How do we inspire pilots to truly take up cross country soaring ?

Some great ideas being discussed. Most require a "sparkplug" or two and a lot of dedication and time, and take a while to show positive results. Often those who are most interested in XC and competition are the least inclined to organize and drive these efforts although they're quite happy to support them.

Some years ago there was an annual intro-to-XC event held at Philadelphia Glider Council's facility. Classroom sessions (IIRC, Roy McMaster came down for it) followed by several task options with mentors, each of whom flew with 1-3 "students". A couple of students with a little more experience had Doug Jacobs as their mentor one year! Several of us who had been volunteered as mentors tried to convince the organizers that we could benefit more from flying with Doug than our students could with us.

Yes, obviously the participants had to have access to their own gliders, but many (most?) private owners don't fly cross country that much so this effort was targeted at them. One weekend enjoyed particularly good weather, which allowed us to get out on course and gain some real experience, including students getting low. Weather is obviously a huge imponderable when planning ahead.

I don't know what the stats were regarding effectiveness of the program but the Governor's Cup--a season-long competition around common courses in the PA/NJ/NY area anchored by half a dozen gliderports including PGC--took off about then and was a big draw for pilots of widely varying abilities.

One thing to keep in mind: it's not just exposing people to soaring and then converting them. I honestly don't know what the attrition rates are but we seem to lose a lot of pilots who are active for a while and then drop away. Having been out of soaring three times over the years, I can say it can be tough to stay with it no matter how much you enjoy it. It's expensive, takes an inordinate amount of time, isn't always family friendly, and is a lot of work. Yes, the truly motivated will persevere. It's the mortal rest of us who are sometimes diverted, not always by choice.

I've resumed soaring three times after lapses of 5, 3, and nearly 4 years and it's pretty daunting. HUGE thanks to Hank Nixon (already lauded for his work) and Erik Mann (heavily involved in the PGC experiment and driver of the G-Cup) who have kept in touch even when I wasn't flying, aided enormously when I undertook comebacks on my own, and provided the spark (shove) to get me moving the last time when I needed encouragement. The days of "paying your dues" by working your way up the ladder painfully slowly and "if someone really wants to fly badly enough, they'll find a way" are long past. There are too many other demands for our time/money in today's world.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.