few that can afford the product, not at any mass market.

There is no one key, you're sitting at a 5 manual organ with AGO
pedalboard and trying to figure out which one will be the "key".
There ain't no magic bullet. Most people get their introduction to
flight today in the passenger compartment of a 747, a lot of them
don't even look out the window. Flying, for them, consists of getting
from one coast to the other before their competitor company does.

Kids, younger people, forget it. The kids might have a few bucks to
play with, but the early 20 to late 30 bracket is more interested in
keeping home and family in the same place. With no chance that you
won't be forced to find another job, don't look for them to jump into
something that's a constant drain on their income, it won't happen.
The three families nearest me, all of them, are having a pretty bad
time keeping going, one halfway down the block is being "relocated",
with the normal cut in income. No stability whatsoever, that's pretty
hard to overcome. But it's still only one reason, and not the only
one.

e wrote:

Kids, younger people, forget it. The kids might have a few bucks to
play with, but the early 20 to late 30 bracket is more interested in
keeping home and family in the same place. With no chance that you
won't be forced to find another job, don't look for them to jump into
something that's a constant drain on their income, it won't happen.
The three families nearest me, all of them, are having a pretty bad
time keeping going, one halfway down the block is being "relocated",
with the normal cut in income. No stability whatsoever, that's pretty
hard to overcome. But it's still only one reason, and not the only
one.

I agree 100%. Of course there are other reasons, but this one is
mechanically deterministic. On the other reasons, such as being more
attractive to youngs, trying to waste less time, etc. one can try to do
something.


--

Michel TALON

(Michel Talon) wrote in message ...


I agree 100%. Of course there are other reasons, but this one is
mechanically deterministic. On the other reasons, such as being more
attractive to youngs, trying to waste less time, etc. one can try to do
something.

Lots of other factors, changing attitudes, the way people look at
their lives has changed, dramatically, the lowered incomes for most
people. The financial matters probably cannot be overcome, there is
no way to reduce the costs to even reasonable. Attitudes, most young
people don't want to be part of a so called "elite" group, they would
rather stay acceptable to their peers. People don't live in one place
for very long now, seven years in the same town is average, and
decreasing, no real "roots" put down anywhere, sense of belonging to
any community is lost, or never existed.

Accessability to gliderports, here in the US, there are probably
gliderports within 100 miles of most places, but with people driving
long distances to work daily, getting them to spend even a little more
time in their car is going to be difficult. FOr 25 years I drove 27
miles to work, then 27 miles back home, you don't get used to it, you
get to hate it.

Consistancy in training, usually doesn't exist. "Instructor of the
day" is the rule, with rare exceptions. Finding the trainer and
instructors booked solid for the next six weeks, common. No such
thing as going to the field hoping to have even one flight squeezed
in, it just doesn't happen. Attitude that if you can't afford to
schedule your time in blocks for the next six weeks, you shouldn't be
doing it anyhow. Most people now have to look at what they have for
expendable income on a week to week basis, trying to schedule on that
basis is almost impossible.

Loss of common courtesies, I've driven 46 miles to the gliderport, to
find that the tug was down, and offered a poor substitute for what I
wanted. One phone call could have avoided me wasting 4 hours and the
$10 in gas that I could have used somewhere else. (Not restricted to
gliderports, but becoming very common everywhere.) I don't tolerate
that anyplace else, can't think of any reason anyone should.

And that's only dragging a pin over the surface, not even making a
scratch.