Emilis
I agree with your thoughts on this. Your comments are the
type of considered response I had hope for when posting my 2c. Lets
not close our mind to anything that may help the sport endure.
Thanks.
> Thanks to Michael Texler for the statistical summary on the accident
> risk in gliding. And others for thoughts on the thread.
>
> My 2c:
> - Xtreme sports are indeed popular, they have a large viewing
> audience. But I believe participation numbers are small. And for some
> (eg skiboard acrobatics) quite sophisticated indoor venues (artificial
> wave machines) are built to get the audience close enough to the
> action (yo).(dusch,dusch)
>
> Parachuting already have such an Xtreme off-shoot - the people who
> dive down to chute at lake surface level, with one toe on the water
> surface, and so on.
>
> - Xtreme gliding does indeed have a place in the sport's repetoire of
> activities. Mainly I expect for the public as a one time experience.
> In comparison, formal aerobatics will also in the public arena be seen
> as 'boring'.
>
> Similarly self launch gliders have a place to offer the 'hire & fly'
> option which we currrently lose to GA & AUF.
>
> - The public perception of gliding as 'boring' I suspect is
> inevitable: we are whether we like it or not the senior aviation sport
> (75th anniversary of gliding in Australia in 2004), the main
> population are OFTTH, and we are seen as a safe activity in comparison
> to other sport aviation;
>
> while not seen as safe in relation to mass activities (driving,
> boating, horse riding, lacrosse) who kill many people each year
> without being Xtreme.
>
> - we OFTTH are indeed a barrier to young people joining. A note from a
> Canadian peer tells of his son quitting their gliding club 'cause
> everyone is dad's age.
>
> - When I talk about gliding participation, I don't include all the
> fair weather participants the above attracts.
>
> I'm focussed on the plight of getting & retaining long term committed
> (or ought to be) type glider pilots. And I can see nothing attractive
> about the sport for them.
>
> South Australia has 'limitation of liability legislation for
> recreation providers' but I suspect the complex paper trail, cost and
> lack of legal precedent makes it difficult to know if this takes some
> burden off the sport's volunteers, or just nails their hides to the
> wall even more effectively. And my views about the sport's hierachy
> and its effect on volunteer motivation and effectiveness are well
> enough known for me not to need to go on about that.
>
> Hence my view that we now don't any longer have the people numbers
> needed to underpin all these varied types of gliding. Potentially the
> financially attractive parts may be hived off to businesses. Part 149
> may mean GA & AUF undertaking gliding AEF, Xtreme, holiday courses,
> pre-solo training, aerobatic courses. With public risk (from kiosk
> sales to flight accident) divested as well.
>
> This then leaves the remnant volunteer gliding core to get on with
> flying. Because whenever it has previously been suggested to the
> traditional sport to take on one of these off shoot forms of gliding,
> the suggestion is met with deafening silence. -- Emilis Prelgauskas
> B.ARCH ARAIA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
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>
ANDREW WRIGHT
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