Growth in soaring

Mike Schumann wrote:
I started soaring about 3 years ago. I'm in my mid 50s and have had my
private pilots license for about 10 years. I ended up flying gliders after
having a heart bypass that made it too much of a hassle to keep my medical.

Flying gliders is a lot more fun for me than power flying ever was. I
totally agree that middle aged pilots are a big opportunity for the sport.
I tried to get my son interested in gliders, but he was much more interested
in power flying. I suspect that in 10 - 15 years, he'll get bored with $100
hamburger runs and discover the thrill of gliding too.


Been soaring since getting out of school in 1972. With a real job I was
finally in a position to get myself to and pay for flying lessons,
knowing then only that I wanted to fly in the worst sort of way (well,
philosophically, anyhow, heh heh). Parental encouragement was
non-existent; the desire came from within, from I know not where. Had
never heard of soaring, and '72 was pre-hang glider boom. Wound up
taking soaring lessons because of my work room-mate/cheaper/easier than
power lessons, and...this to me seemed key then and remains so
today...deep down I knew I wanted to fly for sheer personal enjoyment,
since my coke bottles precluded military/commercial avenues (i.e. could
not fly for a living, at least in any way that I could then see). Hang
gliding never attracted me due (initially) to absence of 3-axis control,
then 'landing gear' concerns (in my 20's!), and ultimately because
soaring was and continues to be so much of a challenge and fun.

My working observation is soaring attracts those who seek it...for
whatever reason. Some, like me, simply seek the challenge and rewards
of some sort of 'acceptable flight,' and in that sense are easily
identifiable. Age seems to hardly be a factor for these types, but
opportunity certainly is. Others don't seem to know what they seek
until after blundering into it somehow. I've no idea how to
attract/market-to these types, beyond keeping one's antennae wiggling,
and assisting where possible. Again, opportunities...

YMMV.

Regards,
Bob W.