What should a soaring club do at an airshow

Bob C wrote:

And most importantly, don't underestimate the effect
you have on the kids! These are the people who will
keep us flying 20 years from now. Convince them they
can fly before the naysayers brainwash them into thinking
flying is too dangerous. I often do school presentations.
They are fun and I really believe some of these kids
will become pilots one day partly as a result of this
influence.

I think the posts in this thread may be unduely pessimistic about the
effect of airshow displays. Sure, people don't show up the next weekend
for rides, but it may have an effect over a longer time period (though
too small to notice).

But I think Bob Carlton really makes the important point, which is that
airshows are a way to educate people (especially kids) about soaring. I
have displayed a glider at maybe a show a year over the last 6 years.
I presume the people who attend airshows are somewhat more savvy about
aviation in general, and soaring in particular, than your average person
on the street. Yet many airshow attendees apparently never have never
heard of gliding. They are amazed that there is such a thing as a plane
without an engine, and have no idea how such a contraption might be
launched into the air.

With such a lack of knowledge, it isn't surprsing that soaring isn't
very popular. If soaring were as well known to the general population
as say, scuba diving, I bet we would have a lot more soaring pilots.
Currently, there could be many potential pilots who go through life
without ever knowing about soaring.

I do disagree with Bob Carlton about one thing. At an airshow, you have
the noisy planes with smoke coming from their wingtips, and then the
quiet glider with smoke coming form the wingtips. For my money, if you
are going to be watching a plane do aerobatic maneuvers, you want it to
be as noisy as possible. I find glider aerobatics pretty boring from
the ground. Also, I think airshow attendees who are not familiar with
gliding may get the impression that it consists of crazy people who get
towed into the air and then fly upside down, which may actually hurt our
recruitment rather than help it.

I may be getting away from the point; however, is growing the sport the only
reason we should attempt to keep soaring in the "public eye?"

The local EAA Chapter have been very interested and supportive in my HP-14
restoration. Isn't there value in publicly showing that we are part of the
greater aviation community?

Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder

Wayne Paul wrote:
I may be getting away from the point; however, is growing the sport the only
reason we should attempt to keep soaring in the "public eye?"

The local EAA Chapter have been very interested and supportive in my HP-14
restoration. Isn't there value in publicly showing that we are part of the
greater aviation community?

A positive perception of GA and soaring in particular is a great reason
to keep us in the public eye. If the only time the public perceives us
is when we crash or generate noise complaints, there will be little
support when airspace or airports are threatened.

Shawn

Greg Arnold wrote:
Also, I think airshow attendees who are not familiar with
gliding may get the impression that it consists of crazy
people who get towed into the air and then fly upside
down, which may actually hurt our recruitment rather
than help it.

I agree. To those who are not familiar with flying *and* even to some
who are familiar with powered flight but NOT with gliders, flying
something without an engine seems crazy enough, let alone doing
*aerobatics* in such a thing!

I think there should be glider representation at airshows ... just one
or two aerotows so that people can see that an aircraft without an
engine doesn't just fall to the ground the minute you release from the
tow, and that it can make a normal, controlled pattern and landing on a
designated runway. I work at a flight school (powered), and it's amazing
that even some CFIs think a glider pilot has little or no choice about
where to land, and they can't imagine making every approach without the
option to do a go-round! JMO, but I think there is substantial potential
for soaring by just educating power airplane people, especially those
who are instructing.

I have been especially frustrated the last couple of years at an annual
local airshow that focuses on aircraft that played a part in the wars,
without *a single mention* of or even a display of *pictures* of
gliders. I have cordially brought this to their attention, and they
wholeheartedly agree that gliders played a vital part in the war and
deserve a rightful place alongside the powered classics. But despite
their lip service and more than one offer on my part to do the research
and legwork so that appropriate glider representation could be included,
I have never been given the green light to even just bring them
something to consider.

Bottom line, many really don't take it seriously if there isn't a fan on
the nose.