Virginia Soaring
Association’s 2015 Winter Soaring Summit
This year’s conference was attended by
nearly thirty active glider flight instructors and other soaring club leaders.
They shared experiences, success stories, and problems encountered in
managing their flight instruction programs for glider pilots. Topics
included standardization of syllabi, record keeping, maintaining flight
instructor competence, instructor liability, safety issues, and how to deal
with ‘problem instructors’. There was also an update from John Molumphy,
Designated Pilot Examiner qualified in gliders in Virginia on common issues
that Clubs could address to assure success of candidates for a rating.
This year's conference theme was the sharing of
information and ideas about flight instruction activity within the state’s
substantial and growing glider community.
Virginia
appears to be relatively unique in the country as a state where the soaring
clubs meet regularly to improve safety. The Virginia Soaring Association
was established in 2012 at the suggestion of the Virginia Department of
Aviation’s Executive Director, Randy Burdette. Comprised of the 6 soaring
clubs in Virginia, it gives the soaring community a unified voice as it
interfaces with the Department of Aviation and other facets of General Aviation
within the Commonwealth. Finding ways of being good neighbors while sharing
Virginia’s skies and many airports with Power Pilot friends is always important
to them.
For more information, visit the website http://vasoaring.org.