Glider Clubs and the Park Pilot Program

Glider Clubs and the Park Pilot Program
by Ed Anderson
Any club can benefit from AMA’s new program
Most beginner-level park flyers are essentially powered gliders. The Hobby Lobby Wingo
USA is a fun and versatile trainer. Shawn teaches son, Devin, about trim.
Photos by Rudi Oudshoorn and MA staff
I AM A glider pilot. However, I did not
start out that way, and perhaps that is the
best way to set the tone for this article. It
is good to know the author’s background.
I am a member of the Long Island
Silent Flyers (LISF): a New York
sailplane club in which I am an officer. I
fly Thermal Duration, Slope Soaring, and
discus launch. When there is a tow
airplane available, I fly aerotow too. I host
one of the club winches, and as an AMA
Introductory Pilot I help people learn how
to fly. I also compete in club contests and
a regional Thermal Duration league. I am
into gliders—big time.
At the beginning of the year the AMA
launched its new Park Pilot Program. You
can learn more about it on the AMA Web
site, where there is also a place for you to
ask questions. If you are unfamiliar with
the program, you may want to go there
after you read this.
What does this new program mean for
sailplane clubs? If yours is flourishing,
has a growing membership, and is having
no trouble attracting new pilots, stop
reading now; I have nothing for you.
Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.
However, if your glider club is
struggling to maintain its membership
base, perhaps you will find some useful
ideas in this feature. Read on.
On the surface the AMA Park Pilot
Program seems to address the needs of
people who are flying those small,
electric-powered models we call park
flyers. But I believe it can do more.
I started out as a park flyer pilot, but
now I fly gliders most of the time. Many
LISF members have gone down the same
path. After I share this path with you,
you may decide that the AMA Park Pilot
Program could help your sailplane club.
If you stop in at the local hobby shop
and look at the models it sells, you will
likely see piles of RTF electric airplanes,
some receiver-ready electric aircraft,
electric ARFs, and even some electric
airplane kits. There may also be a display
of RTF glow-powered models, some
glow ARFs, and maybe some glow kits.
Where are the gliders?
If the shop has any, it may be a Spirit
kit, a Gentle Lady ARF, or an e-Aspire
RTF sitting on top of a rack somewhere.
There will probably be a thick layer of
dust on the box. If the store has a histart,
it will most likely be a short one
and will probably have been there for a
while.
The majority of people have not had
exposure to RC sailplanes. The only
experience many have had with these
types of models is the $1 balsa variety or
maybe a $5 foam chuck glider that never
flew right. So why would these people
come looking for gliders?
Most people, and I’m included, have
never seen a full-scale sailplane in the air
or on the ground, but they have seen many
airplanes with engines. Numerous people
48 MODEL AVIATION
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 12:03 PM Page 48
Types of Models
Flown at Our Club
Learning to
take off and
land is as
simple as a
hand
launch—a
procedure
Soaring clubs
are familiar
with
teaching.
All these models qualify for the
AMA’s Park Pilot Program.
Local clubs may have their
own recommendations as well.
According to the Long Island Silent Flyers club charter, the following aircraft are
considered gliders as long as they are flown in a gliderlike fashion at slow to moderate
speeds.
• Sailplanes and gliders (such as hand-launch or hi-start types)
• Electric-powered sailplanes and gliders (acceptable if sold as gliders)
• Airplanes that qualify as Old-Timer (as defined by the AMA and are electric
powered)
Gliderlike electric-powered models span as much as 60 inches. They are not
specifically designated as gliders/sailplanes, but they may have gliderlike flight
characteristics and slow to moderate flying speeds.
Pylon racers, Aerobatics airplanes, and large power models are prohibited at the
field except by special designation as tow airplanes. The club must approve them
according to the tow-airplane program.
Electric-powered airplane qualifications and restrictions:
• Spanning fewer than 36 inches: Motor pack cannot exceed 8.4 volts nominal (seven
NiMH or Ni-Cd cells or two Li-Poly or Li-Ion cells)
• Spanning 36-60 inches: Motor packs cannot exceed 11.1 volts nominal (nine NiMH
or Ni-Cd cells or three Li-Poly or Li-Ion cells)
A loop or a roll now and then—well above treetop level—is okay, but aerobatic
flight is generally discouraged.
