Wanting to start a new glider club

At 07:09 25 April 2018, John Foster wrote:
On Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 12:39:57 AM UTC-6,
wrote:
This is all cart before the horse stuff. To start a club the first
thing=
you need to establish is a group of committed individuals with
shared
goal=
s and sufficient funds and competences. Then, before expending
effort and
=
money, you need to thing long and hard about how you are going
to train
mem=
bers and keep attracting more new members to cover the high
drop out rate
t=
hat seems endemic in gliding. Then the group needs to judge
whether you
ar=
e going to have the human and financial resources to cover all the
other
st=
uff involved in running a gliding operation - maintenance,
regulatory,
mana=
gement etc. Then you need a site. Then you can decide on what
hardware
is=
most suitable.

Thanks for your thoughts. How would you suggest I go about
finding a
"comm=
itted group of individuals with shared goals and sufficient funds
and
compe=
tences" in the middle of an Indian Reservation? What would you
suggest
wou=
ld be minimum "sufficient funds"? What would you suggest would
be a
minimu=
m of "committed individuals"? I'm interested in your thoughts
and ideas.
=
I'm very excited about the potential for this, and when the time
comes to
=
literally get this project off the ground, I'd like to already have a lot
o=
f interest in the concept in the area, and a large potential audience
to
dr=
aw from.


Think i would want to find out why the previous soaring operation in
Kalispell folded - could be a number of reasons - but may give you
an indicator as to if a club in the area is a viable option i.e do you
have the critical mass of population to draw from? You certainly have
the weather conditions for 1000km plus flights in northern Montana.
Has someone stated earlier you may be better off forming a
syndicate of licensed pilots to buy a self launching sailplane.

On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 4:56:24 PM UTC-4, John Foster wrote:
Hi everyone

I just started glider flying lessons and I'M HOOKED!!! Unfortunately, the closest glider club is 3:45 hr drive away. I also live in an area that looks to me to be perfect for ridge soaring, with a range of mountains facing the west that runs for at least 85 miles, and possibly longer. We have an airport close by with a 4800' runway, about 2-3 miles west of the mountains. A friend is a CFI and A&P, and is interested in getting his "glider ticket" as well. There are a few other folks in the area that have expressed varying interest in flying gliders as well. But as it currently stands, no one (except one possible individual that I haven't yet talked to) in the area actually flies gliders. My friend and I have talked about the possibility of starting a local club. What would be the best way to go about doing this?

Excellent idea on forming a new club! My friend and fellow glider pilot did just that about 16 months ago and things have exceeded our expectations. The winch idea may be the way to go, it all depends on your location and airport facilities.
The tow plane may be more readily available than you might think. Try working out a tow contract or agreement with a local power pilot that may have a plane suitable for towing. You may find people willing to buy gliders and lease them back to the club. That is exactly what we did here in Vero Beach,Florida.
We may just be the fastest growing club in the country and we have big plans for the future. Check us out at Treasure Coast Soaring, and good luck on forming a new club. Bob

Lethbridge Soaring Club operates most decent Saturdays out of Cowley
Alberta
with a Roman winch. Great winch, but after sale support thin.

lethbridgesoaring.ca

Check with us and come up for a Saturday. We also have flying weeks which
might justify the drive from Ronan. We are adding instructors and hope to
offer
more flying days during the week.

Unfortunately this year the field is still under so much snow we haven't
even
been able to get to the hangar (built two years ago).

We know all about starting a glider club.

On Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 3:09:27 AM UTC-4, John Foster wrote:
How would you suggest I go about finding a "committed group of individuals with shared goals and sufficient funds and competences" in the middle of an Indian Reservation?

Your location in a sparsely populated area is the key obstacle.

Look at the history of Glider ops in similar locations.

Ronan MT is located in Lake County which had 28,947 people in 2013. It has a per capita income of $20,164

Salida CO is located in Chaffee which had 17,809 in 2010. It has a per capita income of $19,430

As of three years ago, there were several self-launch gliders based in Salida. The availability of a privately owned towplane for tows was uncertain.

Can others suggest other comparable glider operations?

Hey John,
Scott here, born in Bozeman, class of '79 Helena High.
I belong to a club here in Oklahoma, Operating out of Hinton Municipal Airport
located about 45 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Just wishing you the best of luck,
Scott N8915

Ask yourself the question, do you want to fly, or do you want to train? Those are really two different kinds of clubs. Training is not to be taken lightly. A model that might get you going sooner is to establish a club for flying, not trying to start an ab-initio flight school at the same time. Send people to one of the excellent commercial operators to get licenses, and focus your club around flying. That still means a towplane, some gliders of better performance than a 2-33, enough instructors for checkout, and most of all one or two single seaters to share. Gliders like Pegasus, ASW19, discus, etc., split 3-4 ways are remarkably cost effective.

John Cochrane

Hi Scott,

I just looked at Hinton Muni on google maps and didn't see a single
glider trailer.Â* Are you flying out of another airport?

On 4/25/2018 5:58 PM, Scott Williams wrote:
Hey John,
Scott here, born in Bozeman, class of '79 Helena High.
I belong to a club here in Oklahoma, Operating out of Hinton Municipal Airport
located about 45 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Just wishing you the best of luck,
Scott N8915

--
Dan, 5J

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 8:04:21 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
Hi Scott,

I just looked at Hinton Muni on google maps and didn't see a single
glider trailer.Â* Are you flying out of another airport?

On 4/25/2018 5:58 PM, Scott Williams wrote:
Hey John,
Scott here, born in Bozeman, class of '79 Helena High.
I belong to a club here in Oklahoma, Operating out of Hinton Municipal Airport
located about 45 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Just wishing you the best of luck,
Scott N8915

--
Dan, 5J

Last time I was at Hinton, the gliders and tow plane were in the hangar (no other aircraft). Could be when the image was taken. Winter may have found gliders in trailers in hangar. Summer, gliders rigged in hangar and trailers out side.

Frank Whiteley

Hi Dan,
the goggle maps image is from about three years ago,
but there are two enclosed trailers and four or five empty open frame trailers,
just south of the hangar.
Frank is right, 5-6 gliders in trailers inside and 5-6 assembled gliders plus tow plane.
Hinton airport is very supportive of our club!

Good lift,
Scott.

Thanks!

On 4/26/2018 7:55 PM, Scott Williams wrote:
Hi Dan,
the goggle maps image is from about three years ago,
but there are two enclosed trailers and four or five empty open frame trailers,
just south of the hangar.
Frank is right, 5-6 gliders in trailers inside and 5-6 assembled gliders plus tow plane.
Hinton airport is very supportive of our club!

Good lift,
Scott.

--
Dan, 5J