• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Why we Fly

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Topaz

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2005
Messages
15,993
Location
Orange County, California
Moderator Note: Forked this off from the Design an Airplane! thread, as it was getting pretty seriously off-topic for that one.

---------------------

It's very interesting that soaring/gliding has remained such a fringe sport. I do think a lot of it has to do with the 'lack of welcome' that is the case at many soaring centres. I recall a discussion a couple of years ago where Topaz mentioned that Lake Elsinore Club has a duty roster for members to be the 'welcomer' to any new folks that wander in, but that is great rarity. Even as a seasoned aviator I have often ended up at airfields where soaring is taking place, wandered over and had a look around and no-one has approached me, in fact more a case of them turning away. When I have made approaches about the possibilities of getting a fly the responses have been non-committal and often deliberately off-putting. Perhaps my taking a place in the queue would increase the delay before their next flight, who knows. And I used to be a GFA member and even completed my Silver C about thirty years ago so it's not as if I am reticent around the scene. Pretty blondes probably fare better though, I will admit ...

I think gliding/soaring clubs would do better if they had regular and well promoted open days.

Sad, but true. I've said this oft before, and I've run into it myself. Even a particular soaring FBO once. Walked in and had to cough to get the attention of the person behind the desk, who was sitting four feet away.

And the need to have a crew that can not participate in the flight.

All you need is a tow pilot. I think I've done more wing-down takeoffs than ones with wing-runners. A self-launcher obviates the need for crew completely.

Single seat ULs can be a family activity. There is no age limitation for learning so children over 10 can reasonably participate. I know of others much younger that have experianced flight in ways that I chose not to discribe here, but even without the flight experiance the family participates because they are welcomed to the flying field without the 10 foot chain link barbed wire with coded gate required for airport access. The idea that short flights are more common also helps keep spectators involved. One still needs to have that reason to purchase and for ULs that is frequently to sell the idea to others or to participate in the learning to fly or in teaching others and exposing them to the thril of flight.

I wish we saw more of this. Autoreply describes the soaring scene in Europe, where the families come out, picnic while the husband is up flying, socialize, and generally come together. Over here, every UL and soaring operation I've seen seems to be the place where the husband goes to get away from the wife and kids. It ends up a bunch of middle-aged guys and their bachelor pad at the airport. When I was membership chair for the LESC, I tried to push for more family events, but the membership didn't seem to want it. They just wanted to hang out with the guys.

It's no wonder we have trouble with family acceptance of sport aviation over here. Why should the wife and kids get behind something that takes dad away from them on the weekends?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top