Growth in soaring

GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued has
dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight schools
in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 16, 11:28 am, "fred" wrote:
A question often asked is "Why has the glider activity declined?" In
1975 we would make about 150 flights on a Sat & Sun. Nothing like that
now but we had our best year 2006 in a long time. The decline (I
believe) is the competition for disposable time Vegas is many times
larger, Indian Casinos abound. Water craft, off road vehicles etc all
compete.
A well known ride operator told me that 1800gliderrides expected to
sell FOUR MILLION in rides in 2007. All sold on the internet. They
have no operations of their own, but have about 900 domain names, most
of them the same. USE CAUTION. fred

One often cited reason for the decline is cost. But if cost was so
central it would also impact aviation in general. Yet the number of
people professionally employed in flight traing has increased from
under 11,000 in 1998 to over 14,000 in 2004, an increase of 27%
(http://www.census.gov/epcd/susb/2001/us/US611512.HTM). Consequently,
I don't think that cost is a detriment any more today than it was 10
years ago.

Personally, I think there are simply more recreational opportunities
competing for the same people, and they will chose the option that is
most convenient. GA grows because it is very easy to find a commercial
operator who will train you how to fly. Compare that to gliding (worse
for soaring). People in large metropolitan areas have to spend a full
day, at a minimum, to get glider training (providing that they are
lucky enough to be within a 2-3 hour drive of a glider site with
training).

Tom




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Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued has
dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight schools
in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann


Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.

--

Michel TALON

Michel Talon wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued has
dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight schools
in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann


Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.


The vast majority of people can't afford second homes either, but that
business has boomed in the US in recent years.


Shawn

The vast majority of people can't afford second homes either, but that
business has boomed in the US in recent years.

Shawn


Ha!!, maybe we need crooked mortgage lenders to run glider schools
It ain't about the money for the boomer crowd...and I hold out hope as
their knees start to creak more they may become a better source of
newbies. Look at the HG crowd, without them wearing out their landing
gears, soaring would really be hurting for new members. I think the
PG crowd also has potential to be the gateway into sailplanes as
well...but a few years off for that group still.

wrote:
The vast majority of people can't afford second homes either, but that
business has boomed in the US in recent years.

Shawn


Ha!!, maybe we need crooked mortgage lenders to run glider schools

I had that thought too.


It ain't about the money for the boomer crowd...and I hold out hope as
their knees start to creak more they may become a better source of
newbies. Look at the HG crowd, without them wearing out their landing
gears, soaring would really be hurting for new members. I think the
PG crowd also has potential to be the gateway into sailplanes as
well...but a few years off for that group still.

I think we would do well to create the dogma that that is the normal
progression of things in the soaring world.


Shawn

On Apr 10, 9:34 am, (Michel Talon) wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued has
dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight schools
in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann

Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.

There are lots of expensive horses in fields round where I live.
Compared to gliding, riding can be pretty expensive for anyone with
any ambition to compete. Not only are good horses expensive (in the
UK), they eat, need shoing, and so on. There are also plenty of off-
shore boats racing - another expensive hobby.

Michel Talon wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued has
dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight schools
in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann


Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.

A large number of students/pilots (for the full range of ratings)
have also come from foreign countries for training in the USA,
historically. That was reduced greatly after 9/11. This has to have
some effect on the referenced statistics. Some training
establishments have gone out of business as a direct result of the
loss of foreign students.

"The vast majority of people" are not those with whom we are
concerned, nor is it very expensive to get training in a glider up
through the PP-G rating. Familiarity with the opportunity and the
motivation to put aside the other temptations offered by our very
comfortable society are the main factors, IMO. Those who are by no
means "wealthier than average" are today often found to be enjoying
flat screen TV's which cost as much as the training for a private
pilot certificate in a glider.

Get people into a glider and familiarize them with what they can do
as a glider pilot, and you'll recruit them. Watch those commercial
and club operations which continue to thrive and emulate them. This
is not a systemic problem so much as a problem at the local club
grassroots level. People who would otherwise be flying Cessnas, but
think it's too expensive today, should be flying sailplanes.

Show them the pure, eco-friendly freedom of sailplane flight and
you'll hook them in great numbers. Our club needs a couple more
modern two-seaters. I'd bet your does, too. And when you get these
new people, keep them by emphasizing cross-country flying. Don't let
them slip away out of boredom from being tethered to the windsock.


