BOOKER GLIDING CLUB

WYCOMBE AIR PARK, MARLOW, BUCKS SL7 3DP

INFORMATION SHEET

MAY 2002

You belong to one of the elite gliding clubs in the UK, if not the World. At this club it is possible to meet and fly with some of the most experienced and proficient pilots involved in all aspects of the sport. This is supported by one of the most progressive training programmes, which is made possible by the availability of top quality instructors, both professional and voluntary.

With these benefits, however, come responsibilities. The club cannot run itself‑ it depends on voluntary help to keep the wheels turning.

Trainees

It is perfectly possible for you to just book your flying lessons, turn up at Booker, be briefed on the lessons to be flown, fly, be de‑briefed and then depart. You would then, however, miss out on many of the benefits of flying at our club. Your progress will be far quicker by remaining on site, preferably at the launch point if only for a short while, in order to assist with the running of the operation. There are several benefits with this course of action.

It will enable you meet and chat with other trainees or established members of the club at all levels of ability and experience. During the early part of your course, when everything appears rather difficult, it is surprising the benefit to be gained by exchanging experiences with other students who are at a more advanced stage with their flying. They still have a perspective on their training that instructors who have not been in the same position possibly for decades have probably lost. As you progress through the syllabus, and you meet trainees with less experience than you have then acquired, you will in turn be in a position to answer some of their queries and offer encouragement to those who feel that their rate of progress is slower than they expected.

It will also be of interest and your benefit to view the many private gliders with their 'high‑tech' equipment owned by club members. On good soaring days there will frequently be at least 20 pilots at the launch point preparing to depart on cross country flights of up to 750km. Chatting to these pilots will give an insight as to where this sport can eventually lead you. These members, who are frequently the same ones that voluntarily give up their free time to instruct you, also need assistance to enable them to fly. They cannot rig their gliders without an extra pair of hands, some require assistance in towing‑out to the launch point and all need help during the launch procedure.

Members have always carried out these tasks on a mutual basis and only if this continues can your club continue to function. Although there are employed staff the club's existence relies on voluntary help.

As a club member it is not necessary to book a lesson prior to turning up at your club. Arriving on an ad‑hoc basis and helping at the launch point is also valuable for all the reasons given above. If you wish to fly on such a day then make your request known to the person running the launch point and he will introduce you an instructor who will generally be able to find a glider for at least one flight. This arrangement can be very beneficial as it could enable you to avoid a lack of continuity when you find it is not possible to book a slot at short notice.

Instructors

You should have been made aware that a new notice board has appeared in the clubhouse for instructors. its' main function is to enable you to see at a glance when the club is short of instructors to cover the programme. Any asterisk on the board denotes that an instructor is required. Would you please append your name adjacent to the vacant slot for those days when you think you may be available.

It is not necessary to commit yourself to a whole day's instructing, a morning or afternoon will be most helpful. Just annotate the vacancy AM/ PM.

Any place that is unfilled will require us to hire in part time help, with the subsequent increase in costs that this incurs.

You will all have done a full day's instructing in the past so will know how tiring this can be. Should you arrive at the club and fancy doing some ad‑hoc instructing then let the member of staff in charge of the launch point know, as there will almost always be the possibility of getting airborne. This is particularly the case during the mid‑day period when both staff and volunteer instructors require a lunch break.

The Trainee Paragraph above suggests that it is possible for trainees to turn up on an ad‑hoc basis. This depends to a large extent on the availability of 'ad‑hoc instructors'.

The aim is to move slightly away from the current "all booking" system. Whilst this is normally very efficient for utilising gliders, it creates a commercial feel to the club which the majority of members indicate they do not want. There are fairly frequent occasions when people book and then do not turn up. Increasing the amount of ad‑hoc flying will enable us to fill the unused slots and at the same time ensure that there is more help at the launch point especially during busy periods.

Other Club Members

1 hope you have read the paragraphs above. Those of you who are no longer Instructors or Trainees still have an essential role to play both at the launch point and in the general running of your club.

There are frequently occasions on the field when there is a shortage of qualified help that effects the running of the launch point. This includes some very basic operations such as positioning gliders ready for launching, retrieving gliders from the field, log keeping, advising 'tuggies' of pilots numbers and generally organising the operation. The main effect of an efficient launch facility is to increase the launch rate. This is just what private owners require as they all wish to take‑off at a similar time. It also increases the revenue for the club. Everybody benefits either in more flying or lower personal costs. There is only one worse situation than not having sufficient gliders or tugs and that is to actually own the equipment but then not use it efficiently. Result, increased costs for all members.

The long‑term future of the club depends on the membership. Inevitably people leave for various reasons so it is essential that we encourage those people that arrive to fly, whether for a trial lesson or the more expensive courses, to become regular members. The staff and member instructors do their best in this regard but, when they are committed to several flights in a relatively short time, it is not always possible for them to give a good sales pitch. A little encouragement from regular members can make all the difference as it will emphasise the friendly nature of the gliding movement. Many of our trainees really do appreciate chatting to more experienced pilots and discovering what can be achieved as they progress with experience. Most of them have no idea how quickly they can move on to more advanced gliders with better performance, or indeed what gliders can achieve.

Try and talk to students or less able pilots than yourself. Encourage them in their flying. Tell them of flights that you have done. 1 know as a student I learnt almost as much from senior club members just talking to me as 1 did in the air. This is what a club is all about. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained when a less experienced member subsequently informs you that, as a result of a previous discussion, he managed to complete a flight that was beyond his expectations.

Written by Tim Scott. (Recently a Committee Member).

Arranged for distribution to all members by Roy Scott (At present a Committee Member)

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