With the understanding of the preceding guidelines, the new pilot and the club can
work together, grow together, and enjoy flying in a style that should be compatible
with the club’s core nature. MA
—Ed Anderson
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 11:53 AM Page 49
50 MODEL AVIATION
Gliding
in the Park
Above: Whether flying competition aircraft or RTF park flyers, a
thorough preflight inspection is a good idea.
Left: The electric-powered HobbyZone Aerobird 3 is extremely
durable and thermals very well.
Safety is the most important point to learn. Flying with a
friend is more fun, and the extra pair of eyes on the
flightline means fewer accidents.
Many park flyers are similar to gliders. The pod-andboom
park flyers in particular, such as the Firebird and
Aerobird, the ReadytoFlyFun.com T-Hawk, the Multiplex
EasyStar, or even the Hobby Lobby Wingo, bear a strong
resemblance to discus-launched and many 2-meter histart-
launched sailplanes.
The pod-and-boom park flyers’ undercambered or flatbottom
wings allow them to fly at extremely slow speeds,
and they glide well when you power off. They glide even
better if you can set the ESC to enact a propeller brake or
replace the ESC so you can stop the propeller’s
freewheeling.
Although those park flyers may not glide as well as
“true” sailplanes, they do so well enough to teach flying
with the motor off. Any of them can thermal well enough
to introduce thermal-duration flying to a new pilot.
You may not have considered these park flyers as
trainers for glider pilots, but with some creative thought
you can help those new fliers learn to soar. MA
—Ed Anderson
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 12:04 PM Page 50
June 2008 51
Gordy Stahl coaches Steve Mestre on his winch-launching technique.
Steve started with an Aerobird and now flies competition gliders.
Dayle Cook, who has been learning to fly gliders, is shown
preparing to make one of his first unassisted winch launches. He
has since flown in competition in the Eastern Soaring League.
Ed Anderson (R) holds his Aerobird: his first RC airplane. Pete
Nicholson, Ed’s instructor, holds his 3-meter Supra competition
Thermal Duration sailplane. Notice the similar pod-and-boom designs.
have dreamed of flying, and those dreams probably include an
engine, the drone of the propeller, or maybe even the whine of
the turbine. So when they want to start flying model airplanes,
that is what they look for and that is what the hobby stores
stock.
If one of these new park flyer pilots came upon your glider
field, would you welcome that person or would you tell him or
her that you only fly sailplanes at the site and send the flier
away? If you do the latter, you are missing the opportunity to
develop a new glider pilot.
When I started, I bought a HobbyZone Aerobird 3 RTF
Electric: a three-channel, pod-and-boom park flyer. A friend
told me that there had been a glider club a mile from my home
for more than 25 years. I never knew about it, even though I
had wanted to fly RC airplanes all my life. I never noticed the
pilots were there, because they were quiet.
A friend had joined that club with a HobbyZone Firebird
electric park flyer; the club had recently opened its
membership to these small models, viewing them as trainers.
If you look closely, many of these RTF park flyers are really
electric launched sailplanes in disguise.
A two-channel Firebird is really an electric launched
glider. When you cut the power it soars nicely, needing only
rudder control to guide it around the sky. And it thermals too.
The same applies to my Aerobird, a ReadytoFlyFun.com THawk,
a Multiplex EasyStar, and many RTF park flyers. That
is what makes them so easy to fly.
People often remark that gliders are the best trainers, and
these airplane makers seem to agree. In fact, the president of
the LISF at the time I started had learned to fly with a
Firebird.
If you start thinking about these models as electric
launched sailplanes, perhaps it would be a good idea to
welcome these new pilots into your club and teach them how
to fly their new aircraft. Naturally you would instruct them in
the glider-pilot style and teach them how to operate on a
glider field. They would learn how much fun it is to fly their
models with the motor off and to catch thermals.
The first time I managed to get my Aerobird up into a
thermal, I was hooked. Because I was surrounded by sailplane
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 11:53 AM Page 51
pilots, I received all kinds of coaching on
how to hunt for thermals, work thermals,
and enjoy extended flight time without the
use of my motor. This was cool!
Six months after I joined the club—
having no idea about or interest in
gliders—I bought Great Planes’ 2-meter
Spirit. Of course, it was an RTF package.
In addition I purchased a hi-start.
That winter a Slope Soaring pilot
showed me how to slope-soar my
Aerobird. Soon after that I was flying a
Zagi slope wing. My sailplane fleet was
growing.
