Looking at an old Ercoupe today...

"RST Engineering" wrote:
One of the problems is that you have the same mindset
that 95% of Americans have. "We have to drive them
over there."

But since most Americans aren't just sitting around doing nothing 98% of
the time, *is* a real consideration. Sometimes 14-year-olds have
wealthy, retired grandparents that are able and willing to spend
half-a-day or more to the scenario Jay described, but many do not have
that luxury.

In the first place, if you tell me that Greyhound (or ilk) doesn't go
between Iowa City and Muscatine, I'd find it hard to believe. Or other
public transportation.

I don't know where you are, but I've yet to see a sailport in an area of
town that is on any Greyhound route. There are 3 sailports each within
1-2 hours drive (in a car) from me, but the nearest bus stop to any of
them would still leave me 5-8 miles away from the facility. Most
gliderports aren't right in the middle of town on the bus route.

In the second place, if you don't have to make the trip and wait around for
the lesson to be over, Becca can get multiple flights in a single day. When
I was in the glider game, I saw young kids (who seem to be much more
adaptive and quicker on the pickup than old geezers) solo in gliders at the
end of their second day.

Third and last, I'm sure that you are in the Iowa Hotel Club (or whatever
you call it). If members have a swapsie policy (you stay at my place and I
stay at your place swap) then Becca could do ten flights in two days with an
overnighter in between relatively easily.

And then what? Even if Becca could get her Private Pilot Glider in those
two days (doubtful, and that's not an insult to Becca, Jay), if the
place is that far away and Becca doesn't drive yet and Jay doesn't have
time to take her there and back, how does she fly often enough to
maintain her skills?

I'm just saying that it boils down to the bottom line of almost
everything -- is it convenient? affordable? time-permitting?

Most of us will make sacrifices in any or all of those areas to do
something we're passionate about, but it's also not uncommon for any one
of those considerations to be significant enough to make it un-do-able.

I don't know where you are, but I've yet to see a sailport in an area of
town that is on any Greyhound route. There are 3 sailports each within
1-2 hours drive (in a car) from me, but the nearest bus stop to any of
them would still leave me 5-8 miles away from the facility. Most
gliderports aren't right in the middle of town on the bus route.

And most gliderport operators, sensing money in the air for glider rental,
would probably be thrilled to give Becca a ride from the bus stop to the
airport.



And then what? Even if Becca could get her Private Pilot Glider in those
two days (doubtful, and that's not an insult to Becca, Jay), if the
place is that far away and Becca doesn't drive yet and Jay doesn't have
time to take her there and back, how does she fly often enough to
maintain her skills?

Nobody said anything about Becca getting her gliderguider private in two
days. As a matter of fact, impossible. Forty hours is forty hours and even
with minimal pottybreak downtime, forty hours in forty-eight hours is nigh
impossible. However, string eight or ten of the twofers together over
summer break you'll be able to come damned close.



I'm just saying that it boils down to the bottom line of almost
everything -- is it convenient? affordable? time-permitting?

It can be made so.

Jim