My only daughter had her first glider flight when she was 14, started to learn when she was 15, and went solo when she was 16. And there's nothing remarkable about that - at the same club another 16yo went solo that same year, we have several younger people flying regularly and I believe there's a 9yo (11yo?) that pays for the occasional lesson out of her pocket money.
So, from a father's perspective, what do I think it has done for her?
- when she started she thought shopping malls were interesting and exciting places - now she knows there's far more to life, provided that she works at it. (Judging by some of her classmates, I'm very glad she came to that conclusion before making awkward personal mistakes)
- it saves money on trips to Alton Towers etc - they've become boring now she builds her own rollercoasters in the sky
- motorbikes have little attraction (which relieves me somewhat) after the adrenaline of a winch launch
- she's learned a good approach to the dangers she will undoubtedly encounter in life: listen, recognise and understand the dangers, then apply the relevant procedures to minimse the dangers
- because she helps out at the club, she can add many demonstrable skills onto her CV, e.g. keeping legal documents (the logbook), supervising visitors, organising the grid including persuading other people to "do the right thing", demonstrating the continued application and achievement and general maturity required to be allowed to go solo. Plus it is a very good talking point during interviews!
- from a purely selfish viewpoint, it has extended the time that she wants to do things with me (as opposed to going off with her friends)
In short, even if she doesn't continue flying, gliding has already helped her
significantly in both her professional and personal life. When she started I was merely looking to have a good time with her; gliding has far exceeded our expectations.
Costs are minimal for youngsters at my club: ~£40/year membership and ~£6/flight. Typically you'll have 3 flights/day while training so a day out costs <£20 - or alternatively a single hour-long flight costs ~£21. (A trial lesson costs £35/45). And as others have mentioned, there are bursaries available for pre-solo pilots, e.g.
How much use is learning to glide as opposed to getting a PPL? I don't know, but it certainly won't do any harm and it definitely helped an 18yo at our club get through the selection processes to join the Fleet Air Arm to train as a pilot.
Also I'm a shy sorta person so how would I go about asking about working at an airfield? Won't people think it's rude?
After you've been part of the club for a while you won't be self-consciously shy because you'll be part of the team and will have some significant achievements under your belt. You'll be able to say "I'm interested in doing X, and I can demonstrate that by
having done Y and Z, so you can see my interest and dedication". If somebody acts as if that is rude then you probably don't want to work for them anyway!
Me n mum talked abut and she decides it's now too dangerous with crashing and oil leaks etc. So I said way more cars crash than airplanes. Was I right? Are airplanes just as safe as cars?
Very difficult to quantify and, IMHO, probably a question that should be "unasked". Fundamentally there's risks in doing everything - what's important is to accurately assess what
you're capable of in the
current conditions. Personally I'm much happier about my daughter doing gliding that I would be about her horse riding.
"Oil leaks etc"? Well there's much less to go wrong in a glider, and before you go solo (
and afterwards) you'll have to
repeatedly demonstrate that you can safely deal with "eventualities" including winch failure or cable breaks (equivalent to engine failure), and "departure from controlled flight" i.e. stalls and spins. If you can't demonstrate you're safe, you won't go solo - very simple and very reassuring.
The best way to understand this how things work is to go to a gliding club, spend several hours at the launchpoint just watching and chatting to the members and the instructors. And then have a trial lesson, preferably a winch launch because it is much cheaper and more fun.
Alternatively, I'm quite happy to discuss "a father's perspective".