Flyfunston

In 2000 we succeeded in reopening the Bowl for training. At that time we made a deliberate decision not to require USHGA certified instructors. We wanted to recreate the old days when training was informal, inexpensive and rules kept to a minimum. Friends teaching friends, fathers teaching sons, etc. We did not want to exclude prospective pilots who could not afford certified instructors or arrange time with instructors. Certified instructors are preferable but since the flying essentially is limited to landings and take offs at low attitudes, it seemed reasonable not to include an instructor requirement.

I agree that learning to hang glide should be easy. However, the bowl has changed for the worse since el nino and should no longer be used for training without a certified instructor. Any certified instructor would realize that the bowl is no longer a viable training site for beginners. If the club could do a bit of gardening, it could become the site it used to be.

I learned to fly in the "bowl"

Without free access to the bowl I most likely would never have learned to fly.

Instructors then AND NOW ran the gamut from excellent to pitiful.

NonCertified- Instructor pilots THEN AND NOW were/are often better than
supposedly expert instructors in helping beginners. In as much as the Park bans paid instruction in the Bowl those pilots helping beginners are uninfluenced by financial gain. Had I not been rescued from poor instruction at hands of "Certified -Instructors" I not only wouldn't have learned but may well have ended up as one more "crash and burn " statistic.Keep the Bowl accessible to friends helping friends.

(daniel: moved to here from another topic) Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:19 am Post subject: xplay

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if your going to train in the old training area you'd better know now to make real good 90 degree turns and cross wind landings. the gliders nowadays, glide real real good, and will put you in the drink faster than you can say..i learned to fly there a million f***ing years ago!!!!!

--Guest

Just to be clear: potential teachers need to be okayed by the club Training Director whether or not they're certified Instructors (see http://flyfunston.org/bowlrules.php.html ). Last year we did not appoint someone. Effective immediately, Henry Bittner has been appointed the 2005 Training Director. If you want to teach at the bowl his contact info is on http://flyfunston.org/officers.php.html .

I am in favor of requiring that teachers be USHGA Instructors. I won't force that opinion if there's enough support to the contrary. However:

- Good/Bad: Of course there are bad, certified instructors. That doesn't mean the certification is the cause. If you don't like your instructor, find another certified one. I'd venture to guess that, on average, certified instructors are better teachers than non-certified ones, just as a result of their having received training on how to teach. We should all know by now that just because you're a good [whatever] doesn't mean you know how to teach [whatever].

- Cost: At least one certified instructor has volunteered to teach for free at the Bowl if it means implementing a certified-only rule.

- Availability of Instructors: dude, we have many, many in the Bay Area. Imagine the poor bastiges who want to train at the Fairbanks Alaska Training Bowl with a certified Instructor.

Fellow Feathers can even help out by putting together a list of available instructors OR (and here's a thought) contributing to the cost of certification for one future-Instructor pilot per year.

When my dad wanted me to learn to fly small airplanes, he didn't teach me himself. When I went to college, my parents didn't teach me themselves. If you wanted your kids to learn how to fly (which I do) wouldn't you want to either learn the training techniques or find the best, most experienced instructor around?

Teaching at the Funston Bowl? Great idea! Teaching from trained instructors? Better idea.

Daniel