The truth is, folks, I havent got the foggiest idea what will increase
numbers in gliding, I can only assume, estimate and evaluate. The only
thing that is certain -and I repeat- "whatever we have been doing has
led us to this point, if we keep doing it, it will likely to continue on
that route".
Thus what we HAVE BEEN doing in terms of has resulted in a declining
sport, keep doing it and gliding WILL die.
So the majority of my posts on this are fairly extreme, in the knowledge
that, if implemented, they can only be wrong in hindsight.
The moderators of the sport will pull the veiws back to an acheivable
blend of what can actually be done.
When I am blessed with the time to visit my club (commercial Sportavia)
I dream of flying the flash ships and always have. Everyone
contemplating gliding does. 20 years back when I first walked in there
it was a dream to fly an LS-3, then a 4. They were the hot ships of the
day. Achieving that dream just recently in no way diminished it, yet I
can now dream of an ASH or a Antares or whichever.
It is the same passion in any sport that forms a large part of the
motivation to continue it. Should you twist a throttle you will dream of
racing in a GP, crossing the alps or looping off a jump. Push an
accellerator for fun and your dreams are of Gran Prix F1, rally,
Bathurst. Sail a dingy and your a lone round-the-worlder, olympic skiff
hero or Sydney to Hobart winner. When first interested in a sport or
hobby, NOBODY dreams " I might purchase a 35 year old (insert mode of
fun) and operate it gently around the neighborhood, wow, won't that be
everything to me" C'mon -YOU can always go do that after your dreams mature.
This has NOTHING to do with ones ability to fly the damn things!
Usually, in fact, the reverse applies, AND there is a safety element to
putting low hours pilots into later (safer) aircraft. A lesser skilled
pilot will always win the day no matter what they fly, there is no need
to feel threatened or jealous.
Perhaps that could be part of why newbies fall out so quickly after
solo. The magic of flight is still happening, sure, in the club trainer
or the pog single, but the dreams of flying the current shiny dart are
not being forfilled.
Look at my own experience - how may people fly LS-4 out of Tocumwal?
They are the most popular glider to hire. They LOOK like a flash, new
ship. They FEEL like an armchair. Your there, rocket man, manic
stuntman, intrepid explorer, whatever the dream was.
The only way to make an LS-6, 8 or 10 (DG800, ASG-29, whatever)
affordable in 50 years (as has been suggested) is to produce bucket
loads of them now, and create the infrastructure to keep that production
rate forever, including updates in dream technology. Hence the analogy
previosly to motor vehicles.
Doing this will expose these modern ships to more punters, creating more
interest, on it goes.
Please note some may find this affronting - busting your guts at the
local club level to spend an afternoon flying types- and I am pulling on
the firesuit as I type this. The cornerpins of our sport are to be
admired, and I do- but guys, it can't continue. YOU can, IT -the sport-
can't!
Regardless of what occurs, there will always be an increasing interest
in "antiques" as there is with cars, bikes, boats and all other
aircraft. I am not degrading that in any way, but in every other sport,
these older forms of transport, once embraced as vintage, become
EXPENSIVE. Sorry, you can have your cake, eat it, but only once at that
price!
Germany, Holland -what on earth are they doing over there to have such a
great participant rate in Gliding? Have they better access to equipment?
(yes, but because they need it with the numbers -"build it and they will
come") Do they have better weather? (shaking head in dismay) Is it
easier to fly because of restrictions? (again -shaking head) Have they
got better outlanding options (oh please, stop me!)
So we live in the best part of the world to glide, we have just as good
options for attaining equipment, with current communications and
transport, its a world market.
Yet most of the high hour/distance flights are made in Australia by
oversea's pilots. Thats crazy. The commercial operations here should be
getting the tourists as cream, not bread and butter.
The participant rate is high in Europe because the individual dream is
possible.
Backing away (shaking, mumbling, thirsty) from the rant, if I rock up to
the field dreaming of flying a shiny dart and end up in a Blanik well,
truthfully, I love it as I am hooked. I would prefer to fly a rattling
donation tin in winter than even sit and watch whilst others walk out
the "white razor blades of fun" in glorios sunshine. The people required
to expand this sport by acheiving those production numbers are not so
tolerant.
so......
Consolidate the clubs. IF it is a cycle, they will re-form later.
Sell the aging stuff to the stalwarts, create interest in them by
specific vintage racing, antique cross country regatta's, whatever.
Use the funds to get the newbies into shiny stuff as soon as possible,
to validate their dreams.
Manipulate the media to our overall advantage, in good times and bad.
ADVERTISE -everyone can do this, at every level.
Take your old soaring magazines to the local chiropractor, Dentist or
GP's waiting rooms and leave them there -the place is full of people
contemplating the meaning of life, sitting about reading WHO and Womans
Day. How depressing.
Don't ever fear change, its inevitable. Try to just manipulate the
change enough fot it to be an advantage
Love and sunlight to all
Wayne
From: Wayne Carter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
When we drool over a 50+, dream of a 70+ and imagine a possible 100+ L/D
ship -all quite feasable- we must face reality that the technology used in
our sport is at the expensive forfront of aviation design. When this
technology is safely available to the public we buy it, but there must be a
large base of consumers to keep it economically viable, thus the increase
in participants is essential. When the old ships are damaged, and there are
few replacements, even your club will go down, as a new ship will cost even
more, due to declining sales. Can you imagine what the cost of the first
new model Holden off the line is? $B! -yet we pay only $20k+. Although our
own lifespans will see gliding easily accessable, our kids and grandkids
will not unless the figures are changed.
With due respect, that's nonsense, Wayne. The average age of my Club's
trainers was about 30+ years. The cost of the new one (21801) is about the
same (in real terms) as the oldest one (13008) was when it was new. If you
go back to the old AGs you'll find Blaniks being offered for around 5000
pounds at a time when I earned 1300 pounds a year. The absolute frontiers
of the technology are now well over $1m but very few could ever afford the
frontiers and we still can't. Only one Glasflugel 604 ever came to
Australia. One day an Eta will come.
Gliding is less attractive to people now than it was when aviation was an
exciting new technology and all club-based sports are declining currently.
The cycle will move on though. There are already signs of this. New
trainers are being bought in increasing numbers, new single-seaters are
appearing. The national prosperity of the last 10-15 years has come through
to gliding and it will experience a mild renewal of popularity and
accessibility for the next 5-10 years. After that, who knows?
Regards,
Graeme
Safe, Wayne
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