Dear Fellow Sailplane Racers

OK, I'll bite. Maybe it's a good idea to have a better airing of
views involving the RC election.

I don't think you can "legislate safety" either, in that nothing
we do will eliminate all accidents. But I sure do think that rules can
contribute to a safe or dangerous flying environment. I think that
rules should be thoughtfully structured so that pilots don't have to
choose between safety and points as much as is possible.

The proposition "you can't legislate safety" is ludicrous. Does
anyone honestly think that seat belt laws, speed limits, crash-safety
standards and so forth have had NO effect on the car accident rate? Of
course they have. Do you think we should get rid of the rule mandating
a parachute, get rid of the 2 minutes before start (a "safety
legislation to avoid 130 mph in the start gate), get rid of the 50 foot
minimum for gate finishes, get rid of the ban on blind-flying
instruments, the 25 point airport bonus, etc., etc., all rules that
"compensate for pilots' lack of judgment"? Of course not. We
quite wisely "legislated safety" in all these areas and it helped.

Any rule has effects on fun, costs, practically, fairness, and safety.
They all need to be considered together. We can't abdicate
responsibility and just hide behind a slogan. And we cannot ignore that
safety is an important issue. Masak, Carpetyan, Bowman... We lose one
every other year or so. Is this inevitable? Do we just throw up our
hands, blame their "judgment" and go on as usual? Is this really a
"waste of time?" Or is carefully thinking through the safety
implications of our rules about the most important thing we can do?

The pros and cons of both sides of the finish line vs. gate have been
argued at length, and I don't think this is the place to start it up
again. We have a long winter ahead! Both have safety pros and cons, as
well as other pros and cons.

Where do I stand? As an individual pilot, I prefer the cylinder for
reasons made pretty clear in my articles and posts over the years. (My
current favorite is a cylinder followed by an optional "show
finish" for fun and spectators.)

As a potential RC member though, I don't think one should campaign
with a dead-set opinion on issues like this - as well as the other
issues facing us like the nature of sports class.

I think the RC job is to represent pilot's opinions, analyze the
issues in more depth than most pilots have the time for, and conduct a
thoughtful discussion, listening carefully. If I think X is right but
90% of pilots think X is wrong, my job is to convince them, and listen
carefully and perhaps be convinced myself, not try to get elected and
then ram it down their throats. That's the attitude I will bring to the
RC, and I hope it is the attitude that prevails no matter who is
elected.

John Cochrane
BB