How dangerous is soaring?

On Oct 31, 12:51 pm, jeplane wrote:
Not sure I agree with Ramy entirely...

How many traffic accidents have you seen through the years while
driving to the gliderport?

In that same time frame, how many gliders acidents have you seen at
that gliderport?

Richard
Phoenix, AZ

On Oct 30, 5:50 pm, Ramy wrote:
" No matter how safe you think you are, the risk is still
significantly higher than most normal activities (such as driving). "

Not as many road accidents as I have seen at the gliderport!!

Lets face it guys Gliding is Dangerous.
Very Dangerous if you start to push the envelope of your experience
and comfort level.

I have lost over the years more than 10 friends or acquaintances.
When I raced sailboats or windsurfed I never lost any!

This summer was a real bad one for me loosing a very close flying
buddy Geoff Loyns, then Steve Fossett goes missing and now Stew.
All I knew through soaring, hanging at the airport or conversing on
here and emails.

I love soaring and think it has given me some of the best memories of
my life.
But as I look at my young son I am drawn between the selfish urge to
mental floss with soaring and the reality of life.
Running a Start up company with employees that rely on my breathing
and working is another factor.

I will probably keep flying but in a different way than I used to.
My flying will be less risky and not as aggressive as previous years.
I want to also explore other sides of soaring that I have not
experienced as much, such as enjoying the moment more than chasing
after distance/speed.

Don't get me wrong Soaring is an amazing sport but you have to realize
it is dangerous.
It is the only sport I know where if you screw up you will probably
die!!
That is a sobering thought for sure.
Any one who tells you otherwise either is on crack or has not been
around the sport for a long time.
Just hang around the glider port long enough and you WILL loose flying
friends.

It is a fact most people die in bed smelling of urine and lysol,
So the trade off here is gliding or pressing the button above your bed
screaming for the nurse to change your bed pan!!

On that note I will stop waffling..

Regards

Al