Today our club has a growing number
of pilots who have followed a similar
course. They learn to pilot their park
flyers, and then they learn to fly them like
gliders.
We even have monthly climb-andglide,
limited-motor-run contests. Park
flyer pilots are encouraged to join. We do
a two-minute maximum motor run and a
six-minute task, with landing points for
putting the airplane in a large circle.
Last season the top score was achieved
with an Aerobird. Oddly enough, the pilot
normally flies a Pike Superior, but he
started on that Aerobird.
Today the first real sailplane these
people typically buy is a Multiplex Easy
Glider or Easy Glider Electric. Soon
afterward they move on to 2.5- and 3-
meter models and start flying in club
Thermal Duration contests. They learn
how to launch with a hi-start and a winch.
You may be thinking, “This is all good
stuff, but what does it have to do with the
Park Pilot Program?”
Many glider clubs fear that once they
let in the electrics, they will take over. And
that has happened to some sailplane clubs.
Sometimes it is because of a large influx of
new electric-power pilots, but just as often
the existing members take up electric flight
too. After a while the glider fliers diminish
as other pilots bore holes in the sky.
People forget that this fade of glider
pilots was happening anyway. They point
the finger at the electrics and say, “They
did it to us,” but they probably didn’t.
What really happened was that there was
no plan.
If you make a plan and work it, you can
bring in new park flyer pilots with the
understanding that yours is a sailplane club
first and foremost. Aircraft flown at your
field will be done so in a “gliderlike”
manner and at low to moderate speeds. If
you state this up front, people will
understand that your club is not for speed
jockeys, 3-D pilots, etc.
I have learned from experience that if
you take this approach, roughly half of the
members will eventually take up gliders in
addition to whatever else they fly. Some
will also belong to other clubs in which
they can fly their high-speed or 3-D
airplanes.
The Park Pilot Program brings in a
clear definition of what a park flyer is and
what it is not. It includes small airplanes—
weighing 2 pounds or less—that are quiet
and incapable of flying faster than 60 mph
on a flat run. They must be electric or
rubber powered, or of any similar quiet
means of propulsion, and that includes
pure and electric sailplanes.
According to that definition, Gentle
Ladys and Easy Gliders are park flyers.
Hand-launched and discus-launched
gliders are also park flyers. That means
new pilots who show up at your field with
AMA Park Pilot Program membership
cards can fly sailplanes. If they ever want
to fly something larger than the program
permits, all they have to do is upgrade
their membership with the AMA.
A concern about the Park Pilot Program
is that these new pilots have a lower level
of personal insurance coverage than
regular AMA members. What impact does
that have on the club’s insurance?
The AMA has confirmed that having
Park Pilot Program members in a club has
no impact on its coverage. Your club
coverage is the same as always and will
not be compromised in any way.
If your flying-site property owner
requires that all your club members are
AMA members, those who are part of the
Park Pilot Program meet that condition.
Unless your lease or agreement for field
use specifies a dollar amount of personal
coverage for each member, a Park Pilot
Program member is covered.
Admitting Park Pilot Program members
does not mean you have to adopt the full
extent of the program’s definition. If you
feel that an Aerobird or an EasyStar would
be acceptable but you would not want
airplanes zipping around your field at 59
mph, amend your club’s bylaws to reflect
this.
You could declare a top speed for
models at your field of, say, 45 mph. That
is moderate. My Easy Glider Electric, with
a brushless motor, tops out at
approximately 45 mph. You could further
stipulate that all flying below treetop level
should be at less than 20 mph, to be
compatible with models that are on
approach and preparing for landing.
The numbers are unimportant. What is
important is that you have always had the
right to set guidelines for how flying is
conducted at your field; the Park Pilot
Program does not change that.
Gliders always have the right of way.
That would not change. And you would
train these new pilots to fly properly with
gliders. They would learn where and how
to launch and where and how to land,
according to your procedures.
Do not radically transform your
sailplane club into an electric club.
Incorporate slow- to moderate-speed
electric-powered models into your club’s
design.
Welcome these new pilots, train them, and
introduce them to gliders as a path they
have not considered. You will find that
these new fliers and the AMA Park Pilot
Program could be good friends and bring
new energy to the life of your sailplane
club. MA
Ed Anderson
[email protected]
Sources:
Park Pilot Program
(800) 435-9262
www.modelaircraft.org/parkflyer.aspx
52 MODEL AVIATION
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 12:05 PM Page 52

Glider Clubs and the Park Pilot Program
by Ed Anderson
Any club can benefit from AMA’s new program
Most beginner-level park flyers are essentially powered gliders. The Hobby Lobby Wingo
USA is a fun and versatile trainer. Shawn teaches son, Devin, about trim.
