Cheap sailplanes

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Ah, you really don't need to be X-C pilot to teach the fundamentals of
flight. In fact, so long as an instructor is dedicated to his art, that
is, teaching, he can take most students quite far without any X-C
experience of his own.

Is he a better instructor for having done it himself? Of course, and so
I would encourage him to expand his own horizons. But I wouldn't be too
hasty to disqualify him because he has little or no X-C experience...

The next logical step would be to say that if you don't have at least
100 land outs, how can you really expect to teach someone else the
finer points of field selection and managing poor choices to a safe,
full stop?

Bella Karoli never did a full release move on the uneven bars, of that
I'm sure. But there were few who could exceed his mastery of the skill.
And his ability to communicate it effectively to others.


There's something about being 300 Km out over uninviting terrain that puts a
completely different perspective on the art of flying gliders. An
instructor with that experience teaches even the basics better than one
without it. He knows WHY you have to fly perfectly coordinated with perfect
airspeed control.

Bill Daniels