Jack

2 seat gliders are definitely a key issue. Without attractive and available
2 seat gliders, you can't give rides to new blood. There's nothing more
frustrating than inviting some friends to go flying with you on a weekend,
and then having them stand around for 4-5 hours because there are way too
many people trying to share a limited pool of dual gliders.

Mike Schumann

"Jack" wrote in message
...
Michel Talon wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued
has dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight
schools in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann

Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.

A large number of students/pilots (for the full range of ratings) have
also come from foreign countries for training in the USA, historically.
That was reduced greatly after 9/11. This has to have some effect on the
referenced statistics. Some training establishments have gone out of
business as a direct result of the loss of foreign students.

"The vast majority of people" are not those with whom we are concerned,
nor is it very expensive to get training in a glider up through the PP-G
rating. Familiarity with the opportunity and the motivation to put aside
the other temptations offered by our very comfortable society are the main
factors, IMO. Those who are by no means "wealthier than average" are today
often found to be enjoying flat screen TV's which cost as much as the
training for a private pilot certificate in a glider.

Get people into a glider and familiarize them with what they can do as a
glider pilot, and you'll recruit them. Watch those commercial and club
operations which continue to thrive and emulate them. This is not a
systemic problem so much as a problem at the local club grassroots level.
People who would otherwise be flying Cessnas, but think it's too expensive
today, should be flying sailplanes.

Show them the pure, eco-friendly freedom of sailplane flight and you'll
hook them in great numbers. Our club needs a couple more modern
two-seaters. I'd bet your does, too. And when you get these new people,
keep them by emphasizing cross-country flying. Don't let them slip away
out of boredom from being tethered to the windsock.


Jack



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Using on-line Schedulemaster enables our club to maximize use of the
two-place ships. Thanks to this program, club members don't have to
wait for hours to get a ship.

Let people know how inexpensive soaring is. It's not a matter of how
much one can spend on high-end sailplanes ; it's how inexpensive it is
become a soaring pilot that matters. One doesn't have to earn a lot of
money to make that dream come true. Join the Promote soaring Team and
help get the word out. Go to the SSA Publicity Committee Home page
for contact information.

On Apr 10, 7:36 pm, "Mike Schumann" mike-nos...@traditions-
nospam.com wrote:
2 seat gliders are definitely a key issue. Without attractive and available
2 seat gliders, you can't give rides to new blood. There's nothing more
frustrating than inviting some friends to go flying with you on a weekend,
and then having them stand around for 4-5 hours because there are way too
many people trying to share a limited pool of dual gliders.

Mike Schumann

"Jack" wrote in message

...





Michel Talon wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:
GA isn't growing either. The number of student pilot licenses issued
has dropped over 20% in the last few years. One of the leading flight
schools in the Twin Cities (Wings) has just closed as a result.

Mike Schumann

Of course. People practising such activities tend to be wealthier than
the average, and so sincerely believe that cost is not a problem. They
are completely overlooking the fact that they belong to an extremely
small minority, and that for the vast majority of people, aviation
activities are completely cost forbidden.

A large number of students/pilots (for the full range of ratings) have
also come from foreign countries for training in the USA, historically.
That was reduced greatly after 9/11. This has to have some effect on the
referenced statistics. Some training establishments have gone out of
business as a direct result of the loss of foreign students.

"The vast majority of people" are not those with whom we are concerned,
nor is it very expensive to get training in a glider up through the PP-G
rating. Familiarity with the opportunity and the motivation to put aside
the other temptations offered by our very comfortable society are the main
factors, IMO. Those who are by no means "wealthier than average" are today
often found to be enjoying flat screen TV's which cost as much as the
training for a private pilot certificate in a glider.

Get people into a glider and familiarize them with what they can do as a
glider pilot, and you'll recruit them. Watch those commercial and club
operations which continue to thrive and emulate them. This is not a
systemic problem so much as a problem at the local club grassroots level.
People who would otherwise be flying Cessnas, but think it's too expensive
today, should be flying sailplanes.

Show them the pure, eco-friendly freedom of sailplane flight and you'll
hook them in great numbers. Our club needs a couple more modern
two-seaters. I'd bet your does, too. And when you get these new people,
keep them by emphasizing cross-country flying. Don't let them slip away
out of boredom from being tethered to the windsock.

Jack

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