Photos by Rudi Oudshoorn and MA staff
I AM A glider pilot. However, I did not
start out that way, and perhaps that is the
best way to set the tone for this article. It
is good to know the author’s background.
I am a member of the Long Island
Silent Flyers (LISF): a New York
sailplane club in which I am an officer. I
fly Thermal Duration, Slope Soaring, and
discus launch. When there is a tow
airplane available, I fly aerotow too. I host
one of the club winches, and as an AMA
Introductory Pilot I help people learn how
to fly. I also compete in club contests and
a regional Thermal Duration league. I am
into gliders—big time.
At the beginning of the year the AMA
launched its new Park Pilot Program. You
can learn more about it on the AMA Web
site, where there is also a place for you to
ask questions. If you are unfamiliar with
the program, you may want to go there
after you read this.
What does this new program mean for
sailplane clubs? If yours is flourishing,
has a growing membership, and is having
no trouble attracting new pilots, stop
reading now; I have nothing for you.
Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.
However, if your glider club is
struggling to maintain its membership
base, perhaps you will find some useful
ideas in this feature. Read on.
On the surface the AMA Park Pilot
Program seems to address the needs of
people who are flying those small,
electric-powered models we call park
flyers. But I believe it can do more.
I started out as a park flyer pilot, but
now I fly gliders most of the time. Many
LISF members have gone down the same
path. After I share this path with you,
you may decide that the AMA Park Pilot
Program could help your sailplane club.
If you stop in at the local hobby shop
and look at the models it sells, you will
likely see piles of RTF electric airplanes,
some receiver-ready electric aircraft,
electric ARFs, and even some electric
airplane kits. There may also be a display
of RTF glow-powered models, some
glow ARFs, and maybe some glow kits.
Where are the gliders?
If the shop has any, it may be a Spirit
kit, a Gentle Lady ARF, or an e-Aspire
RTF sitting on top of a rack somewhere.
There will probably be a thick layer of
dust on the box. If the store has a histart,
it will most likely be a short one
and will probably have been there for a
while.
The majority of people have not had
exposure to RC sailplanes. The only
experience many have had with these
types of models is the $1 balsa variety or
maybe a $5 foam chuck glider that never
flew right. So why would these people
come looking for gliders?
Most people, and I’m included, have
never seen a full-scale sailplane in the air
or on the ground, but they have seen many
airplanes with engines. Numerous people
48 MODEL AVIATION
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 12:03 PM Page 48
Types of Models
Flown at Our Club
Learning to
take off and
land is as
simple as a
hand
launch—a
procedure
Soaring clubs
are familiar
with
teaching.
All these models qualify for the
AMA’s Park Pilot Program.
Local clubs may have their
own recommendations as well.
According to the Long Island Silent Flyers club charter, the following aircraft are
considered gliders as long as they are flown in a gliderlike fashion at slow to moderate
speeds.
• Sailplanes and gliders (such as hand-launch or hi-start types)
• Electric-powered sailplanes and gliders (acceptable if sold as gliders)
• Airplanes that qualify as Old-Timer (as defined by the AMA and are electric
powered)
Gliderlike electric-powered models span as much as 60 inches. They are not
specifically designated as gliders/sailplanes, but they may have gliderlike flight
characteristics and slow to moderate flying speeds.
Pylon racers, Aerobatics airplanes, and large power models are prohibited at the
field except by special designation as tow airplanes. The club must approve them
according to the tow-airplane program.
Electric-powered airplane qualifications and restrictions:
• Spanning fewer than 36 inches: Motor pack cannot exceed 8.4 volts nominal (seven
NiMH or Ni-Cd cells or two Li-Poly or Li-Ion cells)
• Spanning 36-60 inches: Motor packs cannot exceed 11.1 volts nominal (nine NiMH
or Ni-Cd cells or three Li-Poly or Li-Ion cells)
A loop or a roll now and then—well above treetop level—is okay, but aerobatic
flight is generally discouraged.
