[zamuro]

The recent thread on declining HG number got me thinking in a little poll to check for possible reasons.

[BBJCaptain]

There is one missing!!!


Did life (work, family) get in the way?

[Avnav8r]

Hey,

I believe that some pilots leave the sport because they try to transition to a glider that is above their skill levels. I have seen it happen way too many times...a pilot is flying a great glider that he is dialed into and decides that he is going to fly Glider X because the guy who got him into the sport is flying that glider. Another factor-flying a glider above a pilot's skill set in conditions he is not ready to handle in the new glider. About ten years ago, I remember a pilot that flew nearly every weekend at Lookout and eventually moved to the Flight Park. He transitioned from a beginner-intermediate glider on which he did very well to a topless glider that he had struggles. He eventually tent-pegged a landing that scared him completely out of the sport. So, I believe that "biting off more than you can fly" is one of the bigger reasons people leave our sport.

John Stokes

[zamuro]

[Manta_Dreaming]

"You have not flown a HG in 2 years or more because"

Yet they still read the HG board. So they haven't really left the sport but are on a sabbatical.

[Fred Wilson]

[CAL]

[CAL]

[Hangskier]

You are polling pilots or acp on hang gliding.org. Do you think that a pilot that has left the sport would be on hanggliding.org?

[Eteamjack]

No one mentioned us Baby Boomers. I have 33 yr's and even though I still love it
it takes more effort and will to head for flying site.

[zamuro]

[sg]

Added the option... but the poll will already be skewed.
I cant change peoples votes.

[Fred Wilson]

SG:

Can non member visitors vote and have that show up in the poll results?

Also, like I said:
A-OK with me for you to replace my fly-in poll on the home page with this one.

Tnx 4 all. Fried Ed.

[BBJCaptain]

[soaring]

Rather than the excuse "Life got in the way" I think we need an option called "Hang gliding got in its own way"

The problem with HG is

- it's always an "all day thing".
- it's weather dependant

For some hang gliding is their entire life. They always manage to go flying.

I have a 2 year old girl, a wife, an old house. It obviously all takes up some time. I think a have only missed very few flying days because of that. On top of that I have a job that only allows me to fly on weekends. So there are only 52 (or 104) possible flying days per year. And every winter you can scrap 2-3 months because of horrible weather.

In reality, if you actually have other things to do and other interests and the weather doesn't play nice for weeks because it's soarable on a thursday and you're on the job.......well, sometimes you just don't fly for a while.

Here in Denmark the weather on weekends may allow me to go flying 15-20 weekends per year. That still leaves 30-35 with no possibility to go flying.

And sometimes you have planned other activities 4 weeks ahead. So sometimes you actually have other plans on a perfectly good flying day. But you simply just can't wait till the very last moment to plan your weekends. Otherwise you'll have nothing planned simply because next weekend may just be one of the 15 where you can fly. And that will spoil the 35 other weekends where you COULD have planned stuff but didn't.

And that's just the circumstances when hang gliding. It's not your fault, it's not the kids fault. That's just the way hang gliding is unless your are a free spirit with no obligations who live on a flying site

My suggestion:

Get a beginners glider or a true intermediate which you can handle even if you haven't flown for a while. If you are so lucky that you get 5 weekends in a row for flying you may wish you had a "better" glider. Well, live with it Because you may not get to fly for the next 3 months and then you'll want a glider that you can handle. Even when the condintions aren't perfect. Otherwise you'll skip that flying day and eventually you dont fly at all.

[FormerFF]

Soren pretty well nailed it. Case in point: me. I haven't flown since September. I was working on getting my tow rating by going up every other Thursday, when the department I work in hired a junior level person who was going to much of the detail work I'd been doing, and I was needed to train her, so no more days off for the next three months. My wife was training for a marathon, and I was her support crew. She did her long runs on Saturdays, and was wiped out on Sundays. This went on through mid October, when we went to Chicago for the race. Once I got back, I needed a couple of weekends to catch up on the stuff that got pushed aside while we were gone.

By then, it was early November, and the weather got sketchy. Next up, the holidays, plus in mid December, I got a rush job at work. That had me working 70 hour weeks from Jan 1st until early February. After that, I was so wiped out it took me until early March to recover. Now, I'm working on a home improvement project that will take the next couple of weekends. I'm going to a car race April 1, and I still haven't finished my taxes, and... well you get the idea. I'm looking to get up sometime in April to restart my tow training.

[zamuro]

I'm mot sure if it would help to know why pleople leave the sport bu I am surprised that USHPA don't send an email when people stop renewing their mebership asking for possible reasons (kind of Netflix).

And taking about USHPA. It ceratinly doesn't help when you have a million things to do that you cannot renew your mebership online (you have to mail in a hard copy of the waiver).. Also I think the fact that you loose your rating after 3(?) years of not renewing mebership is just a bad idea. It just encourage people not to bother in renewing his/her USHPA membership.

[blindrodie]

I thought you could renew online IF you were current. Otherwise they need a new signature on file.

[jjcote]

[ChattaroyMan]