Isn't getting new participants into our sport important?
USHGA strategic plan goal: Double the membership within ten years.
That means about 700 net new members by November 1st, 2006. What is the USHGA
doing to meet this goal?
Here is a graph of the current USHGA membership:
http://home.mindspring.com/~mgforbes/Membership.pdf. You will notice that
the number of hang gliding members (a proxy for participants in the sport) since
1992. What actions is the USHGA BOD/EC taking to reverse this trend and meet the
700 net new members goal?
Let's check out the budget which you'll find in the latest minutes of the USHGA
Executive Committee
here.
How much was spent on schools and membership development in the last year:
$688.60.
In comparison, how much was spent on BOD meetings: $50,649.01? How about, to the
NAA ($9,420) and to send our CIVL rep to the CIVL meetings ($2,130.47).
Jayne details some additional expenses not yet in the 2006 budget:
Funding for the scooter tow clinic - $2000
Park Service Policy Making Initiative regarding free flight in parks (detailed
on the home page of USHGA's website today, mailings to follow etc.)- approved
budget - $6610
Membership Vote - modify budget to show proxies will be mailed to the membership
using standard non-profit bulk mail rather than the magazine and to include
membership administration printing costs and mail house costs - projected -
$4,500 - $5,000, not including overhead
Telephone Expenses - modify budget to incorporate charges for telephone
conferencing for USHGA committees - projected $4,000 (current plan does not
include cost for monthly EC calls or committee calls).
I am definitely not prepared to include the strategic plan into the 2006 budget.
I require more data regarding plan priorities and I will need to conduct
additional due diligence regarding the costs for plan priorities. I simply
wasn't able to address the costs associated with implementation of the plan
after the fall meeting because I spent so much time documenting the procedures
for the membership vote.
$4,000 for conference calls, but $2,000 to support instruction?
The strategic plan is not in the budget?
Tell me again how our priorities (as detailed in the strategic plan) will
actually be implemented? Please tell me how the USHGA is going to keep from
running out of members if it spends $50,000 on BOD meetings, but $2,000 on
instructor support?
The weather forecasts don't seem too accurate around here. They appear to be
calling for thunderstorms every day, but the storms don't appear except to the
southwest 100 miles in Bendigo. Maybe it just doesn't get hot enough here.
Speaking of hot enough, the pilots blew the power transformer when they came
back at 7 PM and turned on the air conditioners in their rooms. The restaurant
here was serving meat packs to cook on the barbie while we all waited for a new
transformer to be installed by the power company. It's hot in the room here and
I'm without internet access, running on battery, and my light is my led
headlamp. Great light.
Our first task from Tocumwal, was a fairly short task, with a 10 km radius exit
start circle centered fifteen kilometers away from the airport to keep us out of
the traffic pattern. We then had to head south to a turnpoint 45 kilometers
away, and then back 70 kilometers to an intersection west, northwest of
Tocumwal.
I was off just after Gerolf and Attila, about eighth in line, which was a big
help, as the pilots didn't start launching when they should have and some were
still on the ground when the last start clock began. I got off fairly low at
1,400 AGL and drifted north east (in what was supposed to be a north wind)
climbing out at 200 fpm to 3,600' AGL.
We were launching from the north runway (Left 360), but the wind was blowing
lightly out of the west so we were launching at a forty five degree angle into a
light cross wind. No dramas.
Speaking of dramas. Bill Moyes is here and in charge of all the towing and we
are all using 150' spectra line. The difference between it and the 300' poly is
amazing. I towed up behind Pete in his trike today and I had no problem staying
right with him. If he went up so did I. If he went down, so did I.
I mentioned on the Oz Report forum in the discussion re the deadly accident two
days ago, how the use of the tandem rope, the 300' poly rope, likely played a
part in the pilot's death. This is my feeling, but on the two days that I towed
using the long poly rope, I found the towing to be much more difficult than what
I am used to and to what I experienced today.
I am guessing that the long rope, because the tug and hang glider pilot are just
that much more likely to be in different bits of lift and sink and are that much
more disconnected, makes the conditions and the tow just seem that much worse.
Today it felt great. I was rock solid behind Pete.
With the tow that much more uncomfortable and hard to handle, it is pretty clear
why the pilot who died would have had a more difficult time keeping things under
control.
As I recall the Florida flight parks use 150' of spectra line for their tow
lines. This is what I am used to. The feel created by this shorter line and the
reactions and actions that I have learned towing previously meld much better
with this system. I am so happy that Bill is here and in charge of towing.
The pilots in the air gaggled up out by the start circle at the second start
clock, then dove deep into the start circle to get to the west, as we were
reading about 8 mph out of the west, and the first leg was due south. We were
all looking for a quartering tail wind on part of the first leg.
But while we were able to get to over 7,000' at the edge of the start circle
before we dove in, we had to settle for a start twenty six minutes later than
was at 2,800' (2,400' AGL). We just didn't find anything but weak lift and that
would be the story of the day, south the Murray in Victoria.
Four or five fast guys got out on their own after a few thermals which we picked
up below 1,500' AGL. Balaz, Lukas and a few other pilots were nearby as we
worked small stuff and tried just to stay up and not get too low.
As we approached the first and only turnpoint we overtook Gerolf and a few other
pilots, who had been struggling out in front of us. There were about ten pilot
within a couple of minutes of each other at the turnpoint, including Jonnie,
Dave Seib, and Attila, all in the lead by about a minute.
Heading northwest, I caught up with Dave and then chased after Jonnie, Attila
and another pilot coming in over them as they were working lighter stuff down
low. Another three pilots joined us on top and we got up well enough (5,000') to
head out forty kilometers from goal.
In the next thermal I didn't get as high as the other four (including Attila,
Balaz, and Craig Coomber) who went on glide as Jonnie and Dave came in low
underneath us. I should have stuck with Jonnie and Dave at this point as I was
1,000' over them, but chased after the lead guys, maybe 200' below them.
That turned into a long glide (12 km) toward the lake at Yarrawonga. Our flight
line was taking us just to the left of the lake over a huge golf course and a
treed area (the Murray river) and I was the low man on the totem pole. I kept
going and luckily found a small thermal at 800' over the golf course. Craig,
Attila, Balaz, etc. were having a much better time of it above me climbing
faster.
That thermal quit after a while and still low I had to go searching in the not
so good looking areas around the town. I had my feelers out for anything while
also wondering just where I could land if I found too much sink. What a
balancing act.
I caught a whiff of something over by the sewage treatment plant and a little
junk yard. I kept pushing into it even though my bad self kept saying get out of
town over a big field. I knew that I had to stay in whatever was there and just
work and work it until I got up.
I talked myself into finding the best part of the thermal and that got me out of
there to 4,000' after a long wait. Now with enough altitude and on my own, and
after almost landing, I made sure that I found thermals at a reasonable enough
height. I just looked for the darkest barest fields.
There were now a few skinny cu's not too far away, but I found lift before I got
there that turned into 600 fpm to 6,300'. This altitude was enough to vastly
improve my thermal hunting skills and even though I had to find another thermal
to get high enough to get to goal after finding big sink, the final glide from
10 km out was without incident.
Jonnie, Attila, Craig, Dave, Andreas, Len, Gerolf, Balaz, and a couple of other
pilots were there when I arrived. A few more came in later including Phil
Shroder, Jack and Chris Smith.
A virtual goal, picked off a map, and fortunately a nice field next to it to
land in.
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