http://ozreport.com/1178299453



The flight parks in general have failed to save the sport. They
have not brought in any where near the new participants that the sport of hang
gliding needs to be viable. In general, they have not been committed to teaching
(there are some obvious exceptions) and bringing in new participants. For the
most part (again there are exceptions) they don't have a dedicated instructor and
instruction techniques that bring in new participants and keep them in the
sport.



This critique applies to Quest Air (http://questairforce.com , Wallaby Ranch
(http://www.wallaby.com/ , Highland Aerosports
(http://www.aerosports.net/ and the
Florida Ridge (http://www.thefloridaridge.com/),
for example. It doesn't apply to BlueSky, Cloud 9, and Lookout Mountain. You
can determine if it applies to your local aerotow flight park.



Aerotow flight parks are great. They are wonderful places to go and participate
in the sport of hang gliding. They have incredible machines for getting you in
the air. They are often located in great places for cross country hang gliding -
wide open flat land areas, often in southern areas that can be flown while it is
inclement further north.



Many hang glider pilots recognize how great these flight parks can be and they
come down to them and enjoy their flying there. Many learn to aerotow there,
adding to their foot launch and landing skills learned else where.



The strength of these flight parks, the fact that they provide aerotowing, is
also their greatest weakness. Everything is focused around aerotowing. The money
comes from providing tandem aerotow flights. The money for the tug pilots comes
from towing up experienced pilots (as well as the tandems).



"Instruction" at these aerotow flight parks consists of training new pilots with
tandem flights. As Matt Taber has pointed out previously in the Oz Report this is by far
the least effective way to turn prospects into actual hang glider pilots. The
(Lookout Mountain) retention rates run at about 2% according to Matt if the person's first
experience is a tandem aerotow flight (and is ten times higher is the first
experience is on the training hill).



This kind of "instruction" is killing hang gliding. It is actively turning off
potential hang glider pilots, but it is very profitable to the flight parks
(probably allowing them to break even).



Given the very low retention rates of students "taught" using this method, it is
hard for flight parks to retain instructors. There just isn't enough business
for them to maintain a livelihood. Serious instructors (see previous article) go
elsewhere.



These aerotow flight parks with their almost singular focus just cannot refocus
their efforts on providing an effective instructional program. They have already
driven out the instructors that could implement an effective system.



Given that most of these aerotow flight parks don't have hills nearby, they
would have to institute scooter or winch tow operations to provide a proven
instructional method. Despite the fact that three of the flight parks mentioned have hosted Blue Wendt
Scooter Tow clinics (and one is just down the road from BlueSky), no one at these flight parks has implemented a program of
scooter tow instruction. No one there is interested enough to actually make it
happen.



These flight parks are perfect locations for scooter tow operations and if they
can't get it together themselves they should at least attempt to provide a
location of an independent operator who could build up an independent business
there providing instruction. (I can see the conflicts possible in that
arrangement.)



There are a few individual instructors who may be able to implement scooter tow
instruction at the flight parks. Perhaps that will work out. We'll see. Until
then we will have to live with the fact that aerotow flight parks are not the
answer to the question of how we are going to grow the sport. They help with
retention for sure, but they are not bringing in new students nearly at the rate
that is required.



BlueSky is built around a different model. It is barely an aerotow flight park
at all.
It is a scooter and truck tow flight park first and its focus is instruction.
Aerotow is a tack on that is really necessary for pilot retention and growth
beyond the first few stages of instruction.



Lookout Mountain is dedicated to instruction and building a community also and
as a successful businessman Matt realizes that he has to improve his retention
rates if he wishes to maintain viability. He has already found out that
providing the aerotow
flight first is a killer. Get them on the training hill or behind a scooter tow
for their first flight experience.



Cloud 9 has introduced scooter towing into their aerotow operation. They are the
exception to the rule when it comes to aerotow flight parks. Tracy and Lisa are
very busy professionals, but committed to instruction. I don't know if they have
the time to build the community as quickly as a dedicated instructor could, but
we'll see how that works out there.



Santa Barbara (http://www.sbsa.info/)
is a great hang gliding community with very convenient launch and landing sites.
The problem is that at the bottom it doesn't have a consistent and dedicated
instructor (http://www.flyaboveall.com/flyaway/index.htm)
who is pumping out the number of students needed to feed the community and keep
it viable over the long range. Most of the instruction in Santa Barbara is for
paragliding and for out of town paragliding at that.



The same was true, the last time I checked, in the Pacific Northwest (http://www.cloudbase.org/).
No consistent high quality instruction feeding the hang gliding community in
Seattle. Check around your area and see if the infrastructure for instruction is
there.



Write and tell me what you think about this analysis and my article on the three
legged stool. Are things different where you are?

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