Recruiting Juniors to Soaring

Hugh wrote an excellent newsletter two weeks about sharing your underused glider. He made some excellent points about how to increase contest participation. If you haven’t read it, go back and check it out. I was inspired to write this newsletter by Hugh’s submission. 

Example; Harris Hill

There are absolutely enough underused gliders to fill up all of the U.S. contests. I flew my first 6 or 7 races using Harris Hill’s borrowed Discus CS. I was also fortunate to have been lent a glider on a few occasions too. The bigger miracle, however, is how I got to the point of racing in the first place. As a teenager, I came from a normal lower-middle-class family without endless resources. How then, by 20 years old was I racing a $45,000 glider? It would not have been possible without Harris Hill, bottom line. We have an excellent model that focuses on fostering youth aviation. 

Imagine the Possibilities

How do we do it? Firstly we have a strong volunteer supported commercial component. We give rides to the public on weekends for the whole season which are done by club members as mandatory duty assignments. Between senior (adult) member rates being slightly higher, our commercial operation, and just plain taking a hit on every junior member flight, we subsidize their flying. In 2002 when I started, I was paying 3 dollars per pre-solo lesson. That summer my dad had to pay about $200 all included for me to get past the point of solo. Once I soloed I think it jumped to $12 dollars per flight, plus there are certain gliders that we don’t charge junior members hourly rental for. I could do a five-hour flight as a 16-year-old and have it cost less than a large pizza. Imagine the possibilities. 

We also had a very well organized junior program that was expertly run by Janell Sullivan. At the time we had something like 30 junior members, 10-12 of which were extremely active. Once you develop a model for making it affordable for the average kid to fly, you have to find and retain kids who are interested in flying. We are currently working on a program whereby we scout or recruit kids from local schools. 

Make it Affordable for Kids

You have to eat an elephant one bite at a time. There are a lot of pieces in place at Harris Hill which doesn’t happen overnight. Some of the factors which I believe have allowed us to be successful include a well structured and managed junior program which focuses on making it affordable for kids. We also have a fleet which supports progression into single-seat fiberglass gliders. 2-33 > 1-26 > 1-34 > K-21> Discus CS. We’ve also had the good fortune of owning a Duo Discus, which has allowed for some heavy-duty cross country instruction. My first cross country’s were with Roy Mcmaster and Tim Welles. Not hard to imagine how I saw what soaring could be. That’s another major element for anyone new to soaring. You have to show them that soaring isn’t about doing patterns. You don’t need a duo for that though, Hank Nixon’s “bus class” in 21’s has been a big hit. If you can get people even on a short cross country, the hook is set. 

Contests Motivate

Harris Hill also hosts contests. This makes it accessible for club members new to racing. They have the support of local people who they know and trust, and who in turn know them. They have access to a glider they are familiar with, and flying a home-court regional is extremely affordable. (I think the junior rebate offered by the SSA is simply awesome). I flew my first contest in a Harris Hill glider because Heinz Weissenbuehler encouraged me to do it. Prior to that, he had set up summer crewing gigs for me with Roger Buchanan, Brian Milner, and Dick Butler. He also found me a Ventus 2bx to borrow a few years later and was hugely responsible for helping me get my hands on my ASW-20. We need more people like him, who recognize potential, and then bend over backward to make sure that motivated young people are given all the tools for success!

Make it Social

Finally, make it social. I cannot stress this enough. As a kid, Harris Hill became a hugely important part of my social identity. I loved flying so much that I would have gone to the airport anyway, but when you have 10 other like-minded kids there, it’s just gasoline on the fire. I couldn’t wait to go fly and hang out with my friends every day. Harris Hill regularly hosts club social events as part of its culture. This welcomes the family in and keeps it fun. My partner in my ASW-20 joined the club and learned to fly because his son was learning to fly.

As Hugh said, the gliders are there but you have to make them available. Beyond that, help people find soaring, then make it fun, make it social, and allow it to be accessible. Subsidize junior soaring any way possible, host regional contests, and encourage people to participate. Unlock their potential!

Banner Photo by Bozena Michalowski

Andy Brayer has been flying gliders for 17 years and is currently establishing a career as a professional pilot. He has worked with M&H Soaring in their shop for more years than he can remember. He flies a beautifully restored ASW-20 from Harris Hill, which he co-owns with Bryan Riegal. In 2017 he was the Sports Class National Champion. He also had the honor of painting Dick Butler’s famous Concordia. Andy’s future aspirations include flying jets, competing nationally alongside his friends, and representing the U.S. at future world championships.