With the understanding of the preceding guidelines, the new pilot and the club can
work together, grow together, and enjoy flying in a style that should be compatible
with the club’s core nature. MA
—Ed Anderson
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 11:53 AM Page 49
50 MODEL AVIATION
Gliding
in the Park
Above: Whether flying competition aircraft or RTF park flyers, a
thorough preflight inspection is a good idea.
Left: The electric-powered HobbyZone Aerobird 3 is extremely
durable and thermals very well.
Safety is the most important point to learn. Flying with a
friend is more fun, and the extra pair of eyes on the
flightline means fewer accidents.
Many park flyers are similar to gliders. The pod-andboom
park flyers in particular, such as the Firebird and
Aerobird, the ReadytoFlyFun.com T-Hawk, the Multiplex
EasyStar, or even the Hobby Lobby Wingo, bear a strong
resemblance to discus-launched and many 2-meter histart-
launched sailplanes.
The pod-and-boom park flyers’ undercambered or flatbottom
wings allow them to fly at extremely slow speeds,
and they glide well when you power off. They glide even
better if you can set the ESC to enact a propeller brake or
replace the ESC so you can stop the propeller’s
freewheeling.
Although those park flyers may not glide as well as
“true” sailplanes, they do so well enough to teach flying
with the motor off. Any of them can thermal well enough
to introduce thermal-duration flying to a new pilot.
You may not have considered these park flyers as
trainers for glider pilots, but with some creative thought
you can help those new fliers learn to soar. MA
—Ed Anderson
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 12:04 PM Page 50
June 2008 51
Gordy Stahl coaches Steve Mestre on his winch-launching technique.
Steve started with an Aerobird and now flies competition gliders.
Dayle Cook, who has been learning to fly gliders, is shown
preparing to make one of his first unassisted winch launches. He
has since flown in competition in the Eastern Soaring League.
Ed Anderson (R) holds his Aerobird: his first RC airplane. Pete
Nicholson, Ed’s instructor, holds his 3-meter Supra competition
Thermal Duration sailplane. Notice the similar pod-and-boom designs.
have dreamed of flying, and those dreams probably include an
engine, the drone of the propeller, or maybe even the whine of
the turbine. So when they want to start flying model airplanes,
that is what they look for and that is what the hobby stores
stock.
If one of these new park flyer pilots came upon your glider
field, would you welcome that person or would you tell him or
her that you only fly sailplanes at the site and send the flier
away? If you do the latter, you are missing the opportunity to
develop a new glider pilot.
When I started, I bought a HobbyZone Aerobird 3 RTF
Electric: a three-channel, pod-and-boom park flyer. A friend
told me that there had been a glider club a mile from my home
for more than 25 years. I never knew about it, even though I
had wanted to fly RC airplanes all my life. I never noticed the
pilots were there, because they were quiet.
A friend had joined that club with a HobbyZone Firebird
electric park flyer; the club had recently opened its
membership to these small models, viewing them as trainers.
If you look closely, many of these RTF park flyers are really
electric launched sailplanes in disguise.
A two-channel Firebird is really an electric launched
glider. When you cut the power it soars nicely, needing only
rudder control to guide it around the sky. And it thermals too.
The same applies to my Aerobird, a ReadytoFlyFun.com THawk,
a Multiplex EasyStar, and many RTF park flyers. That
is what makes them so easy to fly.
People often remark that gliders are the best trainers, and
these airplane makers seem to agree. In fact, the president of
the LISF at the time I started had learned to fly with a
Firebird.
If you start thinking about these models as electric
launched sailplanes, perhaps it would be a good idea to
welcome these new pilots into your club and teach them how
to fly their new aircraft. Naturally you would instruct them in
the glider-pilot style and teach them how to operate on a
glider field. They would learn how much fun it is to fly their
models with the motor off and to catch thermals.
The first time I managed to get my Aerobird up into a
thermal, I was hooked. Because I was surrounded by sailplane
06sig2.QXD 4/24/08 11:53 AM Page 51
pilots, I received all kinds of coaching on
how to hunt for thermals, work thermals,
and enjoy extended flight time without the
use of my motor. This was cool!
Six months after I joined the club—
having no idea about or interest in
gliders—I bought Great Planes’ 2-meter
Spirit. Of course, it was an RTF package.
In addition I purchased a hi-start.
That winter a Slope Soaring pilot
showed me how to slope-soar my
Aerobird. Soon after that I was flying a
Zagi slope wing. My sailplane fleet was
growing.
Today our club has a growing number
of pilots who have followed a similar
course. They learn to pilot their park
flyers, and then they learn to fly them like
gliders.
We even have monthly climb-andglide,
limited-motor-run contests. Park
flyer pilots are encouraged to join. We do
a two-minute maximum motor run and a
six-minute task, with landing points for
putting the airplane in a large circle.
Last season the top score was achieved
with an Aerobird. Oddly enough, the pilot
normally flies a Pike Superior, but he
started on that Aerobird.
Today the first real sailplane these
people typically buy is a Multiplex Easy
Glider or Easy Glider Electric. Soon
afterward they move on to 2.5- and 3-
meter models and start flying in club
Thermal Duration contests. They learn
how to launch with a hi-start and a winch.
You may be thinking, “This is all good
stuff, but what does it have to do with the
Park Pilot Program?”
Many glider clubs fear that once they
let in the electrics, they will take over. And
that has happened to some sailplane clubs.
Sometimes it is because of a large influx of
new electric-power pilots, but just as often
the existing members take up electric flight
too. After a while the glider fliers diminish
as other pilots bore holes in the sky.
People forget that this fade of glider
pilots was happening anyway. They point
the finger at the electrics and say, “They
did it to us,” but they probably didn’t.
What really happened was that there was
no plan.
If you make a plan and work it, you can
bring in new park flyer pilots with the
understanding that yours is a sailplane club
first and foremost. Aircraft flown at your
field will be done so in a “gliderlike”
manner and at low to moderate speeds. If
you state this up front, people will
understand that your club is not for speed
jockeys, 3-D pilots, etc.
I have learned from experience that if
you take this approach, roughly half of the
members will eventually take up gliders in
addition to whatever else they fly. Some
will also belong to other clubs in which
they can fly their high-speed or 3-D
airplanes.
The Park Pilot Program brings in a
clear definition of what a park flyer is and
what it is not. It includes small airplanes—
weighing 2 pounds or less—that are quiet
and incapable of flying faster than 60 mph
on a flat run. They must be electric or
rubber powered, or of any similar quiet
means of propulsion, and that includes
pure and electric sailplanes.
According to that definition, Gentle
Ladys and Easy Gliders are park flyers.
Hand-launched and discus-launched
gliders are also park flyers. That means
new pilots who show up at your field with
AMA Park Pilot Program membership
cards can fly sailplanes. If they ever want
to fly something larger than the program
permits, all they have to do is upgrade
their membership with the AMA.
A concern about the Park Pilot Program
is that these new pilots have a lower level
of personal insurance coverage than
regular AMA members. What impact does
that have on the club’s insurance?
The AMA has confirmed that having
Park Pilot Program members in a club has
no impact on its coverage. Your club
coverage is the same as always and will
not be compromised in any way.
If your flying-site property owner
requires that all your club members are
AMA members, those who are part of the
Park Pilot Program meet that condition.
Unless your lease or agreement for field
use specifies a dollar amount of personal
coverage for each member, a Park Pilot
Program member is covered.
Admitting Park Pilot Program members
does not mean you have to adopt the full
extent of the program’s definition. If you
feel that an Aerobird or an EasyStar would
be acceptable but you would not want
airplanes zipping around your field at 59
mph, amend your club’s bylaws to reflect
this.
You could declare a top speed for
models at your field of, say, 45 mph. That
is moderate. My Easy Glider Electric, with
a brushless motor, tops out at
approximately 45 mph. You could further
stipulate that all flying below treetop level
should be at less than 20 mph, to be
compatible with models that are on
approach and preparing for landing.
The numbers are unimportant. What is
important is that you have always had the
right to set guidelines for how flying is
conducted at your field; the Park Pilot
Program does not change that.
Gliders always have the right of way.
That would not change. And you would
train these new pilots to fly properly with
gliders. They would learn where and how
to launch and where and how to land,
according to your procedures.
Do not radically transform your
sailplane club into an electric club.
Incorporate slow- to moderate-speed
electric-powered models into your club’s
design.
Welcome these new pilots, train them, and
introduce them to gliders as a path they
have not considered. You will find that
these new fliers and the AMA Park Pilot
Program could be good friends and bring
new energy to the life of your sailplane
club. MA
Ed Anderson
[email protected]
Sources:
Park Pilot Program
(800) 435-9262
www.modelaircraft.org/parkflyer.aspx
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